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    | Apr-27-2007 Barbie Girls sashay into view with MP-3(topic overview)CONTENTS:
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Mattel Inc.' s Barbie is joining the Internet age. The U.S. toymaker today unveiled Barbie Girls, a multi-pronged brand that features a free website, BarbieGirls.com, that will allow children to create their own virtual characters, design their own room and try on clothes at a cyber mall. This summer, Mattel will introduce a Barbie-inspired handheld MP3 music device to interact with the website and unlock even more content. [1] Barbie Girls.com offers a more interactive experience than Barbie.com, where play is limited to online games and other content. With BarbieGirls.com, girls can customize characters' outfits down to the puff on the sleeve and can customize their own virtual rooms.[2] Mattel unveils its newest Barbie venture BarbieGirls.com and a Barbie MP3 player. NEW YORK -- If Barbie can't fend off bitter rival Bratz in the "real" world, then she's going to take the battle to the "virtual" world and hopefully have better luck there. Barbie's parent Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, on Thursday unveiled its newest Barbie initiative called "Barbie Girls" which meshes together the online and offline play experience for girls.[3] In July Mattel will launch the second phase of Barbie Girls, the Barbie Girl device – a techy, doll-inspired MP3 player with a range of customisable fashions and accessories, delivering the next generation of fashion doll play.[4] Mattel hopes that by blending girls' love of music, fashion and the internet, it will keep 10-year-old girls interested in the iconic name. The launch of Barbie Girl is the latest effort by a toy company to make its brand more interactive with the internet and reclaim children who are growing out of toys faster and seeking other play options, like online chatting and iPods.[1] " We set out to create a platform that is truly revolutionary to transform how girls interact with music, fashion and the online world. Barbie Girls is the result of listening to what girls want, researching how they play and fusing it with the right technology to deliver a completely new experience[5] The Barbie Girl device gives girls an innovative way to experience music and fashion in a new medium, while also acting as a " key " to unlock additional new pets, games, hangout spots, fashions, furniture and more on BarbieGirls.com SM.[5] In July, Barbie Girls will take shape in the real world with a handheld portable device that can be used as a music player while also unlocking new content within BarbieGirls.com.[4] The doll-inspired hand-held portable device will be out in July at an expected retail cost of $59.99. Girls also can lock or open their virtual room to other characters. A more personal chat is available to those who both have a Barbie Girl device and who have physically connected their devices into a friend's computer docking station.[2] More than half of American 6-to-11-year-olds have gone online in the past 30 days, says Mediamark Research Inc. DIGITAL DUDS How to turn that into cold, hard cash? Mattel will sell snap-on accessories to dress up the Barbie Girls device, much the way people customize cell phones and iPods. Unlike some gaming companies, Mattel won't charge real money for virtual clothes and accessories; its goal is still to sell dolls, not run a Web business.[6] When the device goes on sale in July, it will be the only way kids can fully interact with BarbieGirls.com. In this virtual world, girls will create a character they can name, dress, and customize by skin tone, hair style, and expression. They'll shop for clothes and furniture in a virtual mall, using "B-bucks" earned by playing games and watching product promotion videos.[6] Accessory Packs are sold separately for around $10 and include various fashions, accessories and pets as well as additional, exclusive online content. Girls can create their own, highly-personalized virtual characters by choosing from 2.64 quadrillion character combinations of fashions and accessories, as well as stylish faces, expressions and hairstyles.[7] The doll-inspired handheld portable device will be available in July at an expected retail cost of $59.99. It is designed to unlock even more content and activities on BarbieGirls.com, like adopting a virtual pet and buying clothes using virtual money.[8]  Mattel unveiled this next generation of fashion doll play that merges BarbieGirls.com with a portable, hand-held device that serves as a music player and fashion statement-in-one. [9] While domestic sales of the classic fashion doll plunged 21% in the first quarter, according to a Mattel announcement last week, strong popularity for the Barbie doll abroad offset the domestic decline and translated to 2 percent growth worldwide.[1] 'The brand has relevance, but we needed to provide a new way to engage older girls.' The launch comes as Mattel has been making inroads in turning around sales of the iconic brand, hurt by fierce competition from MGA Entertainment's pouty Bratz dolls.[9] Mattel's CEO Robert Eckert told analysts last week that Barbie Girls was one of many ideas that the company has been working on to improve the brand's attractiveness to kids who are increasingly shunning traditional toys in favor of gadgets like MP3 players, cell phones and the the new generation of videogame consoles. [3] The Barbie Girl device has 512 MB of on-board memory to hold up to 120 MP3 or 240 WMA-file songs, and it has an expandable miniSD slot that holds a memory card up to 2 GB. It can play any non-DRM-encrypted MP3 or WMA files, comes with Windows Media Player 11 and has a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery that charges via the USB port.[5] " Barbie Girls merges these different parts of a girl ' s world together for the first time, giving girls everywhere a hybrid play experience in both real and virtual worlds[5] Mattel executives said that Barbie Girl is designed to be a safe place for girls to interact online.[8] Chatting in the Barbie Girls environment is designed to be fun and safe with two levels of chat based on the relationship between users: -- "B Chat " is the most common yet most restricted type of chat, and it may be conducted in a girl's room and in the public zones of the BarbieGirls.com world.[10] Girls can then chat live with other registered girls on the site." This Web site, added Mattel, will offer several features to keep child predators and the like from trolling BarbieGirls.com as well as providing a generally clean and safe virtual environment.[7] Julianna and Georgia, aged 11, belong to a select group of kids picked by Mattel to test-run the Web site. Both were at the Thursday event and helped this reporter to understand the site's various features.[3] Sophisticated word filters to keep chat secure, prevent the exchange of personal information and block inappropriate, hurtful or offensive language. 2. Easy-to-use safety features that give a girl the ability to lock or open her room to other characters, the ability to block users and prevent them from contacting her on the site, and the ability to report other users for inappropriate behavior. 3. [10] Girls will also be able to chat with friends on the site. Security software will monitor the exchanges and prevents them from giving out names, addresses, or phone numbers that could end up in the hands of predators.[6] The company has run a Barbie.com site for a decade. Its mix of games, video clips, and product info makes it one of the more popular online destinations for girls, according to comScore Inc. The majority are 6 to 11 years old, many of them former doll buyers who are now likely to say they're embarrassed to play with a plastic princess. [6] The most visible example is Webkinz, from privately held Canadian toymaker Ganz. The $11 stuffed animals come with distinctive pass codes that give kids one year of access to a site where they can play games and chat with friends. Ganz says it has sold more than 1.5 million of the critters since their introduction two years ago.[6] Top sellers last year included a $40 Elmo that wiggled across the floor and a $70 digital camera for tots. "Mattel watched products like iPods sell so well," says Sean P. McGowan of Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. "They know parents will spend money if the toy is fun." This combination of online and offline play is shaping up to be the hottest trend in toys.[6] "I think we've got a hit on our hands," said Reyne Rice, a New York-based toy trends expert at the Toy Industry Association. "You've got music, you've got fashion and you've got online -- all these components tied into today's girls." At BarbieGirls.com, users can customize their characters' looks and styles. They can also go to the online mall and shop for clothes, accessories and furniture for their online room.[11] The world's largest toy maker is also taking aim at Apple Inc.' s iPod music players and Ganz's Webkinz, furry animal toys that come alive online.[12] Mattel today took Barbie Web 2.0 with the unveiling of BarbieGirls.com, the "first global, virtual online world designed exclusively for girls." [7] The official launch of BarbieGirls.com came a week after the company gave it a public test run. Toy analysts say this latest addition to the 48-year-old Barbie line should be a hot seller, helping the brand reverse nearly five years of declining sales.[12] The El Segundo toymaker's stock, a laggard for much of the past six years, has surged 80% since July 14, in part because of a feeling on Wall Street that even though Barbie's U.S. sales are falling, Mattel overall is doing a better job connecting with tech-savvy kids.[6] "If Mattel's online community is successful -- with penetration similar to Webkinz -- we estimate maximum annual sales potential of about $100 million, or about 3 cents a share," Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Lisa Bolton Weiser wrote in a research note. Retailers said earlier this month that demand for Webkinz, which are sold at specialty retail shops such as Hallmark and American Greetings Corp., has skyrocketed.[12] "We're revolutionizing the way girls play to make it more fun and exciting," Chuck Scothon, senior vice president for Mattel's girls brands said during the event. [3] There are many ways for girls to play in the BarbieGirls.com world, including shopping at the mall, watching entertainment clips and more.[10] " B Chat " is the most common yet most restricted type of chat, and it may be conducted in a girl ' s room and in the public zones of the BarbieGirls.com SM world.[5] With B Chat girls can only use words approved and compiled in the BarbieGirls.com SM database, which precludes the disclosure of personal information.[5] I also like all the fashion," said Julianna. Georgia was equally and "predictably" enthusiastic about Barbie Girls, although she couldn't help her honest response to this one question. [3] A belt clip, adjustable-sized earbuds and durable storage case are included with the Barbie Girl device.[10] Barbie has arrived in girls' bedrooms in coaches and convertibles, on party buses and dream boats, her friend Ken at her side. Now her latest vehicle is a data port, and her newest dream house is online.[6] " Girls today move seamlessly from screens computers, television and video games to real-life group and individual play, and then back again at any given moment, " Scothon said [5] REFERENCES 1. IOL: It's a Barbie world online 2. Barbie Girls aims for Web fans | Chicago Tribune 3. Barbie: Battle of the doll divas hits cyberspace - Apr. 26, 2007 4. Mattel launches new Barbie world : ToyNews 5. Barbie(R) Revolutionizes the Way Girls Play 6. Barbie Goes From Vinyl To Virtual 7. Barbie Turned into MP3 Player, Web Site - Portable Media News - Digital Trends 8. Mattel's Barbie Joins the Internet Age - International Business Times - 9. Mattel aims at preteen girls with new Internet Barbie Girls 10. Barbie(R) Revolutionizes the Way Girls Play 11. New Barbie Girls sashay into view with MP-3 12. New Barbie Girls sashay into view with MP-3 | Consumer Products & Retail | Reuters |
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