As I read this article I felt disbelief, disapointment, and insulted.  Is this all that girls amount to — video games around Lizzie Maguire and the “Bratz.”  I was once a ‘tween and I played video games with both male and female friends and my little brother.  I remember playing games like Super Mario Bros, Contra, Mega Man, 1942, the Legend of Zelda, and various fighting and car racing games.  Never did I imagine that video game marketing people actually thought that games like “Barbie Horse Adventure” were good games for girls.  Maybe my friends and I were not typical girls — although I highly doubt that.

As an older female gamer (the ripe old age of 33), I now play games like “The Sims”, “Bejeweled”, “Final Fantasy”, “Xenosaga”, “Diablo”,”Lumines”, “Loco Roco” and the “Forgotten Realm” PC RPG’s.  Every once in a while I’ll indulge in a fighting game (I still can kick my 23-year little brother’s behind), car racing, and straight up twitch games like “Onimusha” and “God of War.”  Anyhow, what catches and holds me in a video game is a compelling story and strategic game play.  Yes, I’m one of those people who likes character and resource management.  I also like to figure out how to beat a game’s battle engine — overcoming a tough boss battle makes my day. 

WOW:  I don’t play play online video games for fear of having the game dominate my life.  I’ve lost my husband to WOW, and, to be honest, WOW looks like a sad existence.

Anyhow … I think most of today’s females are beyond “pink” and those that are not … well, I really don’t know what to say about that.  I have a best friend with a daughter who is very into pink and I just bought her a princess coloring combination sticker book.  She put it away and instead asked if I wanted one of her plastic insects that she kept in a pink Easter basket.  Last year I bought her a Barbie princess dance video set which she liked.  It served the dual purpose of toddler exercise video, too.  Maybe Barbie DDR would be a good “pink” game.  Sigh … Somebody help save the girls of America from the “Bratz”!!!