I have always found the whole Love and Berry play the game, wear the clothes thing a little creepy. However I cant help admire anybody that creates such a phenomenon, so I found this profile quite interesting. Read on……
Over at the Daily Yomiuri, there’s a cute little profile of Sega game designer Hiroshi Uemura, who, of course, “…gave birth to two mega-hit children’s card-based video games, “Mushiking: The King of Beetles” for boys, and “Love and Berry Dress up and Dance!” for girls.”
When I was last in Tokyo last September, these CCG-based arcade machines were _everywhere_, and there was even Love & Berry dress-upfor little girls at Sega’s Joypolis – and the numbers on just the arcade versions alone bear this out: “”Mushiking” has sold 420 million cards since January 2003. “Love and Berry,” which substitutes fashion competitions for bug battles, has sold 240 million cards since October 2004.”
There’s some cute commentary on how the game was designed, too: “Uemura says the goal in designing the games was to let children and parents enjoy playing together. It was a concept adapted from past mistakes. Before “Mushiking,” a cutting-edge attraction designed by the team frightened an elderly person and grandchild at a theme park. “Mushiking” was born out of reflection on that failure. Uemura said the game allows adults to use their intuition to help children with the games. “For example, when playing “Love and Berry,” parents can advise children by saying, “You don’t wear jeans at dance parties,’ and by doing so, parents can enjoy communicating with children.”” Yeah, no jeans!
