What good is a doll that can't hook into a video-game console?
Posted on Thu Nov 19 2009Nintendo is taking the concept of doll play to a whole new level with the upcoming release of Baby and Me, a video game where you hook a doll up to the Wii console. The blogosphere has been buzzing about the game, which will reportedly launch in Australia this December. Baby and Me is meant to measure how good of a parent the player would be, and judging from the packaging, it's targeted at young girls. By strapping a Wii remote to an existing doll, or purchasing an already enabled Wii doll, players can use the "baby mode" to take care of the doll (rocking it to sleep with the help of motion sensitive rocking movements, for example), or have a little fun using the "play mode." The remote allows the doll to respond by giggling, crying and making other typical baby sounds. I think the classic baby doll (the one without the remote) does a fine job of satisfying the needs of little girls, who don't necessarily need to learn about parenthood at age 5. I can, however, see these dolls being used in high schools to teach teenagers the importance of safe sex.
—Posted by Elena Malykhina