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Computer Toys R Us vs. Them

Stack the shelves with multimedia (fa la la la la...)
Tis the time for CD-ROMs now (fa la la la la...)

And so begins another holiday season, another nutty, spirited, credit-happy, guilt-laden month of figuring out how to make the kids happy without its jocular companions, fat and dumb. Into the void rush the vendors of computer toys and software, many of them touted as educational and all of them costing a bundle.

The holiday toy blitz reveals once again the sexual split in computing, right down to its jolly jewel-cased gifts. So let's cruise through the world of computer games pitched specifically to boys 'n girls. Or more to the point, to boys or girls.

First, a few words about "multimedia," a loopy addition to our lexicon. Multimedia programs run still pictures and photos, moving pictures such as video and/or animation, and sound-in other words, multiple media. All of that exciting stimulation consumes billions and billions of bits and bytes, so manufacturers package it on high-capacity CD-ROM ("read-only memory;" you can't record) disks that look exactly like music compact discs (CDs).

CD-ROMs are expensive, up to $40 or $50 a pop. Check with other parents, teachers, librarians, kids to find out what's good. You'll find product reviews in some newspapers (including the Washington Post), in magazines such as Family PC and Computer Gaming World, in forums on services such as America Online, and on the World Wide Web at sites such as Gamespot (www.gamespot.com) and the new Thunderbeam (www.thunderbeam.com).

It takes a whole lotta computer to run these games: a CD-ROM drive to play the discs, good video resolution, and speakers. Maybe a "joystick," a cross between a hand grip and a stick shift often needed to control movement. If you do plan to give a CD-ROM, forestall frustration by checking the computer it'll play on, as well as the drive speed (4X is common but the faster 8X is gaining ground).

That's the "how" of multimedia. Let's move on to the "what." Remember, Live Wire won't make product recommendations. I just want to open the discussion.

First, meet Barbie Fashion Designer, one of 10 CD-ROMS for girls released by Mattel. Will the enduringly perky prom queen be as popular on disk as she is...in person? Time will tell. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, boys make up 80 percent of the CD-ROM youth market. Violent games such as category-killer Mortal Kombat are marketed to boys. My guess is that parents, while turned off by the gore, figure at least the kid's getting some computer skills.

Consider the top five PC-based games for September, according to industry researcher Jupiter Communications: Duke Nukem 3D, Warcraft II, Civilization 2, Final Doom and Myst. Would such games have appealed to a youthful Live Wire? Probably not. I would have found the violence gross and yucky, to be sure-but never mind that. All that gore is b-o-r-i-n-g.

Tell that to the software companies making big bucks on rip out their lungs and burn the entrails CD-ROMs. They're laughing all the way to the boring old bank. While all boys might not like macho games, the heart of the multimedia entertainment industry still beats for those who do.

Fortunately, game designers are smelling the sweet perfume of feminine buying power. Big players such as Mattel and Nintendo, and small start-ups such as Her Interactive and Girl Games (which just made Fortune's list of the Best 200 Small Companies), are spurred by both fairness and the prospect of profit. "As if preteen and teenage girls don't spend $43 billion a year in discretionary income," says Patricia Flanigan, executive director of Her Interactive. As if.

Yet many think the trick to designing games for girls is the same old, same old.

An old friend/computer industry professional/woman living in Texas recently sent me a clipping from the Austin American-Statesman describing a local game-maker that just launched its first girl-oriented CD-ROM nationwide. "The $30 disc," the paper reported, "is hip, fast-moving and loaded with girl stuff. There are interactive diaries, personality quizzes and activities that explore relationships and self image."

My friend attached a note: "Sounds like 'Cosmo' on CD-ROM, doesn't it? I wonder if this is really what girls want?"

Good question. It reminds me of the time when car manufacturers realized that women not only drove cars, they also bought them. Shock waves rippled through Detroit. Dealers pushed car styles, color, carpeting. Women turned up their dainty noses and plunked their dollars down instead on safe, sane cars. On power brakes, not pink bumpers. The industry came to its senses, yet it still hasn't figured out the single feature most important to the female: pedals that don't ruin the backs of your good heels.

But seriously, folks. Says a recent issue of Teen Voices, toymakers in pursuit of girls' dollars "will feature girls trying on make-up, going to parties and shopping." That bears as much resemblance to my life-then and now-as Mortal Kombat does to that of my brother. The piece continues, "If only they realized the market they could have if they let go of old ideas."

And so it goes. Girl-minded gamesters are coming up with some good new ideas-non-violent adventure, for example, and games that let girls explore and master tasks without rigid scoring-and many publishers offer products that cross sex lines.

This winter, don't let multimedia leave you clueless. Look for games that appeal to the best in us-to boys and girls together. That offer the chance for both emotional involvement and intellectual mastery. With-dare I say it -- humor.

Now, here's a New Year's Resolution for the '90s: "I promise to back up my hard drive every week." Cheers!

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