The Gents sale so far...

[TroyHepfner]

Just a reminder... this is the last weekend you can pick up a copy of Fashion Cents Gents for 50% off! The sale ends at the end of the month.

So far the sale has been moderately successful. I've sold enough copies to break my record for the best February sales ever! Historically, February has been one of my worst months for sales, so it has been exciting to watch the orders coming in.

But, on the other hand, only about 15% of my Fashion Cents customers have purchased the sequel since I released it 18 months ago. That's certainly disappointing.

As I've been thinking about this and discussing it with Victoria, she brought up the fact that it's been the same with Ken. Girls love Barbie and they buy tons of Barbie dolls and clothes, but Ken dolls and Ken clothes never sold as well either. I did a little Googling about Ken sales, and found this in a recent article (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/51264432-81/barbie-ken-toy-mattel.html.csp) in the Salt Lake Tribune:


Sean McGowan, a toy analyst with Needham & Co., estimated that Ken makes up less than 10 percent of the Barbie line’s sales.If that's true, then Fashion Cents Gents appears to be following that trend.

Then again, the sale this month has helped generate about 25% of the total Fashion Cents Gents sales over its 18-month life. So maybe it's a matter of finding the right price point for this game to maximize its sales.

Victoria and I have an idea in mind for a 3rd installment in our Fashion Cents series, but now I'm not sure if it will be profitable enough to make. I've got a lot to think about while I finish up Dirk 2.

I want to make games you'll enjoy, so feel free to chime in here with your comments. What are your thoughts on Gents? Would you like to see use do another dress-up game? Our inquiring minds want to know!

[Marleen]

You definitely have a point there in the 'girls wanna play with girls'- statement. I just bought and downloaded Fashion Gents, and although I really like it -after all, the puzzle is mor or less the same- my daughters think it's 'mwah'. And somehow, this type of game (dress-up) does not really appear to appeal to buys of ANY age. So, somehow, I think it's only to be expected that it can never be as successfull as the girl-version.

Maybe if you made had version where you can like dress up doggies or kittens, or babies/children (m/f), something that girls 'go for', it could be a bit bigger, but I'm pretty sure, dressing up girls (that girls can identify with), will stay on top.

[Marleen]

My daughter just came up with the idea of dressing up houses; roof, door, windows, curtains, gates, mailbox.....; they love building dolls-houses too. Same thing can be done with interriors as well ; couch, carpet, lamp, table, vase with flowers, clocks, whatever you can think of.
The gameplay of matching sets can be translated to all kinds of things ofcourse. Well, things that girls/women think should match or be color-coordinated :lol:

[AlleyCat]

I think that's a great idea, Marleen! And I agree, the next dress-up game should be something girls can identify more with.

[Eddward]

I saw the newsletter about Fashion Cents Babies. The idea sounds cute and I think my daughters would love being able to interact with the dolls/models. They pretend to as it is. I would suggest you keep it laid back though. From the sound of the newsletter I got the impression that there could be an aspect where you have to keep up with tending the babies. I just picture the Fashion Dash game where you have to keep producing garments and keep the customers happy while trying to get enough sales in a short amount of time. That would chase my older daughter off.

My younger daughter is really too young for most games and I'm not worried about how she would take it. My older daughter however got turned off on the various *Dash type games because of the time critical aspect. Fashion Cents is more like a solitaire style game. She can sit, think, walk away and come back. She also likes the demo of a game Crumb by PiddlePup. It is a puzzle game like Chip's Challenge but with a Princess in a magical forest. My daughter has to plan her moves, but she isn't rushed. She also liked the My Tribe game which had a few things were time mattered, but it wasn't a win-or-lose aspect. (And she liked the babies in My Tribe.)

Anyhow, that's an element of the existing Fashion Cents game that keeps her interested. I guess she likes turn based games rather than real time. While I'm at it, can you suggest any cute games for such a girl?

[TroyHepfner]

Ah, good feedback! I was thinking of keeping it turn-based, and only adjusting the baby's stats when you make a move. So you would still have time to think. And, it would only impact the bonus multiplier on the doll if it were not tended to. I suppose I could also easily add a classic game mode where the sim part of the game was factored out. I'm getting lots of great feedback so far, so we'll see what everyone thinks and go from there.

As for other kinds of turn-based games, she might try these:

Adventure/RPG
Aveyond (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/aveyond.htm) (there's a whole series of them)
Wandering Willows (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/wanderingwillows.htm)

Puzzle Games
Alice's Magical Mahjong (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/alicesmagicalmahjong.htm)
Animal Color Cross (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/animalcolorcross.htm)
Deep Voyage (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/deepvoyage.htm)
Dress-up Pups (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/dressuppups.htm)
Fashion Solitaire (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/fashionsolitaire.htm)
Kitten Sanctuary (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/kittensanctuary.htm)
Mahjong Forest (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/mahjongforests.htm)
Sheeplings (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/sheeplings.htm)
Zen Puzzle Garden (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/zenpuzzlegarden.htm)

Hidden Object Games
Natalie Brooks (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/nataliebrooks.htm) (there's several other games in this series)
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/princessisabella.htm)
Samantha Swift (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/samanthaswiftroses.htm) (there's several other games in this series too)

Word Games
Akkadia (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/akkadia.htm)
Great International Word Search (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/greatinternationalwordsearch.htm)

Sim Games
Planet Horse (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/planethorse.htm)
Pony World (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/ponyworld.htm)
Virtual Families (http://www.mygamecompany.com/Products/Other/virtualfamilies.htm)

Hopefully there's something there she will like.

[Eddward]

That sounds pretty good. I was thinking more like she'd get up to grab a drink and come back to find all the babies crying and that she's lost the game.

Also thanks for the list. My son has no problem finding games he likes, but my daughter panics when she plays most games.

[Marleen]

I just read about the Fashion Cents Babies-idea in the newsletter, and I can definitly say my daughters would LOVE it. (And so would I ,but I'm the insatiable type here ; you could probably ge me dressing up lampposts).

http://myblueseven.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/4091064147_86f84967f4_b-225x300.jpg

Not just clothes, (and dress-up clothes, like teddybear- or honeybee-outfits) , but toys, bottles, soothers, and diapers could be great bonusses. And a little more interaction / feedback could be great fun. But , as Eddward stated, it should not become a stress-game where you get 'punished' for being distracted too long. One of the fun things of Fashion Cents is that it is -in the end- just a puzzle.

For younger children scores are not the most important thing, and for older children and adults, it would be fun to collect as many accessoiries as possible on one doll to get your scores up. I see that happening with Gents, where the beard and the occasional ' 10X' - doll give extra opportunities to older / smarter players, but don't ruin the gameplay for the young ones. Just these two small alterations make it a completely different game.

Changing between girls and boys would be a great extra. And yes, girls and babies are a briljant match. Annoying (for mothers ;-) ) babysounds and giggles and guggles (don't forget the burps and farts !) would definitely would definitely make it great fun. I think it could be a succes.

Never as great as Fashion Cents (simply because NO sequal ever outranks a great original), but it could get higher then Gents.

About Gents : my daughter really likes it, but is always asking me for weird clothes : a bum-outfit, a Teletubby-suit (she's actually working on them herself !) , a beerbelly-sweater, a kilt, a birthdaysuit (!)....things to make the guys look totally weird (opposed to the trying to find the best outfit for the girls in the original). Maybe some addons in that are would make the game more attractive ?

[TroyHepfner]

Great feedback, Marleen! Thanks!

[Thurmond]

I guess if Fashion Cents is a good seller, then maybe you should do more dressup games. But I don't play those games and wouldn't buy it. I'd rather see you do more Dirk Dashing games.