> I find it interesting that Singles is being
> packaged two ways, a pink box (girls)
> and a blue box (boys). From a marketing
> standpoint, I'm not sure that this is a
> great move (it might confuse the consumer)

I am sure the consumer is smart enough to understand the packaging concept. It is time to stop treating the customer, user, vistor, player as an 3rd grader.

This is the same "dumb" public who understands the "collectable series" covers on TV guide featuring 4 different covers for the same issue. This is the same "dumb" public that for years got dumbed down websites, but is leading the charge in DVD writing and authoring. The same "dumb" public who has mastered the MP3. The same dumb public that has popularized the open ended, but more complex game style of GTA3 and THUG.

On some level, we are all considered "dumb" consumers by some professional somewhere, but I know I am not dumb.

I don't know. You mention Black & White in the article, and I think the same problem could apply. While the Sims was about home building and materialism, it sounds like this game has a watered-down home aspect and sex. Sure, after the first few minutes sex would be fun and all. But then, much like Black & White, I think it'd get very boring, very fast, espcially in the context of having only 12 people.

If it were up to Take 2 Interactive, this game would be called Adulterers. Sorry, lame joke, but I couldn't resist.

Sounds like this pretty much mirrors the dating game genre the japanese have. I wonder if you could categorize each country for their sex games as you can for their sexual tendancies in real life. Germans are supposed to be the kinky, no blushing type. Singles sounds voyeuristic enough to qualify that in my book. I don't know what the Americans or Japanese are supposed to be. Americans would be the action movie type? Every good love story needs some violence (Romeo & Juliet style)? Japanese are about subtlety and closet freak, I think. :) There's plenty of clean dating fun, then there's plenty of OMG tentacle death rape.

I'm hoping this is indicative of a move towards more sexually active game characters. For too long the sexuality of games has run around the PG level (while the violence has long since mired itself comfortably in R), scantily clad but celibate. Either that or it's a porn title. There doesn't seem to be a mature medium.

I find it ironic that I get more action than even the most libidinous game hero. I could be misremembering, but I don't think even James Bond gets laid in his games. Max Payne 2 was touted as a love story, did Max ever get busy in that one?

Ken: Way back in the days of the NES, the first Golgo 13 game (Golgo being, basically, the Japanese James Bond) had G13 getting busy in every level. It completely refilled your heath, too, as I recall. You could also regain health by smoking cigarettes.

Although I didn't play it, I believe the second, and higher profile, NES Golgo 13 game implied sex at a point between two levels.

Mature? Not really, but it wasn't hyped up either. It was just there, take it or leave it.

::The same dumb public that has popularized the open ended, but more complex game style of GTA3 and THUG.

On some level, we are all considered "dumb" consumers by some professional somewhere, but I know I am not dumb.::

I know you would like to think that everyone is as smart as you (which is novel because most people would like to think that no one is as smart as them) but it just really isn't true. We all have some susceptability to subconscious cues (even you) in which other people can pull our strings. If that means that seperating their market into blue boxes and pink boxes is more appealing to those segments, then so be it. As long as the game is the same, whats wrong with that?

Do you think everyone plays GTA3 for the "complex game style"? Hell no. Only us gamers play it for that. Everyone else plays it to shoot innocents and "be bad."

On this same topic, I actually saw another sim based game which took place in a law office. I'm guessing it's tapping into the public's strange fascination with Law and Order because I can't think of any other way to make this sort of fake work appealing.

Phincus: I remember that game. It was an attempt to captialize on the popularity of The Sims and Ally McBeal without the license of either. Unfortunately, the game play just wasn't there, and it returned to the ether from whence it came making nary a ripple.

Max Payne 2 was touted as a love story, did Max ever get busy in that one?

Yes, he did. One of the comic book sequences featured a sex scene between Mona and Max. It didn't have any nudity, but it did have, uhm, sounds. Fairly tasteful though, at least as tasteful as you can get in a video game.

Viewtiful Joe came in a choice of yellow or pink boxes, for no real reason. To be honest, I was a little confused when I went to go and buy it, until I saw a big sticker on the product saying that both boxes contained the same version.

It's only common sense. If something comes in the same box as something else, they're probably the same. If it comes in a different box, they're probably different. That's how my mind works, anyway.

Exactly, one could think that the blue box is with lesbians getting it on, and the pink one with gay guys getting it on. You never know, unless you read it somewhere... I'd be safe and get the blue one though.

Exactly, one could think that the blue box is with lesbians getting it on, and the pink one with gay guys getting it on. You never know, unless you read it somewhere... I'd be safe and get the blue one though.

nice`

how do i download this Game lol