Among the presentations at this year’s Ubidays event was Ubisoft’s family-friendly, casual (read: Wii and DS) line of games for fun, productivity, and personal health. New entries in the “Games for Everyone“ lineup were cheerfully described for Ubidays attendees (and online voyeurs) by Pauline Jacquey, an executive director for Ubisoft. The company confirmed that, yes, we’ll be spending more time with animals with “z” in their names (or namez), but we can look forward to a few other diversions as well.
Ms. Jacquey, reminding us that “pleasure is the best way to learn,” revealed a few new additions to the “My Coach” series of DS titles. Now, more than simply promoting polyglotism, Ubisoft will be promoting health and weight loss, with entries such as “My Health Coach,” and even a DS title involving Allen Carr designed to help a player quit smoking. I have some very worrying visions of a lit cigarette being used as a stylus. Is there really a major market of smokers who figure the DS is their key to going cold turkey? I suppose I shouldn’t talk; I did buy Wii Fit, after all.
Jacquey also promised more female-friendly gaming with new additions to the “Just For Girls” line, particularly in the “Imagine” department. Young ladies can look forward to using their DS as a private diary, organizer, and friend-connecting tool in “Imagine My Secret World.”
I don’t think I’m exactly the target audience for a single game in this particular Ubisoft division, which I guess means I don’t count as “everyone.” But, as Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated at the conclusion of today’s presentation, the Games for Everyone line is doing quite nicely, expanding the company’s audience into vast, untapped markets. More power to them, I say. When you’ve had a long day of assassinating people and shooting up Las Vegas, sometimes you just need to come home and pet some bunnyz.
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