Activision Heads Mainstream with Barbie

While Electronic Arts moves away from Hollywood-licensed games and big brands, Activision is embracing them. On the heels of its acquisition of the James Bond license from MGM and Danjaq (a license that EA dropped), Activision adds Barbie to its stable. The Santa Monica-based game publisher will distribute Barbie videogame for several years, having inked a deal with Mattel. The first five games in the deal will focus on the latest Barbie movie DVD releases from Mattel Entertainment like "The Barbie Diaries" for PC and Game Boy Advance and "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" for PC, GBA and PlayStation 2. Activision will also distribute games based on past Barbie title like "Barbie Fashion Show," "Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus" and "Barbie Beauty Boutique."

Barbie has had a tumultuous history in games. Game makers like Havas, Vivendi Universal Games, Knowledge Adventure and Mattel Interactive have all released Barbie games over the past decade. Despite the round robin publihers, Barbie game sales have topped 15 million units. Activision seems like the best-positioned publisher to grow this brand. Just look at what the game giant has done with the Tony Hawk brand over the years.

Another intereting factor with Barbie is that Activision can help grow the female gaming audience with these games, especially on the console front. According to the Entertainment Software Association, half of all gamers are female. The best way to attract new girls to gaming is through brands they grew up with. The fact that Barbie DVDs have been best-sellers in recent years is also a plus for the gaming side.

Taking a look at the bigger picture, Activision is clearly aiming for the mass market with its licenses. Barbie joins the aforementioned Tony Hawk and comic brands like X-Men, Spider-Man and Marvel. Activision is already taking Tony Hawk and Marvel games to next gen. Jame Bond is likely to debut on next gen, as well. These are the types of games that can cross over the gaming audience, attracting both the casual and hardcore gamers.

There's still a huge mass market PS2 audience that Barbie can tap into and the handhelds and PC also are ripe for lower-priced branded entertainment. Activision isn't abandoning these outlet with its Hollywood and mass market brands, either, which is smart. Publishers were too quick to jump ship during the last console transition.