Barbie was one of the most popular movies to release and 2023’s highest-grossing. The movie starred the effervescent Margot Robbie as one of the many titular characters and Ryan Gosling as one of the many iterations of Ken.
One disappointment many movie fans faced was that it wasn’t credited at the 2024 Oscars. While it received eight nominations, it could only bag one win. Despite the alleged snub, some fans are wondering if the IP could now expand into the video game industry.
Barbie Video Games Aren’t Something Novel
Barbie has always been one of the most popular IPs, even long before the Greta Gerwig-directed movie came out in 2023. The IP is one of the most recognized fashion dolls, has been around for over 60 years, and is owned by Mattel. Video games based on the IP have been released earlier, too; while they were not immensely popular, they had a niche audience.
Many notable publishers even published them in the industry, like THQ and Activision, but due to many factors, they weren’t as polished or as deep as one would expect after the film’s launch. There are many reasons for this, but one of the primary ones was the lack of substance in the titles.
This was because Barbie, in the titles, was permanently restricted to doing stereotypically feminine tasks that didn’t appeal to every person who was part of the target audience of video games. This led to the IP diminishing from the industry and only staying restricted to mobile releases.
This means that since video games based on the toy were not as popular, they were produced by some of the biggest names in the industry, admittedly with many limiting and stereotypical factors. If those limiting factors were to be looked after and the newfound hype around the IP was capitalized, a video game based on the doll could be successful.
Feasibility of a Barbie Video Game
While there is no doubt that the IP’s popularity has gained since the 2023 film’s release, which has been massive and has done wonders for the brand image, releasing a video game based on it might not be that simple.
While the gaming industry has taken a step toward inclusion, there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, stereotypical depictions of women in gaming are still ubiquitous, and that speaks volumes about the target audience as well as the culture in the industry.
Since movie tie-in games are, by all means, considered a thing of the past in the industry, a direct one-to-one adaptation of the movie is also infeasible. One can only hope that a competent writer develops a deep and engaging narrative to support the beautiful message that Barbie, as an IP, now possesses the means to deliver.
Would you like a new Barbie game? Let us know in the comments!
