The world of BarbieGirls itself is a cross between The Sims and virtual paper doll site Stardoll, two properties that have been enormously successful at attracting female players. With BarbieGirls, Mattel hopes to cash in on something that the game community has known for some time: Little girls love online games. A much more limited free-to-play version remains available, but the majority of the game’s features and activities are now limited to V.I.P. After a yearlong open beta trial, BarbieGirls recently became one of the first toy-based virtual worlds to adopt a subscription-based revenue model (“BarbieGirls V.I.P.,” available at a cost of $5.99 per month as of June, 2008). Since its launch in April 2007, has attracted over 14 million members and proclaimed itself the “fastest growing virtual world in history.” According to Mattel’s press releases, the site attracts 45,000 new members every day, 85 percent of which are 8- to 15-year-old girls. In addition to a highly profitable series of direct-to-DVD animated movies, top-ranking websites and a stable of videogames, Barbie is now at the center of one of the most successful children’s virtual worlds to date. The doll’s reincarnation as a media brand is a big driving force behind her continued longevity. Despite the fact that sales of Barbie dolls have steadily declined for nearly a decade (with some analysts estimating a 27 percent drop between 20 alone), Barbie recently ranked first on the NPD Group’s list of top-selling toy licenses.
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