You can now add “Video game megastar” to Kim Kardashian’s portfolio. Launching just a few weeks back, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood has shocked the gaming industry with it’s overnight success. It’s actually done so well that it’s boosted the share price of the company behind it, Glu Mobile, by 50% according to reports.
What does this mean in terms of cold hard cash?? Kim Kardashian’s app game is set to rake in around $200 MILLION , an unprecedented figure for a game of this type. What makes it so incredible though, is just how basic and shamelessly aimed at promoting the idea of “golddiggers” the game is. The app’s own description reads “DATE AND DUMP CELEBS at the best parties and hottest clubs! Flirt and become the next huge celebrity power-couples!” which isn’t exactly the kind of positive message young girls should be bombarded with.
Sadly though, this seems to be why its become a phenomenon amongst the 8-15 year old girl market, as most games aimed at kids that age have some kind of educational or preachy moral narrative to them.
As BGR.com puts it; “The dark truth of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is that it openly promotes and revels in the idea that girls can gain status and money by sexually enticing men with power. This isn’t a subtext in the game – it is its essence and main selling point, gleefully magnified by the marketing material.”
The game is whats known as a “freemium” game, whereby it’s free to play but offers loads of in-app purchases, designed to make you spend much more after you’re already hooked on it. Whether or not Kim had a hand in the content of the game remains to be seen, but for now, with the game taking the app store charts by storm, expect to see more celeb based games like this. We can only hope some will have a better message for what young women should strive for.
(Images and source – BGR, Business insider, Apple, Glu, tumblr)
