Jacquart, in a video interview, made a point of explaining that "no one wants to be a bimbo in real life," but then said that it's acceptable to be one in a virtual scenario (exactly why this is has yet to be explained). Of course, the game's founders have been quick to defend their product. If the company behind Miss Bimbo is found guilty of violating these guidelines, it could face up to £250,000 in fines. This may be because the UK site is under investigation by a watchdog group for possibly flouting legal guidelines regarding youth exploitation and marketing inappropriate material towards children. When the site does load, there is a message from the developers on the front page claiming that the game will be down for an undetermined period as they work to accommodate the server demand brought on by recent media attention, as well as the fact that they are adjusting their product's play features. While the official Miss Bimbo website has been alternately very slow to load or completely unresponsive for-at least-the past 24 hours, its sister site in France is still going strong. In spite of this dubious business practice, it's one that's obviously successful: the French game has over 1.2 million members, and the UK version has attracted over 200,000 players so far. Last year, a man in France threatened to sue the developers when he discovered his daughter has racked up roughly $200 in phone charges by sending a number of the pricey text messages in order to increase her character's resources. That's enough to push Miss Bimbo into "extremely offensive" territory, but it's not the only thing about the game which is raising people's hackles: when players run out of "Bimbo Dollars" (used to purchase items and accomplish tasks like going to the game's plastic surgery clinic for breast enhancement surgery), the game apparently requires them to either send £1.50 text messages-or send cash via PayPal-in order to replenish the in-game funds and continue playing. The purpose of Miss Bimbo is for players to create a virtual "bimbo," help her maintain an ideal appearance (with the help of diet pills and plastic surgery, of course), then buy her presents and send her out partying in order to compete with other players. Unsurprisingly, the game is generating an increasing amount of controversy, thanks in large part to the fact that it's being marketed towards young women.
Created by Nicolas Jacquart, the game was originally appeared in France last year as Ma Bimbo and then launched in its current incarnation during February 2008. A new web browser game, Miss Bimbo, is simultaneously sweeping the internet, angering parents and watchdog groups alike, and apparently teaching young women that diets and plastic surgery are necessary tools for achieving happiness in life.
0 kommentar(er)
