At first glance, Littlest Pet Shop would appear to be geared toward little girls exclusively. With the pastel colors and doe-eyed animals and gentle nature of the game, it’s a far cry from the knock-’em-down, shoot-’em-up games that little boys often gravitate toward. It also doesn’t seem much like the sort of game that would appeal to teens.
But based on the feedback from our reviewers, Littlest Pet Shop - by Electronic Arts for both the Nintendo DS and Wii - is a hit with everyone. From the boys who used to fight over Mario Kart to the mom who sneaks into her daughters’ room to play with their DS, we’ve found that Littlest Pet Shop has universal appeal.
Of course, it’s a clear favorite among little girls: “[It's] full of fun, girly things to delight my eight year old who seems to be the perfect age for this game since there is reading involved.” And mothers appreciate its wholesomeness as well: “I love this DS game because it bridges her two worlds. She often plays the game on the DS and then goes to play with her physical Littlest Pet Shop animals.” This same mother, who has a seven year old daughter, went on to comment: “Games like Littlest Pet Shop are perfect for my purposes - rather than pushing boy craziness and music - they remind her of how fun play is, and let her continue to develop her imagination with free play.”
Boys loved Littlest Pet Shop too though. One mother admitted: “I was a little concerned that my [nine year old] son would think this game was too “girly” for his tastes.” Another mother countered: “I wasn’t concerned with the stereotype that Littlest Pet Shop is only for girls because it isn’t. Deer and zebras are manly, yes? (Okay, they have wide adorable eyes, but my boys love ‘em all the same.)”
But the sons of both these mothers loved the game. As the first mother noted: “My son, in a word, LOVES it. I tried to get him to think of some constructive criticism and he couldn’t think of one thing. He told me that it was one of his most favorite games ever.” And yet another mother reported: “Mister “I’m too cool for this” older brother had to begrudgingly admit that it was “a really fun game”!”
This blogger was completely blown away that both her tween and teen girls enjoyed Littlest Pet Shop: “[It's] a game my tween daughter loved right out of the box. But the reason I give this game a double thumbs up is because my teen daughter plays it too!” She went on to say that “it’s nice to see my girls playing a game that doesn’t involve violence or aliens…I love the fact Littlest Pet Shop is about little animals, collecting your own little pets and caring for your pets. It’s nice to see girls playing a game that is about taking care of living things, instead of shooting aliens.”
In fact, several mothers extrapolated these game-based lessons to real-life pet ownership. One noted that: “Another favorite thing about this game? [My son] is much kinder to our dog because he understands that pets need love and care.” Another agreed: “If your kids like the idea of a pet, but might not be ready for the real-life responsibility of taking care of one, Littlest Pet Shop might be a good option.”
The kids learn about pet ownership via Littlest Pet Shop because that’s what the game is all about - owning and caring for pets: “The game starts out with three pets and as my daughter fed, dressed, and played with each one she earned a ticket to take the train to adopt another pet.” Of course it’s fun to choose names and outfits for the animals, but the games are really cool too: “Color Craze is [my son'] favorite. He loves to color pictures of his pets using the stylus. He also liked playing Toss N Pop because he could throw darts at a wall of balloons. I liked the Hide N Seek game. It’s fun to watch the pets hide behind bushes and then try to find them.” The mother who plays with her daughters’ DS commented: “The graphics are so cute, I can’t resist the opportunity to dress these little critters up!”
It seems that Littlest Pet Shop doesn’t have an upper age limit, but what about the littlest players? A Nintendo DS owner reported that: “My 4 year old has some trouble playing independently as parts of the game require reading but my new reader (6 going on 7) has rarely needed me to help her figure out what she needs to do.” A Nintendo Wii owner found that the remote was the limiting factor for her little girl: “I would say that this game is really best for children ages five and up who have learned to use the remote.” Even so, she was impressed that “the Nintendo Wii is sure picking up on that untapped market by releasing just a ton of games meant for younger players.”
And Littlest Pet Shop really does seem to be a game that spans age ranges and genders. This mother summed up its appeal quite well: “I honestly think this is a game that could be great for the whole family. Small children could easily understand it and older children and even adults can have fun exploring the worlds and playing the games.”
More reviews of Littlest Pet Shop coming up! And don’t forget about the Blog Blast on December 5 - if you haven’t yet signed up for our subscriber list (so that you can be notified of upcoming Blog Blasts, of course), now’s the perfect time since you could also win a $25 gift certificate to Posh Peacock!
Wednesday, 11/26 - Radioactive Reviews (DS) and Midwestern Mommy (Wii)
Monday, 12/1 - Slouching Mom (DS), This Full House (DS)
Tuesday, 12/2 - Mom to the Screaming Masses (DS), Modern Mamma Marvels (Wii)
Wednesday, 12/3 - Mother Bumper (DS), Three Kid Circus (Wii)
Thursday, 12/4 - Mother May I (both DS and Wii)
Friday, 12/5 - Round-Up Review and Blog Blast on PBN
![[Bloglines]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[Kaboodle]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/kaboodle.png)
![[kirtsy]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/kirtsy.png)
![[Slashdot]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/slashdot.png)
![[Squidoo]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/squidoo.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Technorati]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://blog.parentbloggers.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Tags: blogger reviews, kids games, Littlest pet shop, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Video Games
[...] read more of what they’re saying about Littlest Pet Shop for Wii & [...]