Coolest Girl in School Hits the US
Controversial “GTA for Girls” mobile game from Australia now available worldwide.
San Francisco, CA, May 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Due to popular demand Coolest Girl In School will be released internationally today via the website www.coolestgirlinschool.com.
Referred to throughout the mobile game industry as “GTA for Girls” since its release in Australia late last year, Coolest Girl In School caused instant controversy with a tagline that invited teenage girls to “lie, b**ch and flirt your way to the top of the high school ladder.” A number of parental, religious and even feminist groups piled on to condemn the game – many without ever having played it due to its limited availability at the time.
“Now everyone can play,” said Holly Owen, the game’s writer, director and co-producer, with Kukan Studio’s Karyn Lanthois. “The only thing ‘controversial’ about Coolest Girl In School is the fact that it’s the world’s first mobile RPG (role playing game) made specifically for girls.”
And – it was made and produced by two women – Owen and Lanthois.
Unlike other areas of gaming, well over half (59%) of casual mobile gamers are women but very few games are made specifically for female audiences. Even fewer are made by women for women.
Coolest Girl In School takes on that challenge – and delivers. The game’s premise takes the form of a multiple-choice quiz (the kind that regularly populate teen mags) and asks players, adopting one of several typical universal high school girl stereotypes (the Fashionista, the Emo, the Sporto, the Slut), to try and become the Coolest Girl In School through a series of daily high school rituals (ditching class, smoking in the girls room, dating boys (and girls), and observing [“Omigod!”] two teachers making out.
The game has received rave reviews from major international gaming websites including the massively popular gaming portal Gamasutra and the US’s www.1up.com, the gaming community’s bible.
According to Drew Taylor’s Jump Button column in Gamasutra, Coolest Girl is "… a world of high school, period pain, experimentation, fashionistas, average sex and perfect hair…It's one of the great ironies that the game has received such criticism, particularly given the overwhelming volume of male-skewed games that manage to avoid condemnation, despite indulging (often quite graphically) in themes of aggression, misogyny, destruction and power."
1up’s reviewer Andrew Podolsky got a pre-release copy of the game and gave it an A-, and the site explains that "anything we score in the A+ through A- range is considered excellent."
Podolsky said, "Warning, parents! If you see your teenager playing a copy of Coolest Girl in School on their mobile phone, you should take it away from them immediately – so you can play it for yourself!"
“Coolest Girl in School has drawn the battle lines between those who say the game will turn girls into their parents’ worst nightmares, and those who say Coolest Girl allows players to laugh at the fickle nature of high school hierarchies, subvert stereotypes, and most importantly, have fun,” said Karyn Lanthois, whose Kukan Studios in Adelaide, South Australia co-produced the game with Owen.
Last week’s release of Grand Theft Auto IV is likely to renew the comparisons with Coolest Girl In School. About that says Owen, "It’s not GTA for girls -- it’s better."
As of today, the decision goes beyond Australia as the rest of the world can now play, too. Coolest Girl In School is now available for download to your mobile phone in the US from www.coolestgirlinschool.com.
A one-time fee of $7.00 (AUD – approx. $6.60 USD) will be charged. Standard data rates and terms and conditions apply. All information is available on the website prior to downloading at www.coolestgirlinschool.com.
###
For more information:
Coolest Girl In School: www.coolestgirlinschool.com
High-resolution pictures are available for use from www.coolestgirlinschool.com in the Media Gallery.
Champagne for the Ladies: http://www.champagnefortheladies.com/
Kukan Studios: http://kukanstudio.com/
Check out the first of Coolest Girl In School’s YouTube ad campaigns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpUAl4Ox_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHPNhpE-yos
This press release was produced and distributed in the USA for Coolest Girl in School by KazzaDrask Media; http://www.kazzadraskmedia.blogspot.com. KazzaDrask Media combines years of experience in journalism, publishing, marketing & public relations into a formidable agent to tell the world about you, your product, your beliefs, your business. Contact KazzaDrask Media at kazzadrask@yahoo.com or 415-606-2085.
Referred to throughout the mobile game industry as “GTA for Girls” since its release in Australia late last year, Coolest Girl In School caused instant controversy with a tagline that invited teenage girls to “lie, b**ch and flirt your way to the top of the high school ladder.” A number of parental, religious and even feminist groups piled on to condemn the game – many without ever having played it due to its limited availability at the time.
“Now everyone can play,” said Holly Owen, the game’s writer, director and co-producer, with Kukan Studio’s Karyn Lanthois. “The only thing ‘controversial’ about Coolest Girl In School is the fact that it’s the world’s first mobile RPG (role playing game) made specifically for girls.”
And – it was made and produced by two women – Owen and Lanthois.
Unlike other areas of gaming, well over half (59%) of casual mobile gamers are women but very few games are made specifically for female audiences. Even fewer are made by women for women.
Coolest Girl In School takes on that challenge – and delivers. The game’s premise takes the form of a multiple-choice quiz (the kind that regularly populate teen mags) and asks players, adopting one of several typical universal high school girl stereotypes (the Fashionista, the Emo, the Sporto, the Slut), to try and become the Coolest Girl In School through a series of daily high school rituals (ditching class, smoking in the girls room, dating boys (and girls), and observing [“Omigod!”] two teachers making out.
The game has received rave reviews from major international gaming websites including the massively popular gaming portal Gamasutra and the US’s www.1up.com, the gaming community’s bible.
According to Drew Taylor’s Jump Button column in Gamasutra, Coolest Girl is "… a world of high school, period pain, experimentation, fashionistas, average sex and perfect hair…It's one of the great ironies that the game has received such criticism, particularly given the overwhelming volume of male-skewed games that manage to avoid condemnation, despite indulging (often quite graphically) in themes of aggression, misogyny, destruction and power."
1up’s reviewer Andrew Podolsky got a pre-release copy of the game and gave it an A-, and the site explains that "anything we score in the A+ through A- range is considered excellent."
Podolsky said, "Warning, parents! If you see your teenager playing a copy of Coolest Girl in School on their mobile phone, you should take it away from them immediately – so you can play it for yourself!"
“Coolest Girl in School has drawn the battle lines between those who say the game will turn girls into their parents’ worst nightmares, and those who say Coolest Girl allows players to laugh at the fickle nature of high school hierarchies, subvert stereotypes, and most importantly, have fun,” said Karyn Lanthois, whose Kukan Studios in Adelaide, South Australia co-produced the game with Owen.
Last week’s release of Grand Theft Auto IV is likely to renew the comparisons with Coolest Girl In School. About that says Owen, "It’s not GTA for girls -- it’s better."
As of today, the decision goes beyond Australia as the rest of the world can now play, too. Coolest Girl In School is now available for download to your mobile phone in the US from www.coolestgirlinschool.com.
A one-time fee of $7.00 (AUD – approx. $6.60 USD) will be charged. Standard data rates and terms and conditions apply. All information is available on the website prior to downloading at www.coolestgirlinschool.com.
###
For more information:
Coolest Girl In School: www.coolestgirlinschool.com
High-resolution pictures are available for use from www.coolestgirlinschool.com in the Media Gallery.
Champagne for the Ladies: http://www.champagnefortheladies.com/
Kukan Studios: http://kukanstudio.com/
Check out the first of Coolest Girl In School’s YouTube ad campaigns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpUAl4Ox_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHPNhpE-yos
This press release was produced and distributed in the USA for Coolest Girl in School by KazzaDrask Media; http://www.kazzadraskmedia.blogspot.com. KazzaDrask Media combines years of experience in journalism, publishing, marketing & public relations into a formidable agent to tell the world about you, your product, your beliefs, your business. Contact KazzaDrask Media at kazzadrask@yahoo.com or 415-606-2085.
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Coolest Girl In School
Kathy Drasky
415-606-2085
www.coolestgirlinschool.com
Kathy Drasky
415-606-2085
www.coolestgirlinschool.com
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