Codemasters brings fantasy horse collecting Bella Sara to DS
The DS as virtual nose bag trend gallops apace
Anyone who's recently been into a game shop will know that the DS and horse-based games for young girls seem to go together like... well, horses and young girls.
The problem for publishers however is that there's only so many generic horse-based games you can release before the market becomes completely saturated by me-too horsey and indeed me-too horsey 2 titles. And so the rush for brands begins.
Codemasters has gone straight to the top with Bella Sara. The card-based horse collection property for girls aged between 5 to 12 has sold 40 million cards in less than two years and now also boasts a web-based portal with 2 million registered members, where you can activate a virtual version of the fairy-tale horses, as well as enjoying assorted other activities such as customisable cottages, puzzles, colouring books and interactive stories.
So, building on that sort of love and recognition, Codemasters will be working with Bella Sara's creators, the Seattle-based Hidden City Games, to make a DS (and PC) version of the experience where you'll be able to ride, care for, accessorise and trade the horses with friends while discovering secret items and exclusive cards that you can activate via the website.
Presumably Codemasters will also be seeking to highlight the positive and inspirational messages - such as 'Beauty comes from within' or 'Be the hero in your own story' - that underpin the Bella Sara experience. A little corny for European tastes perhaps but as biology suggests we've never been a tweenage girl, so we're hardly experts in such psychology.
Bella Sara for DS is scheduled for release sometime during winter 2008.
