Hair Salon

The DSi has been on the market since March this year, and while there are games in development that use the unique functionality of its two cameras, we’re yet to see a boxed retail product that has been made exclusively for the new handheld – until now.

505 Games is currently putting the finishing touches to Hair Salon, a game for girls that can only be played with the DSi thanks to camera-centric mechanics. The game’s release means the Cooking Mama publisher has beaten rival software houses – including even Nintendo – to market with the industry’s first DSi-only title, something the firm is very proud of.

“Hair Salon for Nintendo DSi is a key title for 505 Games this Christmas season,” says product manager Emily Bryce-Williams. “We are the one of the first publishers to take full advantage of the new market opportunity the DSi offers – Nintendo has confirmed that Hair Salon will be the first DSi-exclusive title to be released in Europe.”

Like many titles on the DS, the game has been developed with young girls in mind, giving them the chance to open a salon and turn it into a successful business. Players progress through the main campaign by creating new hairstyles and mastering the art of make-up in order to keep a string of customers happy.

The game uses the touch screen to apply and adjust make up or cut and style hair, with enough options to make a possible 15,000 fashionable combinations available. Girls can even save up to five of the best creations, and swap them with other Hair Salon players.

Of course the big selling point is the camera functionality. Hair Salon allows players to take a picture of their face, allowing them to experiment with hairstyles and make-up to discover great new looks for themselves. Again, images taken in this mode and the subsequent combinations can be shared wirelessly.

“The game’s defining feature is its DSi content: the ability to take your picture and style your hair and make-up in real time on your own image,” says Bryce-Williams. “Hair Salon is also the first game to use the ‘automatic face recognition’ functionality afforded by the DSi unit. This is a under-utilised technical innovation that will automatically take a user’s picture once their face is in shot ensuring a perfect picture every time.”

505 Games is working hard to promote Hair Salon as the first DSi-only game, with the publisher’s primary marketing drive focusing on trade customers and PR media partners. These partnerships represent 505’s most direct communication channel to the DSi userbase, and it is through PR that the game’s unique features will be communicated most effectively to the target audience.

“Being first to market with a DSi-exclusive release is a major advantage,” says Bryce-Williams. “It gives us a undisputed unique selling point against all the other offerings. This is a fact Nintendo has acknowledged and rewarded us with dedicated online exposure. This recognition is also being reflected amongst consumers.”