Barbie (1984 video game)

Barbie is a 1984 video game for the Commodore 64 published by Epyx. It is a simulation game in which players help the Mattel doll Barbie dress up to go on dates with Ken by visiting boutique stores and selecting clothes and accessories. The game was the first licensed software depicting the doll, and was marketed by San Francisco publisher Epyx alongside a series of titles labelled Computer Activity Toys, which were the first series of toy-licensed titles to be published for computer software. The game also notably uses speech samples, which were uncommon in Commodore software at the time. Upon release, Barbie was not commercially successful, which the publisher attributed to limited funds and support for marketing and advertising. The game received mixed reviews, with critics praising the game's visual design and use of speech, but critiquing the limited gameplay options and considering the game was consumerist and sexist in nature.