March 22, 2010 - If you're an avid online gamer chances are you sign onto, say, Xbox Live most nights and jump into a game of Modern Warfare or Gears of War with either your friends or some random players. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the majority of gamers you encounter are dudes, and probably immature dudes at that. What if you could pay a bit of cash to play Modern Warfare with an attractive girl? Or maybe relax with a casual game of checkers while you video chat with said female? A new social service launching tomorrow, March 23, called GameCrush (
www.GameCrush.com) is hoping there are gamers out there willing to pay for the opportunity to play with girls.
On GameCrush, guys are Players and girls are PlayDates. Players pay to play and PlayDates get paid to play. Guys can browse PlayDate profiles (there are currently around 1,200), view photos, and even chat with girls for free. Publicityhazard's turn ons include vibrating controllers, for instance, and is turned off by three red lights. Once you find a gal you fancy you send her a game invite and if she accepts you get six to ten minutes of one-on-one gaming time. PlayDates have the ability to block any guy they want for any reason. When the service launches tomorrow it will only support the Xbox 360 and a few casual games hosted on the GameCrush website, but there are plans to add PlayStation 3, Wii, and World of Warcraft support as soon as possible.
You must be 18 or over to create a GameCrush account -- it's being touted as the first social site for adult gamers. It's not an explicitly explicit service, but PlayDates set their gaming mood to either "flirty" or "dirty." What the two of you chat about is entirely up to you. Signing up is free, but you must purchase credits in order to get your game on. For $8.25 you get 500 credits, which is enough for one game (400 credits) and a 100 credit tip at the end. An Xbox Live game will last 10 minutes, while a casual Flash game will get you six minutes of face time with your PlayDate. That's literal face time, because you can video chat with your lady while playing a casual Flash game. Again, what goes on in that video chat is up to you and your PlayDate. GameCrush says it modeled its pricing structure after the cost of buying a girl a drink at a bar. In a bar, you're basically buying the opportunity to chat a girl up. GameCrush is hoping players will look at their service the same way.
Playing a GameCrush casual game couldn't be easier: once she accepts your invite the game begins right in your browser and the video chat window opens. But when playing an Xbox 360 game you'll need to find her gamertag on Xbox Live (PlayDates are encouraged to set up a unique gamertag just for use with GameCrush) and send her another invite. Likely because your attention won't be on your computer monitor, there is no video chat during an Xbox game. The service isn't integrated within Xbox Live -- you browse profiles, chat with girls, and set up games all from within the GameCrush website. Then you have to set up your Xbox Live game yourself.
After a session you can rate your PlayDate on her hotness, gaming skill, and flirtiness. The highest-rated girls will receive preferred placement on the site. GameCrush is assembling a team of its most highly regarded PlayDates called JaneCrush, which should be similar to Ubisoft's Fragdolls. Members of JaneCrush will generate content for the site like blogs and editorials. GameCrush wants to turn its most popular girls into gaming stars.
PlayDates aren't on the GameCrush staff; they are like independent contractors. Any girl can sign up, so you're going to find a wide variety of gaming and flirting skills. These are (mostly) regular girls and they don't receive any sort of training on how to act or what to say. During an early demo of the service I played a couple casual games with PlayDate Ambibambi23. She was a nice girl (and totally kicked my ass in both pool and Battleship, btw) but her boyfriend was hanging out behind her and she made mention of him a couple times. Her game mood is set to "flirty," but there was zero flirting going on. I can imagine some guys might be disappointed if they paid to play with a girl, only to hear her go on and on about her boyfriend -- and even have to see the guy during a video chat. I gave Ambibambi23 high marks for her gaming skill but dinged her for her lack of flirtiness.
Adamma's English could be hotter.PlayDates keep 60 percent of the cash they bring in. To find its girls, GameCrush posted a Craigslist ad looking for ladies who want to get paid to play videogames. The response was enormous and there are currently around 1,200 registered PlayDates. Browsing the site, though, you'll come across many suspect profiles. Adamma here, for instance, says "I was born in Russia and come to UK 5 years ago. I am different to other girls. OK, all girls think that. But, where else can you find beauty, sophistication, fun and charm, all in one deliciously wrapped package? And I love to PLAY GAMES...I I'm sure to set your pulse racing. I like the good things in life and always expect to be treated like a lady. I take you away from the stress and strain of everyday life. Look no further."
Because it's free for girls to sign up and there is no vetting process, the service is bound to get some shady ladies. But, from what we can tell, most of the girls on the service genuinely like to play games and are simply interested in getting paid for it.
The four 360 games available at the moment are Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Halo 3. As for the casual lineup, right now you can play no-frills versions of stuff like checkers, pool, and Battleship. GameCrush says its casual offerings should improve soon.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about GameCrush is that no one else thought of it sooner. I have no doubt there are many gamers out there who would be willing to pay a little cash to play and flirt with hot girls, the only question is whether or not GameCrush is offering the right features for the right price. You can check out the site (
www.GameCrush.com) for yourself and start browsing profiles tomorrow night -- or sign up to be a PlayDate, if you're a gamer girl.
