THQ has signed another deal that spans several years. Following its multi-year agreement to develop and publish SpongeBob SquarePants games, THQ has announced it and Mattel have sealed a similar deal. THQ now has exclusive rights to develop and publish games that bear Mattel’s branding such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price toys. These games will appear on consoles, social networks, handhelds and PC.

A brand new Barbie doll has made her debut at the 2010 Toy Fair in New York this year – computer engineer Barbie! Mattel conducted a vote among Barbie fans on Facebook and Twitter, asking them to help decide what Barbie’s should do for her 125th job. There were four choices – architect, computer engineer, environmentalist, news anchor and surgeon. Computer engineer and new anchor received the most votes, so her 125th job will be as a techie and her 126th as an anchor. A price hasn’t been announced for either the computer engineer or news anchor Barbie, but Mattel did confirm that both dolls would be released in Fall 2010.

The computer engineer Barbie looks like, well, take a look to your right. She’s bespectacled, clad in a multicolor shirt that looks like it’s showing a visual representation of a social network with binary code in the background, awkwardly carrying a laptop on her arm and armed with a phone and bluetooth earpiece. She’s also wearing a white vest with blue collar and magenta piping that would look better on a fast food attendant than a computer technician.

Honestly, I think she looks more like a telemarketer than a computer technician…

Barbie just can’t get a break. Mattel has been unveiling a line of Superhero themed dolls – among them Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl, but the Barbie iteration of Black Canary has gotten heat from conservative groups. Their complaint? That the doll is too sexually suggestive and constitutes “filth” according to Christian Voice, a…

It always is both humorous and enlightening to visit a major retailer and discover what games they decide are appropriate for girls. In the case of Toys R Us the selection can be viewed from the comfort of your home. This takes away some of the fun of mocking the titles with friends, but also more »