Title: Pop Cutie! Street Fashion SimulationPrice: $29.99System(s): DSRelease Date: October 6, 2008Publisher (Developer): Koei (Koei)ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for alcohol reference and mild suggestive themesPros: Lots of outfit customization options, interesting premise, lots of replay value, interesting NPCsCons: Customers (and employees) can be impatient and stupid, there is a noticeable slow down when an area is heavily populated.Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, **** 1/2 out of 5

Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation is a hidden gem. It didn’t arrive on the DS with a huge fanfare, and appears fairly unassuming, but is really a wonderful way to spend a day. It combines a store management simulation with a keyword collection aspect that will keep players’ attention even after they’ve beaten the game and become the top designer.

Don’t be fooled by its appearance and title. Pop Cutie may look and sound like a game for girls, but once you start playing, you’ll see it is a gender neutral simulation that anyone can enjoy. I highly recommend simulation fans take a chance on Koei’s fashion designer game.

Koei has decided to release its DS fashion simulation game, That’s QT outside of Japan! This is great news, as it was a fun and engaging shop management game with stylish characters. The game will be released in North America as POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation sometime in September, 2008. The goal of the game is to slowly establish yourself as a designer, creating clothes from buzzwords found in conversations with potential customers and then selling them in your shop.

When you first start out in POP CUTIE!, the character is basically running his/her shop out of a closet. You have to create designs people want, hire models to walk the streets in your clothes, design your shop, wear your clothes, hire workers, place ads for different items in fashion magazines and compete against opposing designers in shows. You can also face off against friends who also own the game, to see whose clothes are better.