Xbox has its own nail polish as gaming beauty deals grow

WHILE gamers have grown accustomed to advertisements for snacks like Doritos and beverages like Mountain Dew, the marketing deals that some companies are striking these days look a bit different.

Beyond just producing actionpacked trailers where the Call of Duty character Adler sips Mountain Dew Game Fuel against a backdrop of explosions, companies like Xbox and Nintendo are now releasing beauty products like nail polish and eyeshadow for gamers.

Last week, Xbox announced a partnership with OPI, one of the most popular nail polish brands. The deal, announced last week, brings new nail polish colours named after gaming references to cosmetics stores.

OPI decided the seasonal colours, and Xbox worked with the company to come up with shade names like “Achievement Unlocked” and “Heart and Con-soul” to reference gaming culture. For their purchases, gamers can unlock in-game content in Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite.

The unusual collaboration has raised eyebrows on social media, with some Internet users praising the creative design, and others expressing confusion or dismay over the idea.

While many of the most famous and recurring gaming partnerships, including fast food and energy drink brands, are aimed at men ages 18 to 30, the billiondollar gaming and beauty industries have increasingly teamed up in recent years.

Colorpop, a California-based cosmetics brand, worked with

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing franchise last January to release eyeshadow palettes and glittery gold gel reminiscent of the island’s in-game currency, Bells.

Xbox previously worked with Mac Cosmetics last October to create three Halloween looks, recreating characters from Sea of Thieves, Psychonauts and Halo.

“We’re in this moment of really overcoming that idea of the gamer being just that one demographic, that preconceived notion of the gamer being in the basement, and usually a man, 18 to 30-something,” said Marcos Waltenberg, global partnerships director at Xbox.

“It’s much more than that. We’re now tasked with talking to a lot more people than we used to as a company, a few years ago.”

Last March, the L'oréal-owned make-up company NYX launched a limited edition Tetris make-up collection, including an eyeshadow palette, lip glosses and lip liners.

In January 2020, Benefit Cosmetics, which makes brow and mascara products, partnered with the esports company Gen.g to produce online shows about women esports players and streamers.

Sephora and other make-up companies have invested in augmented reality to allow people to try on products like lipstick and eyeshadow remotely more easily. Too Faced, a make-up brand owned by Estée Lauder, released an eyeshadow palette in the shape of a gamepad on December 2020 with shade names like “Easter Egg” and “Cheat Code”.

For OPI, collaborating with Xbox was a chance to reach a younger audience – Gen Z gamers. Over half of young women aged 14 to 21 are gamers, according to a 2018 survey conducted by The Post and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Among teens and young adult competitive gamers, 39% are female.

OPI said that not only were many gamers women, but nail polish users could be men. It sees the deal as appealing to women gamers and also to Xbox’s male audience.

Most of the Xbox and OPI nail polish shades have already sold out online. Analysts said these collaborations are aimed at attracting a broader audience to games and to reinforce to gamers that companies know what they like.

While the Xbox and OPI partnership was greeted by some players with excitement, others online were sceptical and questioned if Xbox knew its target audience. Waltenberg said that Xbox takes online harassment and negative comments seriously and moderates the feedback it receives.

| The Washington Post