''Bonsai Barber'' is a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

simulation A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Zoonami Zoonami was a video game development company, founded in 1998 by Martin Hollis, the director and producer of '' GoldenEye 007''. He left Rare shortly before ''Perfect Dark'' was released while other members of the ''GoldenEye 007'' team forme ...

and released for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

console in Europe, North America in 2009, it was released in Japan 2010. This video game was a featured

WiiWare WiiWare was a digital media entertainment service operated by Nintendo that allowed the download of games and applications developed for the Wii video game console. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the W ...

title for 1,000

Wii Points The Wii Shop Channel is a discontinued digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), ...

on the Wii Shop Channel.

Gameplay

''Bonsai Barber'' places players in the role of a

who must groom and style the foliage of their plant, fruit and vegetable customers in similar manner to the art of

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

pruning. Using the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...

, the player uses tools such as scissors for cutting, hair clippers for precision cutting, combs to bend twigs, hairspray to re-grow foliage, and pots of paint to change hair color. Players work on the requests of up to five customers per day and try to achieve a professional five star rated cut for each, unlocking new haircuts each day. Players will unlock medals and gifts for performing well, with the insensitive to return the next day to continue obtaining those rewards. If you miss appointments with the in-game patrons, you will get notified in your Wii Message Board; an additional incentive to return to the game the next day and continue cutting hair. Players could send photos of their completed stylings to friends via

WiiConnect24 WiiConnect24 is a discontinued feature of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for the Wii. It was first announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in mid-2006 by Nintendo. It enabled the user to remain connected to the Internet while the console was ...

Development and release

''Bonsai Barber'' was developed by

. Three prototypes of the game were developed on and off by a team of two people before the game moved into full development. In total, development for ''Bonsai Barber'' stretched over a period of two and a quarter years. The game was released in North America on the

service on March 30, 2009.

Reception

''Bonsai Barber'' received generally positive reviews from critics. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' commended the tight, responsive controls and the quirky nature of the game, but also called it a pricey one trick pony. ''

Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British Video game journalism, video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally p ...

'' loved the concept and the humor and called it "an enjoyable, idiosyncratic experience".

References

{{reflist 2009 video games Action games Business simulation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo games Video games about plants Video games about trees Video games developed in the United Kingdom Wii games Wii-only games WiiWare games