Pixel Chix

The Pixel Chix Logo.

A Gal.

Pixel Chix is a toy line of interactive electronic games with an LCD screen and a plastic dollhouse background lit up behind the screen. The series began in September 2005 with the "House" toy and ended with "Fab Life City" in November 2009. They are centered around a virtual girl character who is known for an interest in fashion, hanging out, and exuding attitude as they feel like it.

The toy manuals consistently refer to the character as a "Gal", while Mattel's customer service website alternates between referring to them as a "Gal" or a "Pal". A product description from the latter has also referred to her with the name "Pixel".

Pixel Chix originally started as a toy alarm clock called "24H Pictohouse" in Japan. The same year in 2005, Sega licensed the concept to Mattel to internationally release the toy, but gear it more towards fashion and accessories game as opposed to the original alarm clock functionality.

The brand included a website hosted under "EverythingGirl.com" until 2013, with the domain meeting its closure in 2015, several years after the toys were discontinued. The URL now redirects to Mattel's Barbie homepage.

As of April 2023, a new page went live on Mattel's corporate pages, showcasing Pixel Chix as a part of their brand portfolio.

Back in 2020, Mattel filed an application to renew the Pixel Chix trademark, which was accepted by the office in 2023 for examination. However by early 2024, it received a status of "Refused Dismissed or Invalidated" after a few years of being in examination limbo. It is unclear why this has occurred, especially as Mattel currently showcases the brand on its corporate website.

Your Pixel Pals!

Pixel Chix Pals

The games each features one of three main Pals:

• A black-haired Gal with a flick-up bob hairstyle.
• A light-haired Gal with her hair parted on the right, held with a hair clip on each side.
• A wavy-haired Gal with a medium hair color, which is stylized with bangs.

In most of the games, her appearance and sometimes even the hairstyle can later be changed through customization.

List of Pixel Chix Toys

Pixel Chix Toys.

A prototype logo as seen at Toy Fair New York in 2005.

Pixel Chix toys in their packaging.

Pixel Chix:

• House, 2005
  • Cottage (H8330)
  • Mansion (H8331)
  • Loft (H8332)
• Road Trippin Vehicle, 2005
  • Car (J8324, J8325, J8326)
• 2-Story House, 2006
  • 2-Story House (K5447)
  • 2-Story Loft (K5448)

• Love 2 Shop Mall, 2006
  • Boutique/Food Court (J9435)
  • Salon/Pet Shop (J9436)
• Roomies, 2007
  • Roomies House (L4416)
  • Roomies Friend (L4458)
    • Miss Sporty (L4416)
    • Diva Queen (L4459)
    • Punk Rocker (L4460)
    • Super Smarty (L4461)
    • DJ Hip Hop (L4462)

• Babysitter, 2007
  • Babysitter House (L4422, L4423)
• Unlockets Charm, 2007
  • ♥ 2 Shop Mall
  • Babysitter
  • Cottage
  • Jammin' Hamster
  • Loft
  • Mansion
  • Road Trippin'
  • Rockin' Puppy
• Pixel Chix TV, 2008
  • Fashion Network Set (M2863)
  • Pet Planet Set (M2864)
  • Travel World Set (M2865)
• Fab Life, 2008
  • City (M8900)

Pixel Pets:

• Secret Life of Pets, 2007
  • Rockin' Puppy House (K8676)
  • Jammin' Hamster House (K8678)

Other:

• McDonalds Happy Meal Toys, 2008
  

Pixel, rendered in 3D for television commercials.

Official Website

From 2005-2013, Pixel Chix had its own official website packed with games, activities, downloadable content, and other goodies. Since the website's closure, there was previously little to no mention of the toyline on Mattel's webpages up until 2023, with the corporate branding page showcasing Pixel Chix as a part of their portfolio.

Battery warning as seen on a Pixel Chix House toy.

Trivia

• The Pixel Chix product and concept was designed by Jeffrey Levine during his employment at Mattel. As per his website, he was responsible for the Product Design, Game Design, UI Design, and Character Design of Pixel Chix.

• The Pixel Pets toy line was created by Kim Vandenbroucke. As per her website, her idea had competed against other potential designs for the expansion of the Pixel Chix series, and this line with "Secret Life of Pets" had been selected.
  
  • During development of the "Secret Life of Pets" toy, the character in the hamster variant was referred to as "DJ Little Paws" while it was in the prototype stage.
• Almost all Pixel Chix Gals are voiced by Tara Strong, with the exception being the "Miss Sporty" Gal voiced by Katherine Von Till. It is currently unknown who voiced the male characters.
• All of the electronic toys include memory to save gameplay data. If a toy has its batteries removed for longer than a minute, the data may be lost and gameplay will start from the beginning. A warning regarding this is only printed on battery covers of the original Pixel Chix house toys.
• Some of the manuals warn not to mix old and new batteries when changing them out in the toy. Not using fresh batteries can cause the device to glitch out or not display at all.
• Interestingly, the brand page on Mattel's corporate website features a new modified version of a Pixel Pal. She appears to have the design of the light-haired Gal, but her hair has been edited to be black while retaining its shape. This version of the character currently does not exist in any of the toy lines.