Why is the games industry failing women?
According to Electronic Arts' COO David Gardner, the games industry is "failing women." The company did some research of its own and discovered that only 40% of teenage girls play games. Contrast that with 90% of teenage boys who game and you've got an untapped market ready to EA points out an unfortunate truth, as there is a disproportionately low percentage of females working in the industry. For their part, four of EA's eleven development companies are run by women, and the biggest-selling game in history -- EA's own The Sims -- has predominantly girl gamers.
As stated in a previous article today, the success of Ms. Pac-Man in arcades has been attributed to its mass appeal. While it's easy to point out games that were made for the male stereotype -- trigger-happy chauvinistic hero with big muscles fighting aliens / demons / Nazis while wooing the big-titted, short skirt women -- games "geared toward women" generally miss the point and come off as condescending.
Games that seek out non-gaming demographic, like Loco Roco and half of Nintendo DS' library, will probably help. Will Wright's next big game, Spore will probably play to every audience and demographic in existence (much like The Sims). The Women's Game Conference is a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go before gaming breaks the gender gap.
[via 1UP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
footlong! @ Aug 21st 2006 7:54PM
in my opinion, girls dont wanna open up to games because they're constantly being told what games are for them and what they'll like. last time i checked people don't enjoy being stereotyped
Jonathan Hunt @ Aug 21st 2006 8:02PM
Well, I don't think the problem is making games geared towards women, because many females I know are content playing the games and genres that are currently developed. Rather, it is important to market to them and grab their attention, showing them how gaming is becoming part of the mainstream.
Ian @ Aug 21st 2006 8:03PM
Well girls are all for equal rights and crap and they make things that single them out and alienate themselves from men (meaning boys aren't allowed in their clan or group or w/e). So wtf why are they alienating themselves but complaining about how their a minority. The best way is to get stay-at-home moms into gaming or older people with casual games and less complicated controls. Something that only uses the mouse is great, just like brain age and stuff.
Hell I was talking to my mom, and she hates gaming, and she said that she said that brain age and nintendogs looks pretty neat but not much else, and she thought that the price of the DS was cheaper then she thought it would be.
dish @ Aug 21st 2006 8:06PM
is the pink ps2 the 'big news' sony was suppose to have for us today?
R.U.Sirius @ Aug 21st 2006 8:07PM
Girls and women interested in creating alien races and cultures? Hm, somehow I doubt that Spore will be as huge with the casual market as The Sims.
-R.U.Sirius
Tom the Gangsta @ Aug 21st 2006 8:08PM
Look, I don't mind making games that appeal to girls. I do mind if you take out the big titties from video games in an effort to draw girl gamers. I needs my big titties.
Bryon @ Aug 21st 2006 8:11PM
Ian said: "Well girls are all for equal rights and crap and they make things that single them out and alienate themselves from men (meaning boys aren't allowed in their clan or group or w/e). So wtf why are they alienating themselves but complaining about how their a minority."
Wow. Just... wow.
TC @ Aug 21st 2006 8:17PM
Ummm, because it's run by men??!!
lolololol @ Aug 21st 2006 8:26PM
wow coming from an EA exec.
EA are the ones failing gamers.
Adam Johnson @ Aug 21st 2006 8:28PM
A lot more girls play games than you'd think, and I think that there is plenty of content out for females to get into not top mention great stuff that anyone can enjoy (I'm looking in your direction Nintendo). I dont think that the game industry is anymore guilty than Hollywood or TV is as far as catering to a female audience, so to say that games are failing women is pretty stupid. It all comes down to this; Men care more about entertainment than women do and we always will.
ChronoZaga @ Aug 21st 2006 8:33PM
Why is the BARBIE INDUSTRY failing men?
AoE @ Aug 21st 2006 8:35PM
I've got to agree with Mr. Sirius regarding Spore.
As to the article though... isn't the name a bit misleading? or rather, isn't EA's COO making misleading statements? If the word "console" was in there somewhere, I'd be inclined to agree... Casual games don't seem to be failing women at all though:
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=17935&hed=Women+Embrace+Casual+Games
Clearly the casual games market has mass appeal for women. I assume that by extension at least some of the content making it onto the new generation of consoles' download services will help; but that's only the first step. If console game publishers/developers are serious about attracting women, they would be best served by examining the casual market closely. What is it about casual games that women find so engaging? And perhaps more importantly, can the same formula be applied to create larger console games?
Jeff @ Aug 21st 2006 8:50PM
"While it's easy to point out games that were made for the male stereotype -- trigger-happy chauvinistic hero with big muscles fighting aliens / demons / Nazis while wooing the big-titted, short skirt women -- games "geared toward women" generally miss the point and come off as condescending."
I pretty much feel the same about the former category too. The fact that males are dumb enough to buy into their respective stereotype most of the time doesn't make the stereotype itself any less condescending.
But it should be obvious that "games for girls" are generally made by men, because they think women are as easy to typify as men. Make a game with a lot of pink and a bunch of ponies and bam, instant girl game. Trouble is, girls aren't as interested in stereotypes as we are - they're smarter than that. They care more about fun gameplay than anything else. And fun gameplay to a girl doesn't just mean a) violence, b) war, or c) shooting a gun. But nor does it mean riding ponies or making rainbows.
"Well girls are all for equal rights and crap and they make things that single them out and alienate themselves from men (meaning boys aren't allowed in their clan or group or w/e). So wtf why are they alienating themselves but complaining about how their a minority."
Wild shot in the dark here - you're both single, and twelve.
In any case, someday you'll figure out that girls don't all have cooties and can in fact be pleasing companions. And if you're wondering why they're not allowing you in their "clan" right now, your attitude's a pretty good place to start.
mtv's best friend @ Aug 21st 2006 9:03PM
dude, chicks are hot.
uh_oh @ Aug 21st 2006 9:08PM
I can tell u right up front women wont put down 400 dollars or more on a console. Just not gonna happen. The games women play are already online like solitaire, hearts, any of the yahoo games. You're not gonna get them to value 60 dollar games, i dont see it. When we went beyond pacman and arcade games in complexity u pretty much lost that generation.
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 21st 2006 9:18PM
Just 40%??? Wow, I thought it would be way more.
My gf of three years and I love battling it out in Timesplitters 3, Smash Bros Melee, Warcarft 2 and 2 player Sims 2.
We love our GameCube and she has actually mentioned, since the EB in our area are not doing preorders for the Wii, that we should arrive up to an hour early so we can grab one on launch.
All this pink DS this & pink PS2 that makes her want one badly and I'll probably have to get her a DS for herself since she stole mine ever since Tetris and Zookeeper came out for it.
To me, there might not be many girl gamers out there but fuck man, once they become one say goodbye to your paycheques.
amba @ Aug 21st 2006 9:46PM
From what I've seen, there is no problem with girls playing games before they become teenagers- it is only then, when gender roles suddenly become redefined, that a lot of females leave gaming. Most of them do not come back.
They need to be able to design games that appeal to teenage girls- and that's past the Barbie Horse Adventures stage. If you don't get them then, they're not going to get involved in the industry as a whole. The Sims/ Brain training work because it is both deep and casual- you can play a little, you can play a lot, but you don't have to 'work' to become good.
pockyninja @ Aug 21st 2006 10:03PM
"4. Girls and women interested in creating alien races and cultures? Hm, somehow I doubt that Spore will be as huge with the casual market as The Sims."
My wife is totally into Spore. We're probably going to get a new graphics card solely for that game.
I think that maybe, just maybe, the kind of games a person likes has something to do with the likes of the person. Gasp!
I'm not really into the FPS genre. Halo can suck fat nuts for all I care, and not because of console preference. Live is brimming with whiny little kids who do nothing else but p0wn b1ches all day. I like to play with people who have lives and thoughts of their own. (NOTE THIS IS GENERALIZATION, I KNOW NICE PEOPLE WHO PLAY HALO)
My wife thinks Spore is cool, but she's doesn't care about the Sims. She detests anything "girly" (she had Ninja Turtles growing up) and prefers thinking/puzzle games. It's all based on who you are, really.
That said,
Girl gamers are hot!!!
jakob @ Aug 21st 2006 10:05PM
Once girls see Wii sports being played out, they will want to touch my wii.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
pockyninja @ Aug 21st 2006 10:05PM
"4. Girls and women interested in creating alien races and cultures? Hm, somehow I doubt that Spore will be as huge with the casual market as The Sims."
Also, I know a large number of women who read sci-fi.
denizenx85 @ Aug 21st 2006 10:19PM
I have a more important question... Who cares if women play games or not? Obviously the corporations want to make more money above all else, but why do they want to ruin our games because this group or that group wont play them? Hey, here's a brilliant idea, why don't they make their own damn games??? Lets see a group of women gamers start up a development studio to make women games for women since they don't want to play our games so much. Then they can get the big publishers to release their game and not have to worry about taking funds away from the next matrix game just to make a game FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T EVEN LIKE PLAYING GAMES TO BEGIN WITH!
Tom @ Aug 21st 2006 10:21PM
Untapped teenage women, huh? Yes, that's a real shame. Better do something about it...
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 21st 2006 10:24PM
"Girl gamers are hot!!!" -pockyninja
Meh, I think my gf loving to cook is hotter then her interest in games. But then again I'M ALWAYS HUNGRY.
otakucode @ Aug 21st 2006 10:25PM
Given that every damn survey shows the gender split to NOT EXIST, might I kindly recommend all you gaming press types to give it a fucking rest, already?
cringer8 @ Aug 21st 2006 10:45PM
@ otakucode
This is a post about an EA survey that reveals that 40% of teenage girls play video games while 90% of teenage boys do. That is a gap. So, unless *you* want to site some specific surveys to strengthen *your* point, give it a rest.
@ denizenx85
How, exactly, would a publisher focusing on a feminine demographic affect "your" games? Do you think they would abandon the "Mountain Dew" boys? That would be ludicrous to assume. *You* don't want an industry where *you* can't find quality games that *you* like. Well, now you know how most female gamers feel.
We're not talking about making games where you learn to vacuum and comb knots out of kittens' hair. We're talking about games that aren't *specifically* geared toward "macho men," quality games that *anyone* can enjoy. The industry is seriously lacking in that department.
Nightravyn @ Aug 21st 2006 11:13PM
Girl gamer here. Pink makes me ill, and I love raiding with my guild in WoW. If someone had handed me a Barbie game when I was 10, they would have had it handed back to them in small pieces while I went back to re-reading the sci-fi fantasy collection in the house.
I just want a good game. Yes, that's subjective. Everyone has a different idea about what makes a "good" game. For me, I want a good plot/point to the game, good controls, and to be entertained while I'm playing it, whether that's for 15 minutes, 3 months or 3 years. Entertaining can be raiding in WoW, playing Katamari Damacy and getting every single item, blowing up a friend in SOCOM, or cutting down zombies in RE.
We get annoyed (and sometimes infuriated) at the media stereotype of a Girl Gamer (loves pink, wants hearts on everything, possibly with flowers and doesn't want to think too hard or it to get too icky with blood). See previous comments on "death to Barbie games." Most, if not all, of the girl gamers I know would be a touch more violent about what would happen if someone gave them a "pink" game.
As far as the girls' only clans/guilds, :;shrug:: not my style. Never understood it. I prefer to play with friends, no matter what sex they were.
Ghost Box @ Aug 21st 2006 11:16PM
This isn't rocket science.
As some have already pointed out, it's the female characters in video games themselves that are the most obvious turn offs.
Many of these characters don't look like they're ready to fight crime or defend against ancient or modern evils. They're dressed like lap dancers ready to do a spin around a pole.
While the objectifying of women in games is the most obvious reason why the game industry is failing women, the other reason should be the most obvious........
BECAUSE NO ONE IS TALKING TO FEMALE GAMERS.
NO ONE IS ASKING WOMEN WHAT THEY WANT IN VIDEO GAMES.
I don't know who the genius is who thought that plastering pink all over the place was the way to a female gamers heart, but he was an idiot.
Instead of acting like you know what a female gamer is thnking, why don't you guys listen to what a female gamer thinks about the game industry for a change. I kept this link because I always like to read it every now and then. I hope you find it just as informative as I did when I first read it.
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/narrative/games/girl_gamers.htm
R.U.Sirius @ Aug 21st 2006 11:25PM
"I think that maybe, just maybe, the kind of games a person likes has something to do with the likes of the person. Gasp!"
Yeah, but how many mothers and wifes are really interested in developing alien creatures, exploring space and creating new alien creatures? Spore seems very sci-fi centered to me. Maybe female Spore players will try to re-create their favorite animals instead, don't know.
"Also, I know a large number of women who read sci-fi."
I'm honest, I personally don't know many women or mothers who are interested into sci-fi (maybe... nah... or wait... nah again... hrmpf).
But there are A LOT of women interested into the social aspects of interpersonal relations (no idea if it's the correct term). See what I mean?
-R.U.Sirius
Sylde @ Aug 21st 2006 11:31PM
I'm with Otaku, actually. A lot of my girlfriends are into gaming - they just happen not to be particularly vocal about it.
Personally, I think the industry needs a nice warm cup about this topic. They need to find a better scapegoat to blame their woes on.
Re: "OMG GAMER CHICKS ARE HOT!1"... Is this a vocal male minority speaking here? I've never known any guys who find this trait about me appealing, they seem to muchly prefer other characteristics, like the ability to cook (as Dr. Swiss would suggest) or a sense of humour.
In fact, some even resent losing to a girl (my spouse is guilty of this, downright refusing to play games he knows I'll completely annihilate him at)
I know I'm pigeonholing an entire gender here (much like this survey), but it's generally not hard to convince your partner/spouse/girlfriend/bootybuddy to play games with you. Most women like video games, although some just don't know it yet.
It's truly a question of selecting the correct game to appeal to their tastes to draw them in.
Here's what I find appeals to my female gamer buddies. [Disclaimer: This list is by no means definitive or guaranteed to work, it's just a reflection of my experiences with trying to get my friends into gaming.]
a) Party games - Easy to pick up, varieties of games that require different talents are appealing to both the social sensibilities of females as well as our competiveness. It is rare for a girl to turn down a controller to this type of game.
b) MMORPGs - Again, the social element makes the Glorified Chat Room Game genre quite appealing to the fairer sex. The obvious downside is they may get so addicted to smashing monsters with their guild or PvP'ing that they just stop talking to you altogether.
c) RPGs - The Elder Scrolls series in particular has received raving reccomendation from those appreciating great attention to small details in a free-form world. Perhaps not the best thing to get an unexperience newcomer involved in, but they'll love it once they get the hang of it.
d) "Pet" games - This is a horrible cliche, I know - but they really dig those Pokemon games. My non-gaming fashionista sister's actually quite a big fan of Monster Rancher.
e) Wacky Japanese Games - The hardest category to describe, but includes party gems like BishiBashi and rhythm games like Gitaroo Man. Never underestimate the power of novelty.
f) FPS (on the PC) - Great Myth #101: Females are not interested in shooting each other with guns over the internet. Wrong. They just tend to prefer games that are team-based or objective-based, like Onslaught mode in UT2K4 or Battlefield 2 with a team of people you know who aren't asshats, of course.
g) Puzzle games - Puyopuyo, Tetris (DS or otherwise) and Puzzle Bobble. Many girls are already aficionados of this genre.
f) Button Mashers - Smash Bros and Soul Calibre. Quicky, fun and smashy.
I somewhat contest that claim about The Sims. I'm sure it's an accurate statistic, I just don't personally know any girls that play The Sims.
(Perhaps it's an older crowd.)
Heather @ Aug 21st 2006 11:51PM
I'm a woman and I play videogames. I prefer Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Bomberman, Legend of Zelda, Tetris Attack, Bust-a-Move, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Metroid. Halo 2 can be fun sometimes, but ehhhh only when I am playing with my friends and we're not being serious about it. I don't really care to play FPS or sports videogames because they're boring to me, not because I'm offended by the content. I think the industry should make more fun or interesting games. For example, New Super Mario Bros for the DS is A+. I honestly don't think that Playstation or Xbox could come up with as many fun games at Nintendo or Sega... so why should they even bother making games that appeal to women? It's a lost cause. I'm totally buying a Wii.
Prize Fighter Inferno @ Aug 22nd 2006 12:11AM
I seen girls play horror like games. My last Girlfriend played games like Clock Tower, Fatal Frame. She was not really in to gaming though but when she did those were the ones she went for. ( Not like resident evil or any thing. ) We did play one game together though. Playboy mansion. She would play until we got the picture part and set up the out fits then had me take the pictures.
Maybe they prefer more dramatic or suspenseful sort of games, along with the sim type.
It just seems games now days are not much for story and just go for brutal violence, Some of the one I mentioned were violent but are presented in a different way.
I dunno I just love games.
Ben Hobbs @ Aug 22nd 2006 12:55AM
Women are hard-wired differently to Men, they aren't looking for particularly competetive games and dont need to play something where there HAS to be a winner.
Sjofn @ Aug 22nd 2006 12:57AM
Girls and women interested in creating alien races and cultures? Hm, somehow I doubt that Spore will be as huge with the casual market as The Sims.
There are women who do nothing but create new STUFF for The Sims. New hair, new clothes, new body models, new items, new houses ... you name it, they've probably created it. There's more to The Sims than having your little sim family do their little sim family thing.
Spore is supposedly about creating, and it will appeal to those people who enjoy that. And guess what? There are lots of women who do.
Ahms @ Aug 22nd 2006 12:58AM
"Failing?"
40% of all teenage girls is pretty damn good in my book, and more than I would have thought. Heaven forbid people having interests other than video games, or yet no interest at all
You can't "fail" at something that has no real reason to succeed. If a girl isn't interested in gaming, fine. It's geniune interest that drives hobbies, or even careers in those hobbies; so what if there is a low amount of female developers? Are we just going to automatically assume that they are being forced out by male counterparts, instead of looking at things like lack of interest, etc.?
Or furthermore, are we going to stereotype that female developers can only make games for girls (as inferred by even including that statement in the article first place)? Of course not. I'm not sure why EA thought that was a signifant fact
If it appeals to them, they'll play it. Out of my own experience, every gamer girl I know has one thing in common with their gaming interests- they were raised in households were their siblings or immediate family members were into video games, so they got exposed to it early on, and happened to like them. This is not just for kids, but also adults who have children who play games, and are cool enough to give it a try with them
It's more about exposure and being around games in a friendly enviornment than anything the industry could ever do- not about how many of women are making games
truplaya @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:03AM
Ummm, some women just don't like gaming. It doesn't have to appeal to everyone. There are some guys that don't like video games....so what if the majority are women. I don't think changing the colors to pink is going to draw them in any more - that's a waste of time & money. (and personally, pink is one of my least favorite colors.) It's pretty funny how execs think that's what'll make girls want to play more.
As a hardcore girl gamer, all I worry about is the gameplay. If the game isn't fun or interesting...I don't care to play it. Paper Mario 2, Mario Kart DD, New Super Mario Bros...those are some fun games. Sure I play Sims, but that's not all. I own just about every Mario game since the N64 and that has nothing to do with me being a girl: that's because I love playing video games.
I just think that it has nothing to do with sex, but of the person's interests.
Kylara @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:27AM
"I can tell u right up front women wont put down 400 dollars or more on a console."
You need more female friends. Wait, I rephrase: you need female friends, period. Because I am certainly not the only female that I know of that's planning on dishing out about $400 for the Wii (w/ controllers and games). I didn't quote your "complexity of pacman" comment as it was a little too asinine, but Civilization (I) was my favorite game when I was eight, and I was addicted to Civilization II for years. So screw you.
Btw, everyone on this board who refers to females as one gigantic "we"? All females do not like the same games.
Nevertheless, as someone noted above, I have to agree: I hate playing as female characters in a ton of games because they look ridiculous. (Taki's nipples in Soul Calibur II looked like they could stab someone in the eye.)
Anyway, where was this survey conducted? I hate gaming stores like EBGames and whatnot. People there actually have the nerve to ask me if I'm lost, or what game did I want to pick up for my boyfriend, etc. So I tend to buy mine at "non-gaming" stores like Target or BestBuy. Also, a lot of my female gamer friends have their brothers / boyfriends buy their games for them.
To go against some cliches here, I don't always need a story or cuteness (though they can go a long way); as long as it's fun, it's good to go. I loved Pikmin II, probably one of my all-time favorite games, and part of it was how adorable it was, but mostly how great the controls were, and how much fun it was to send forth my little army and rampage. Alternately, I hated Kingdom Hearts - hated the camera, hated the characters, and I thought the game had too *much* story. So there you go.
And Sylde? Girls that play Sims? You've NEVER been stuck at a party with fifteen (I kid you not) girls crowded around one computer, playing the Sims, all while discussing the evil things they had done to their own characters at home. And why were we there? We had a swim meet. Go figure.
Kritz @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:36AM
@ 18:
Don't you see, fool? You're logic has no power here! We've learnt from the pervious battles with smart things, and we know what we now must do!
"STFU NOOB!"
Check and ownt.
All sarcasm aside, 18 did hit Nail on the head. I'm not sure what Nail did to him, but he probably deserved it.
.. I suck at being serious (And we can also assume spelling).
>> Kritz
Aram @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:41AM
Why is the games industry failing women? Should we (we as in persons) even care? I don't remember games being a gender equality issue.
Raydeen @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:57AM
Dear Joystiq,
You had me at wooing big-titted, short skirt women.
That is all I will ever need.
Adam Johnson @ Aug 22nd 2006 2:25AM
All the female games that I have come across have all had great taste in what they like to play. RPG's, (the cute characters help I'm sure)survival horror, and any thing made by Nintendo always do well in winning over girl-gamers.
daspot @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:19AM
women need game where the competition is friendly where there is a winner but the winner is not defined or single out...like in most FPS... FPS dont have the compelling game play to pull in women...a game like oblivion where you just walk around and developed the story is something that would probaly catch womens attention...where u take control and create and mold the character...and where some of the actions you take affect some of the npc's or other characters in the game...where there is some sort of emotional connection...instead of just killing away the problem....findin a resonable resolution that is one of many...a game like would probaly bring in alot of women especially if it has some dramatic subplots and the overall plot is pretty dramatic good enough to pull tears..
Waccoon @ Aug 22nd 2006 3:25AM
Given that there's so much guessing going on, perhaps we should all just admit that we don't know, and ask some genuine women. Of course, you'll not likely find too many non-gamers around here.
I think it has a lot to do with parenting and conditioning. I live in an egalitarian household, and my sister shares many of my interests and plays as many video games as I do (at least, she did, before she had a child).
Don't suggest that girls are not violent. The girls in my high school were shameless and crass (I'll spare you the horror stories). My sister's friend also thought, at the time, that Doom was the greatest stress-reliever ever intented. I enjoyed watching her play that game more than I did.
When I fix a computer used by a girl, it certainly doesn't resemble anything my sister used to use. She had a dragon for her desktop, and I have fractals and wildlife photography. The comptuers I fix are usually dominated by cartoon characters, like Spongebob, or it has one of those wretched desktop managers that changes your theme ever damn day and spams the hell out of your computer to boot.
"Pink" is not a recurring theme, though. I think it's about time that stereotype is dropped. Most girls I know prefer green, orange, and purple.
Hammer @ Aug 22nd 2006 4:27AM
Some of the men that commented here need to grow up and take a long hard look at their opinions of the fairer sex.
don_sf @ Aug 22nd 2006 5:20AM
girls dont like games because its too complicated for them, they dont understand it.
however they do like stupid and easy stuff like the mini games in the ds, when i took it to school they loved it. and they also like new super mario bros. i think they like easy and quick stuff like the wii. i dont think i personaly know a girl who plays a serious game like halo.
but they are into dance mats, a few of them buy dance mats.
if you want more girls to play then you need to make mini games and easy ones, they dont have the time to play long serious games, they are more into cloths and makup and hair styles.
erica. @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:12AM
They aren't failing anyone in that 40% considering they are playing games and dont need a bubble gum pink console. Hell I don't know many girls who go nutz for pink anymore anyways. For the other 60% they can try to market to them but enless they make an OC game I think a lot of teenage girls will stick to spending thier time and money like they already do.
But really theres so many teenage male gamers thanks to sports games and gta...games I and many girls think of as lame
Tiago @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:16AM
Just in time, I just introduced a girl gamer in my comic, and she doesn't like Barbie adventures too!! LIKE THE REST OF THE FREAKING WORLD!
Girls like gaming, they just aren't into all that buy a console and play some games, most girl gamers I know are more PC gamers.
akira @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:31AM
In Japan,young women playing PS2 or DS is usual.
I think that American games which both men and women can playing are not many.
denizenx85 @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:32AM
"How, exactly, would a publisher focusing on a feminine demographic affect "your" games? Do you think they would abandon the "Mountain Dew" boys? That would be ludicrous to assume. *You* don't want an industry where *you* can't find quality games that *you* like. Well, now you know how most female gamers feel.
We're not talking about making games where you learn to vacuum and comb knots out of kittens' hair. We're talking about games that aren't *specifically* geared toward "macho men," quality games that *anyone* can enjoy. The industry is seriously lacking in that department."
A publisher devoted to female games is a good idea too ;D
The Industry lacks quality games that arn't macho? Yeah the gamecube is doing well with its stance on no cool games for core gamers. They almost had Battelfield Modern Combat. I'm excited about Wii but don't know if I can buy one if I can't have most of my fun on that one console. I might as well get another Xbox 360.
The perfect game system would be a Nintendo Wii where they could have games for all gamers... Not just ones that don't already play games. At least they will release Far Cry on Wii, then when it dosen't sale well because everyone has already played that game a million times they can say there is no market for FPS games on the Wii. Then we can get a stream of cheap crappy experiment games. Wow, Nintendogs was great. Maybe in the Wii version my dog can't dart across the road at night and get hit by a car? Some simulation.
super maus @ Aug 22nd 2006 7:47AM
(Being a woman) I find it patronising that I am *told* what games I should & shouldn't like.. Even this article shows just how stereotypical the industry can be.
"While it's easy to point out games that were made for the male stereotype -- trigger-happy chauvinistic hero with big muscles fighting aliens / demons / Nazis while wooing the big-titted, short skirt women -- games "geared toward women" generally miss the point and come off as condescending."
Um, excuse me? I enjoy a lot of games that are supposedly for men & games that are "for women" just don't get down well in my book.
Of course there needs to be more women in the industry.. But at the same time people need to cease pointing out "differences in gaming" when in comes to gender. PEOPLE play games. When you constantly make a point out of the gender divide it causes more problems than it fixes.
Stop categorising me by my gender (& other women) & just let us be "gamers"!! We don't want to be singled out for being female.
Christopher7xii @ Aug 22nd 2006 8:17AM
How about... we keep making games like they are... and... if the girls want to come play... they can? Ya know, not changing the art for the viewer, but just letting it be in it's natural state. Art isn't meant to appeal to everyone. There's no such way to appeal to everyone anyways, I don't see the point in trying...
I know plenty of games enjoyed by females (Zelda series, Halo series, Pikmin, Battlefield 2, Red Faction 2, Mario Kart series, Final Fantasy, Urban Reign... God of War, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid) - Ya know, every game I play. A good game goes across the borders. The good ol' "If you build it, they will come".