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]
