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Games

Women Remain the Ignored Audience In Gaming 432

Posted by Soulskill from the but-there-are-lots-of-cooking-games dept.
donniebaseball23 writes "Research firm Interpret has released its new report, 'Games and Girls: Video Gaming's Ignored Audience,' which finds that while the female audience in gaming has grown, games tailored to their needs and preferences continue to go missing. Women represent 50% of the market and their usage of HD consoles like Xbox 360 and PS3 is rising. 'It remains to be seen whether developers and marketers will effectively invest in understanding and exploiting the undertapped female gaming market,' said Courtney Johnson, analyst for Interpret."
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Women Remain the Ignored Audience In Gaming More

Women Remain the Ignored Audience In Gaming

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  • sounds like their needs are addressed quite well (Score:5, Insightful)

    by superwiz ( 655733 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @05:37AM (#36525774) Journal
    Unless, of course, 50% of the gamers (the women) flock to a medium which they don't like.

    • Re:sounds like their needs are addressed quite wel (Score:5, Insightful)

      by beefmusta ( 1616667 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:25AM (#36526098)

      Unless, of course, 50% of the gamers (the women) flock to a medium which they don't like.

      Exactly. From TFA:

      "Market representation for women has grown to 50 percent overall, with console use rising significantly in the past two years"

      Apparently, we're supposed to think that somehow this demonstrates that female gamers are being ignored and not getting what they want.
      Next they'll tell us that women are being forced to play games against their will.

      • The report was published by a company which provides "research and consulting services" to game publishers.

        They''re not going to publish a report saying "actually our services are not needed and we're a waste of money".

      • "Next they'll tell us that women are being forced to play games against their will."

        I, for one, find the idea vaguely arousing.

    • Pretty much my feeling (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:27AM (#36526116)

      Games are for fun, so that women are playing them says they are having fun with them.

      To me it just sounds like whining. If there are specific things that need to be done differently to attract women to gaming, let's hear them. However just saying "Oh they aren't good for women," sounds like bitching without evidence to me.

      The only thing they list in the article "For instance, they are much more likely to prefer to play solo than men, and play games for less competitive and more narrative- and character-driven reasons." is stupid. Why? Because we HAVE plenty of games like that, and there is no reason that ALL games should be like that.

      To me what that says is "Women tend to like single player RPGs more than multi-player FPSes." Ok, wonderful. Turns out there are plenty of those. The market is being enough for both kinds of games, and in fact for more than that.

      I also question that one since story driven, single player games have been around for much longer. While competitive multi-player games are popular, they are new. For many a year single player was the big thing (because we lacked the Internet), yet fewer women were in to gaming.

      I personally think any lack of women in gaming (which I've not observed, lots of women play games in my experience) is more cultural/mindset than anything else. Women feel like gaming is not something they should do, so they don't. That isn't the sort of thing different kinds of games really can fix.

      So if things really need to be done different, well let's hear it then. However all I see here is bitching that amounts to "Girls don't like online FPSes." To that I say:

      1) So what? There are plenty of other kinds of games. We can have games for all kinds of people, not every game need to be targeted to every person (as such a thing would fail).

      2) Says who? Though far less common then men, there are women who enjoy shooties plenty well.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Anrego ( 830717 ) *

        I don't think it's just whether there is a storyline or not, or how focal it is, but also the contents of said story.

        There are lots of exceptions, but in general there is a fairly clear list of "things women prefer" and "things men prefer" in their storylines and characters. We see this not just in games but in other media (books, movies, tv shows). The problem is that trying to make the gaming equivalent of a "chick flick" would be a PC nightmare.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        The Sims is one of the most popular games of all time with women. It is co-operative, non-violent, and social. These are things that are not at all common in games. Even aside from FPS and fighting games most sports games only have competitive multi-player modes, most strategy games are about conquering rather than building a pleasant society. Music based games are popular with girls, but not many of them have co-op modes.

        Farmville is popular because it appeals as much to women as to men. You get to build a

        • It is co-operative, non-violent, and social. These are things that are not at all common in games.

          One of the most viral games out there, Minecraft (and I suppose its newer counterpart, terraria) ARE co-operative, non-violent, and social. World of Warcraft remains one of the most popular games out there, and hits 2 of those points strongly-- are there many games that require as much cooperation or social interaction as an MMORPG? What about MapleStory, or any of the zillions of other korean MMOs out there (strong cooperation, role-playing, social interaction)?

          A shortage of good games that appeal to wom

        • I think they are more common than you think, you just may not be looking for those kinds of games. The only one you are right about is co-op. There isn't a lot of co-op play. That is primarily because it is somewhat difficult to design. Co-op only games don't tend to do that well on the market. However taking a single player game and adding co-op isn't as simple as just adding another player, it requires a lot of reworking and rebalance.

          In terms of non-violent builder type games, there are plenty. Not only

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by cgenman ( 325138 )

        I've spoken to quite a few other developers about the mythical "attracting the female audience." And on a pragmatic level, it seems like there really are only about two things one can do:

        1. Avoid sexist jokes or other red flags turn female game players away.
        2. Make a great game.

        That's pretty much it. Any other stereotypes that get thrown into there degrade quickly into generalizations into which most people don't fit. And quite frankly, it's hard enough to make a game worth playing without trying to targ

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • I've observed the same kind of development on the male side of things over the last 20ish years. When I started playing games, in 1986, I was odd to be doing so. It was only the "nerds" that played games. Normal boys weren't in to that kind of thing. I was odd for wanting to play computer rather than sports. Today? Nothing odd at all about being a gamer. People would probably be more surprised if I told them I didn't play games, being 31 and male.

          Younger (as in under 40 or so) men all seem to play games. Th

  • Haven't gamed in a while, but,,, (Score:3)

    by mcgrew ( 92797 ) * on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @05:41AM (#36525810) Homepage Journal

    I don't understand why a game developer would want to tailor games to a single sex, male of female. The broader the appeal the larger the audience. Why target only half your potential audience? Games are an art form, and every artist wants as many people as possible to enjoy their works.

    I seem to remember a decade or so ago someone attempted to target girls with some game or another, and it was denounced by women as sexist.

    Now, kid's games I can see targeting one sex or another. My daughters had a Barbie game on the PC and they loved it. No boy would want to play it, however.

    • Re:Haven't gamed in a while, but,,, (Score:4, Insightful)

      by kinnell ( 607819 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:08AM (#36526002)
      Just an educated guess, but I expect the vasty majority of game designers are men and it's not so much that they're trying to aim their games at men as that they're designing games that they would like to play.

      • Even then, I think those guys are missing a bit of the male market at this point. How many of us (men) seriously enjoy the sight of another video game female with breasts large enough to have their own gravitational field? I picked up a game called Kya some years back and even my wife was surprised that the main character's chest actually looked normal.

        I think that for a long time it was easier to sell a game on "omg boobbies!!!1" than it was to create a story that actually meant something and the market

    • Targeting the whole audience isn't really effective, you'll just make something for the least common denominator and nobody will really like it.

      WoW makes a killing ignoring the huge casual audience. Wii sells tons ignoring the hardcore gamers looking for hyper realistic graphics. Even games like Civ succeed because they focus on a very small but extremely loyal number of gamers. And as you said, many games are either targeted at adults or children - GTA wouldn't have been such a success if it was rated E.

      By

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

        Well, targeting isn't what should be done, anyway -- unless your only purpose in making the game is to make money. Ironically, do that and your game isn't likely to sell. Writing a book that you would want to read, making a movie that you would want to see, making a game that you would want to play makes for good reading, watching, and playing. "Targeting and audience" is just hackwork and usually results in dreck. Look at the music industry, for example. Music shouldn't be an industry.

        Back in the Quake day

    • I don't understand why a game developer would want to tailor games to a single sex, male of female. The broader the appeal the larger the audience. Why target only half your potential audience? Games are an art form, and every artist wants as many people as possible to enjoy their works.

      Well, one reason is that games which are designed to target everyone tend to be watered down, "design by committee" type mindless pap. Look at the vast majority of party games for consoles. They're designed for all ages and both sexes and they tend to be incredibly formulaic and dull, play once or twice then forget affairs. By turning your focus on one particular part of the market (and in the case of games, males have traditionally always been the biggest spenders) you can deliver a much more satisfying ex

      • Look at the vast majority of party games for consoles. They're designed for all ages and both sexes and they tend to be incredibly formulaic and dull,

        Wii tennis is dull? New Super Mario is dull? All those wildly popular kinect games are formulaic? (cant speak to any of the others, as I only have a Wii...)

        Possibly the bad games, but if youre saying that "there are lots of bad games, and theyre formulaic and dull", well, yea, thats the nature of the industry, some people will shovel out crap hoping for a quick return; thats not something youre going to fix.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JD-1027 ( 726234 )

        women - they don't spend all day dreaming about horse riding or playing dress up

        Don't live with any women, do you?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Anrego ( 830717 ) *

      I don't understand why a game developer would want to tailor games to a single sex, male of female.

      Despite what certain groups have tried to say during the years, there are key differences in the genders. While there are always exceptions, there is a fairly obvious list of "things that guys like" and "things that girls like". I won't bother to list these as it's not the point. If you try to make a game which appeals to both, you will get the design by committee effect, and generate a game which sorta appeals to both, but not as much as a game tailor made to the specific group.

      Someone trolled about this e

      • If you try to make a game which appeals to both, you will get the design by committee effect, and generate a game which sorta appeals to both, but not as much as a game tailor made to the specific group.

        I think Blizzard would argue that you CAN make a game which appeals to everyone really really well, and with their subscription numbers I wouldnt argue with them.

    • You target a fraction of the total population because "family appeal" games are hard to do and significant chunks of the market don't want them. Most action movies are aimed at 16-30 year old males for example. Sure some women like them but the overwhelming market for such fare is 16-30 year old males.

      The console market being focused on men (the casual game market has a huge female audience but the article isn't about that) is because traditionally only males could get away with sitting inside all day playi

  • Men vs. Women (Score:5, Insightful)

    by grodzix ( 1235802 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @05:49AM (#36525874)
    In other news, it is discovered that male population is ignored in fashion industry. There is great inequallity if we look at fashion where vast majority of products is aimed at female population. You just have to look around your nearest shopping center to see that most shops are centered around fashion and most of this shops target women. No shit, really? Women aren't being targete by game developers? Guess what, maybe it's because most women don't give a flying fuck about games? Just like clothes shops don't target men cause most men don't give a flying fuck about fashion.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by L-four ( 2071120 )
      But they should because Men account for 50% of people who ware clothes and probably 80% of the people who don't.

  • I really don't think adding a playable female lead character to everything is the answer. I'm a man and I have very little in common with the usual muscle-bound he-man videogame protagonists. You can play as a female in plenty of games (WoW and Mass Effect, for instance) but the overwhelming majority of players are still men. So I want to know what the article thinks those mythical "needs and preferences" are for female gamers. From the available data I'd say they're actually pretty well catered for - only we call them "casual gamers". Browser games, smartphone puzzle games, word games, etc - they're all at 50% or more female gamers.

    This discussion seems to crop up every now and then and the question needs to be rephrased - why don't females play "hardcore" games? What is it about them that makes them inherently male? Me, I don't think it's about what your avatar looks like or how story-driven the game is. I think it's all down to culture. Same culture that tells us videogames are for 13 year old boys. All we need is for games to be great, immersive, well done, and for the shift to happen. It's gonna be slow, though.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by syousef ( 465911 )

      What bollox. There are lots of female lead characters. Lara Crotch ;-) Faith in Mirror's Edge. Chell from Portal 1 and 2. Just off the top of my head.

      • You named three.

        How many male lead characters can I name. Duke Nukem, Doom Marine, Quake Marine, Master Chief, Frank West, Serious Sam, in the entire call of duty series there is one women who even effects the plot at all. Kratos,Gordon Freeman, the last four GTA games, Crysis. Dead Space

        With a few exceptions, women remain in games as supporting characters, sex appeal, gun fodder, and damsels to be rescued. There is nothing approaching parity on this subject, and to suggest there is parity is bollox.

        • Well, I know I feel victimized and put off and unable to enjoy a game when it has a female main character. I mean, everyone knows how terrible of a reaction Metroid Prime got, because its main character was female and loads of male gamers couldnt identify with the main character, right? /sarcasm

          I really dont see why sex of main character is all that relevant. Perhaps it DOES say something about the mindset of developing the game; but with a few exceptions, it doesnt really effect the enjoyment of the game

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Eivind ( 15695 )

      I was under the impression that most games do have playable female leads, atleast that's true for the games I tend to play, indeed there's some of them that have *only* playable female leads. (Beyond Good and Evil, for example) (and some have no characters at all: what sex is the lead in minesweeper?)

      Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Dungeon Siege, Civ, They've all got female leads, indeed there's a balanced selection, and there's been put thought into romantic options for the female leads, hell some of these even

      • Nowadays that reality doesn't evolve completely on its own, a big part of it is modeled by marketing.

        Your example, the market of clothing for men, is good because a big part of the metrosexual movement was forged by marketing, especially in the way celebrities were presented, and it was the main reason why appearance products for men are booming.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Yaroslavna ( 633407 )
      I am a woman and I play Diablo II, Mass Effect, Oblivion, etc. I can tell you that eventually I got tired of seeing the dead women spreadeagled on tables in the Harem level of Diablo II and was alienated by being able to kill female prostitutes in GTA. (Just two examples.) Also, I get tired of no eye candy for me, the eye candy always *is* me. I think you're right; the "needs and preferences of women" thing is a bit disingenuous. My "needs and wants" are fewer rape jokes and less T&A in the games a

      • The eye candy thing is a legitimate beef with many games. While the characters all tend to be good looking, the men tend to have more clothes on. That is something game designers should consider (you should e-mail the publishers who's games you like and let them know). If they can have women in tight tanktops, they can have men in muscle shirts.

        I have to question the GTA thing though. Why would that bother you so much? I mean you can kill male (and female) civilians, gangsters, police, and so on. The game i

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Also, I get tired of no eye candy for me, the eye candy always *is* me.

        Would you play completely through a game that had half naked men and only men that were half naked in it?

        But so many male characters ARE beefy hunky shirtless guys (In Western-made games at least). The God of War series has Kratos in nothing but a loincloth for the entire thing. Conan, same thing, just off the top of my head.

        And if beefy dudes isn't your thing, there are plenty of shirtless feminine men in Asian-made games.

        It seems that people generally play characters they want to look at, or characters they want to be. I've known a few women who won't play Chun-li in Street Fighter because of her "gr

      • Also, I get tired of no eye candy for me, the eye candy always *is* me.

        This isnt something that will go away, like it or not. There is a demographic out there that these games are aimed at, and whether or not your demographic gets more representation, games like GTA will have this kind of eye-candy because their primary appeal is teenage boys.

        My "needs and wants" are fewer rape jokes and less T&A in the games already produced.

        Then dont play those games; I find those type of jokes distasteful as well, so I dont play those games. There are LOADS of good games out there that dont fall into these traps-- basically anything by Nintendo or Sega, most of the good I

      • Would you play completely through a game that had half naked men and only men that were half naked in it?

        Someone should make a game based on Happatai Yatta! video...

      • As opposed to the rampant objectification of men in the popular media? I do have to wonder why it's suddenly such a big deal when it adversely affects women. Mind you that in the US women make up slightly more than half the voting population and have all sorts of rights and protections which don't apply to men.

  • Why do I care? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Velex ( 120469 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @05:57AM (#36525932) Journal

    Ok, I'm sure this is going to get modded to oblivion, but here goes.

    Why the hell do I care?

    When I dress up as a boy and go to work and have to deal with women who get bamboozled by basic Word features like tab stops, why do I care? If these women don't care about games or any other tech, why, as a guy, do I care?

    When I dress up as a girl when I get home and fire up Monster Hunter or BlazBlue or whatever I feel like playing, why the hell do I care what some other woman wants out of games? If other women don't want to play video games, why do I care?

    If women want to be "represented" in video games, they can get out GCC, SDL, and whatever else and make their own games. But they don't.

    Besides, the girls at work who do play video games are perfectly happy with Smash Bros from what I understand anyway. I don't like Smash Bros. Does that make me underrepresented in Smash Bros? Why should anyone else care that I don't play Smash Bros?

    Why do we all have to bend over backwards to try to get people who have no interest in our hobbies to be interested in our hobbies? They're just not interested, so why the hell should I care?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ctid ( 449118 )

      Unless you work in the games industry, there's no reason why you should care. However, the question that the games industry (or some parts of it perhaps) needs to ask is, "are we leaving money on the table?". If there is some part of the market that is not being addressed, there may be an opportunity for some developers.

      Why do we all have to bend over backwards to try to get people who have no interest in our hobbies to be interested in our hobbies? They're just not interested, so why the hell should I car

      • There's a big assumption in what you wrote but that does not matter if you're not working in the industry.

        Given the number of women who play WoW, farmville, and other games casually, I would say that the folks who DO work in the industry have it figured out pretty well.

    • Maybe many women do want to play games, just not the existing types?

      I mean, let's suppose the game genres that interest you don't exist, only others. Wouldn't you be uninterested in games too?

      If women want to be "represented" in video games, they can get out GCC, SDL, and whatever else and make their own games. But they don't.

      Neither them, nor 99.99% of the male population.

      Why do we all have to bend over backwards to try to get people who have no interest in our hobbies to be interested in our hobbies?

      Who the hell asked you to? Jeez, why are these stories always viewed as attacks? Nobody said you should do anything.

      They're just not interested, so why the hell should I care?

      Are you a professional games developer? Then if the article is right, there's money to be made.

      If you're not, you don't have to care. Why the hell did you e

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Eivind ( 15695 )

        Maybe many women do want to play games, just not the existing types?

        Maybe. But do you seriously suggest that nobody, among the thousands of companies producing games, have come up with this unique insight ?

        Companies will make whatever type of games they believe are likely to be profitable. If few or no companies are making a certain type of game, it's cos few or no companies believe it'd be profitable to do so. In other words, they don't share your belief that women want to play those games. (atleast not en

  • Never Pleased (Score:5, Funny)

    by RivenAleem ( 1590553 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @05:59AM (#36525940)
    Duke Nukem Forever was all about women. What more do they want??

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rwa2 ( 4391 ) *

      In Soviet Russia, girl gamers play YOU [gamecrush.com]!

      Or at least they get paid virtual currency for it. Are these hookup services catering to the "need" for girl gamers to capitalize in the "oldest profession" style? Is this an overall good trend in getting the industry to pay more attention to girl gamers, or will it only detract from gender equity? Discuss.

    • Probably just mad because they could never get a guy like Duke to be interested in them, no matter how many times they shake it.

  • So explain Nintendo? (Score:3)

    by itsdapead ( 734413 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:15AM (#36526040)

    I see plenty of TV adverts for games that are very clearly aimed at women - Nintendo in particular has made a big push in this direction (and families, and older people of both sexes). I'm not qualified to say whether these really meet the needs of women, but its clear that the manufacturers think they do.

    Presumably TFA has some narrow definition of gaming that excludes casual games, Sims-a-like, pet simulators, fitness trainers, online bingo etc. That just leaves one of this year's biggest game releases (Portal 2) which featured a female protagonist, and a female (ish) big bad making bitchy comments about our hero's weight.

    Now, if it turns out that women are rejecting this pink fluffy stereotypical family-friendly stuff, and want more subtle changes to game design, that's a different story.

    Perhaps Duke Nukem would have got a better critical reception if they'd taken a tip from the "Smack my Bitch Up" video and, right at the end, panned the camera round to reveal that Duke was actually a woman...?

  • Without being sexist, there are definitely games out there that are more suited to either males or females, but they don't outright say it on the box. From my experience, more males seem to have embraced playing games such as Football(soccer) games, FPS games and heavy RTS and other strategy games, females are definitely more prevalent on other types of games such as MMORPGs (In a decent sized guild, a large section of the playerbase are normally women), Simulators such as The Sims and Farmville and adventu
  • If there is a demand for some kind of games - there will be an offer. In a short time - especially considering the current game market saturation. If there are no games of some particular kind - that means that the demand is way too low to be on the radar of publishers, or even independent studios.
  • My wife has a Wii and a couple of games on my PS3. She says she's a gamer but I haven't seen her touch a controller in nearly a year with the exception of when we play Rock Band together. I would absolutely LOVE it if she was into COD or some-such. We would so be killing pixels together... But I doubt that would ever happen because men and women, despite exceptions to every rule and so on, are fundamentally different. Men = hunters. Women = gatherers. Although I think things are (very, very, very) slowly s

  • I know (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dunbal ( 464142 ) * on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:31AM (#36526156)

    They need to take their games and add a virtual clothes rack and clothing store, where you can buy boots and other little items for your avatars. That way an additional challenge is presented: "Hmmm, should I spend this billion ISK on a Carrier class starship, or should I spend it on a silly looking monacle for my avatar?". The women, of course, will choose the clothing. And the men will choose the big pew pew ships. And so the game will be much less frustrating for women because they will still get pwned, but at least they will die stylishly.

    /incarna rant

    PS: All the women I know prefer big guns over pretty boots any day.

    • My Soon-to-be-wife will only play one computer game with me, Borderlands. The reason being, she can shoot and play around with me, but it things get out of control (swamped by bandits) she knows she can just cover her eyes and panic until I've killed them all. If you ask her what her favourite part of the game is, she'll tell you:
      "Opening the boxes and finding items"

      She's not mentally deficient in any way (I think) it's a simple case that she finds it more enjoyable to run about with me looking for the powe

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by RenHoek ( 101570 )

      I'd pay big ISK for a dapper tophat and monocle. :)

  • The community (Score:4, Insightful)

    by feidaykin ( 158035 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @06:47AM (#36526248) Journal
    I think the biggest barrier for entry for women gamers isn't the games themselves, but the gaming community. We all know of The Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory [penny-arcade.com], but women get presented an even uglier side of online gaming. This site has some good examples: http://fatuglyorslutty.com/ [fatuglyorslutty.com]

    It seems the moment a female gamer reveals her gender she's automatically the target of the most vile and despicable comments the online community has to offer. Granted, most gamers are thick skinned and can brush this stuff off. But it makes me wonder how many women have tried playing a game, had an experience similar to the ones at the site above, and gave up entirely. It would be nice if the online community were a little friendlier. We would all have more fun that way, regardless of gender.
    • Oddly, I've never seen this happen. Plenty of times, I've been playing online, and some girl comes on the team chat, and... we keep playing. Treat her just like anyone else. I'm not saying that your scenario never happens, but in my own experience, it's the exception, rather than the rule.

      Of course, I'm "glorious PC master race". Perhaps it's a different culture on XBox Live?
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Now if we could only ignore them at home as well...

  • um... (Score:3)

    by Charliemopps ( 1157495 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @07:09AM (#36526414)
    Women don't buy ridiculous gadgets like Xboxes and such... so why would those systems make games for them? That doesn't mean women are being ignored. Facebook games anyone? Bejeweled? I'd argue that if you just counted the number of games out there, there's actually MORE tailored to women than to men. The only difference being, Men are willing to pay a lot more for their entertainment and entertainment companies are happily willing to take their money.
  • ...but when are you going to make works tailored to female audiences?

    .

  • That's because they're all busy playing Farmville on Facebook. The last numbers I heard were around 60 to 70% female players. That's with a game that lies north of 50 million active players. Sounds like a huge chunk of women having just the type of fun they need with the gaming industry.

    Add in my daughter and her friends all hooked on Animal Crossing DS(i) I'd say the video gaming industry is doind just fine with the ladies.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shados ( 741919 )

      Yup. If 50% of gamers are women, then obviously the market is pretty optimal right now.

      Sure, you could put farmsville on PC with HD graphics, but....would that work? The platform (facebook) as has much to do with it than the game. That's why "primarly guy" populated discussion forums will have "console wars".

      Then you have hybrids. I'm pretty sure Terraria will appeal as much to women than it will to men. If there's less women, it is probably only because Steam markets mostly to guys, and little more.

  • I believe the entire line-up from Popcap games is already pretty women-friendly. And looking how big the Sims is, I think women get plenty of attention. Warcraft has a huge amount of girls playing as well.

    Besides.. who says women don't like FPS's like Counterstrike and such? I think women would hate it more if they were relegated into a corner with an all pink edition of Barbie Pony Combing, then let out in the world and play anything we guys play.

  • We just need more geek girls in the media, that should help bring their plight front and center.

    This vloguer is also a Linux geek, which is how I originally stumbled upon her (she has some of the most articulate compiz nowto videos I've ever seen)
    http://www.nixiepixel.com/ [nixiepixel.com]

  • In order to build games for women don't you need to understand them ?
    Does anybody (who can code) know what women wants ?

  • Obviously, some study was done that asked something along the lines of do you ever play video games.
    And of course ~ 100% of people said yes, making the study show that 50% of gamers are women, which of course any competent person knows that is false.

    And then I assume that they asked some other generic question where the answer of yes the gaming industry does focus on men was the obvious answer.

    How no one in the study could of not realized their first mistake with the number of 50% even after the contradicti

  • We'll write games for women, as soon as they tell us what they want - be specific, say what you want, not just that what we offered isn't it!

  • As an employee at Zynga, I can tell you there are TONS of female gamers out there. They just aren't playing the same games you dudes are....

  • write games themselves (Score:3)

    by hort_wort ( 1401963 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @08:33AM (#36527370)

    The free market is supposed to solve issues like this on it's own. Why don't a bunch of women get together and start their own gaming company then? They could call it Amazon. Errr, AmazonGames. .... Okay, forget Amazon, but they could have their own company and write games that they would like. Why do "we" have to write games for "them"?

  • What kind of sexist comment is this? (Score:3)

    by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @08:49AM (#36527562)

    "...while the female audience in gaming has grown, games tailored to their needs and preferences continue to go missing."

    Uh, what the hell is this all about? Tailored to "their needs"? They act like women gamers have 3 arms instead of two. It's a game, and usually within gaming revolves around FPS gaming. "Headshots" are not "tailored" towards any gender...what, do they find that women gamers prefer more pink on the battlefield? (Yes, I know that sounds sexist, but so is the comment in TFA)

    Give me a break. You either like the game well enough to play it, or you don't. Gender should have nothing to do with it. This likely has more to do with advertising within games than the game itself. Leave it to the marketeers to try and "tune" something that doesn't need tuning for the sake of doubleclick.

  • But I thought... (Score:5, Funny)

    by telekon ( 185072 ) <canweriotnow@gma ... minus herbivore> on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @09:14AM (#36527888) Homepage Journal
    ...that ignoring women was the point of gaming?

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