Video Games for Women?

Cat Post on Jul 21, 2010 by
Topics: Engineering, Partners
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What video games are appealing to women?

I was recently at my friend’s house for a BBQ. My girlfriend who hosted the soiree is a project manager at EA Games. Once my friend found this out his eyes lit up. Being a huge fan of the game Madden, an animated conversation was started about the game’s history. I was at a loss keeping up and my friend joked – “It’s a guy’s game”. Which made me question, "What are 'girls' games?'"

Personally, there not a lot of video games I like. I had a PlayStation for a few years and had a few games. But the only time I would play them was if a friend visiting wanted to play. I often found the game choices for women were really limited and I was often offended how violence and gross stereotypes of women were main focuses in most video games. I find myself now playing Yahtzee or Sudoku on my phone more than anything as its perfect while waiting for the bus or between appointments. Is this only specific to me or is this definitive of the female gamer?

Doing a little research, the stereotype of the female gamer portrays women as only being interested in casual games and only playing on the computer or online. They are unlikely to buy a game or console as they are not a committed gamer. Therefore, consoles and games are marketed heavily to men because that is the core demographic. However, a recent study counters this argument. Entertainment Software Association reported 40 percent of video gamers in North America are women. Women over 18 represent a third of the gamers, outnumbering the stereotypical teenage boy gamers, which only represent a fifth of the pie. Women also account for half of those buying games. Online and wireless, women gamers make up 44% of the gaming population. The top selling games of 2009 and early 2010 show the influence women gamers have on buying trends – 13 out of the 20 bestselling video game titles of 2009 were rated E for everyone and 11 were made for Nintendo Wii or DS.

It seems too that women are drawn to games that relate to their lives; whether it is something they can play with their kids to bond or connect to their life, values and schedules. Robyn Tippins, a community manager at Yahoo, commented in the article, "Where are the Video Games Women Really Want?": "Games that hook into real life more will broaden the market tremendously. Games like Wii Fit explore the connection between 'time wasted' playing a game and 'time used productively' playing a game. A game that lets me feel like I've accomplished something worth doing, rather than just another cool sword dropped in (as in World of Warcraft), appeals a lot more to me. And I need games that don't involve quite the time sink that so many traditional games do." I tend to agree with Miss Tippins, if I were to buy another console it would be a Nintendo DS which I could tuck into my purse in order to play Brain Age when a free moment arose. I guess that’s my “girl's game.”

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  • Nissa Dee

    I am female, and I would say I have been a gamer for my entire life, being that my earliest memory I can remember is of a video game. The old dos game Boa. After that I spent a LOT of time on point and click adventure games, the Lucas Arts games being my favorites (and I played the new ones too when they came out and loved them) even as a young girl I loved the 1st person shooters, like DOOM. It scared the crap out of me, every time I played it and I LOVED that. It was HARD! It was a challenge and every enemy I defeated left my heart racing and my sense of accomplishment SOARING! I played Unreal and was getting godlike scores on my first time playing.. I'm not bragging, I'm explaining…Gaming is in my blood. I love the games where I have to strategize, even 1st person shooters.. I love splodin' heads.. That may sound 'angry and violent' but It's not the idea that I'm killing something that Is amusing, it's the fact that they can defend themselves and I have to formulate a plan of attack. Sometimes it fails and so then I LEARN. I play 'guy' games, and LOVE them because they are GOOD. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, WoW, Fallout 3 (not new vegas though..sorry..that was WAY TOO EASY and it made it suck…No I don't want someone to shoot FOR ME when I am in the scope..I want to do it myself..that's why I play games and not watch movies..) Even the stereotypical 'male view' of females..I could care less. I happen to (not bragging again) be a thin, fit female. I don't mind looking at other thin, fit, females. They always make the men muscular and greek god like too. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a man to maintain that physique naturally? I mean Gerard Butler had to work HARD for his 300 body, and yet every video game male (for the most part ) has a hardened body like that…and I don't know any other men who look that way…in conclusion I am happy that female gaming is being recognized..I am writing this because I very much want to make video games…For EVERYONE…to enjoy. And I would prefer that more people did just that too. :) <3

  • jprintup

    Where did you get the information on women purchasing 50% of games?

  • KD

    To contribute a perspective different from Nissa Dee's, I'm a 30 year old woman that has also been a hardcore gamer my entire life, until a couple of years ago, when I decided I can't stand the sexism anymore. It's more than the idealization, it's that women are treated like nonpersons used to reward or punish the assumed male player. When I play a commercial game now, I feel distinctly that the developers not only don't understand me, but don't believe I exist. Why should I spend money on a product that, at best, ignores me, and, at worst, hates people like me?

    I've sworn off games that treat women as less than human. Surprise, surprise – I'm stuck playing "women's games" on the DS, something I thought I'd never do. The indie scene isn't much better.

    Things are shifting. More women are playing, and, I suspect, more women are going to be making games. We're going to crack the boy's club open, and, with hard work and luck, our daughters won't have to mentally crossdress to engage in the storyline, won't have to save any more princesses, and will be able to find more than watermelon breasted dominatrixes with which to identify in a game.

    Let's do it, ladies! Oh, and guys? We could use your support. We don't want to take away your toys, we just want some of our own in the toy box. We can have sex without hate and we can have complex characters of both genders. It'll not only make women feel more invited, it'll make for stronger games.

    • http://www.calacademy.org Cat

      Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I tend to agree with you that many games are sexist toward woman and I appreciate the battle cry to change this!

  • Navillus00

    Is Halo, Oblivion, Fallout, or Mass Effect sexist? And what about the Fable series?? In Fable you can participate in same-sex marriages and adopt children.Shoot, you can cross-dress if you like. That game is one of the most progressive types of media out there if you ask me. As a female gamer, I find games geared toward/labeled "girls" or "boys" to be offensive. I mean, yes GTA and DOA is over the top sexist, but I play them…so what! Should I be watching Jersey Shore, or Real Housewives instead? And…uh, women are drawn to games that relate to their lives, don't waste time, or make them feel more productive? Screw that! I spent hours hunting dragons and leveling up my dark elf character in Skyrim yesterday. Yep, time totally and purposefully wasted. Maybe there aren't as many women gamers as men (by 10%). But, it's because of comments like Miss Tippins' that make women feel that they aren't allowed to veg-out in front of the TV, but remain productive and serious at all times.Things are changing…but for now, you can go ahead and tuck your DS in your purse, along with your lipstick because that's what girls do apparently.

    • Dawn

      WELL SAID!

  • Ljohn2489

    I'm a life time gamer aswell.. sega gen. After playing mortal kombat and winning. I was addicted to fighting games. After that I played a lot of war games. I was super excited by the game play and plot of metal gear solid 4 I totally cried like through the story mode. Being a girly girl myself I find strong story plots my fave. Its funny cause I also love sim games aswell. I love to create…so these help with that facet.

  • Emily Ridgway

    There aren't enough games for women. I think Brain Age and WiiFit games seem like "girl games", because we don't have better games to compare them to. I've been gaming all my life, and the games that I enjoy the most are the Final Fantasy series, Fable, and the Sims. Frankly, my least favorite part of the RPGs are the fighting sequences. I'd much rather just explore and solve puzzles. On that note, I love Syberia I and II. There was a company called Purple Moon when I was a kid, and they made games geared towards girls ages 8-12. You could explore through forests and solve puzzles, and there were "choose your own adventure" games in a school where you could explore lockers and read secret notes. The company only lasted a few years before Mattel bought them out, and ended that amazing series of games for young women. The part that annoyed me the most is that critics said their games were "sexist". What do you call ALL of the games made for consoles or PC today???