Where are the "VIDYA GAME WOMENGS"? Well... they're not appearing in PS3 ads unless they are the "Insignificant other". I love the new Kevin Butler PS3 advertising campaign, but I'm disappointed with the most recent two ads. In the God of War advertisement, Sony has regressed to the old days of those "picking up chicks" dustballs or the Romeo and Juliet finger puppets, where Romeo is too busy playin' PSP games and he tells Juliet to go call someone else's name cause he's too busy gaming for that love stuff. All of those older Sony ads were pretty clear that "only boys play video games". With the newest Playstation Move ad I had hoped that Sony might indeed move into the "future", but again they showed a guy playing a boxing game and another guy playing a shooter game. Where are the vidya game womengs????

Sony doesn't seem to "get it". There are all kinds of studies and data that show that women are gaming in increasing numbers and that this is a HUGE untapped market. According to Nintendo there are about 11.7 MILLION female gamers in the Americas alone (almost one-third of the 33.3 million male players, and almost one-quarter of all gamers) and Nintendo is claiming to have 80% of these female gamers. (reference) , an NDP report shows an even higher percentage and claims that approximately 44 percent of current gen console users are female (Wii, 360, PS3). (reference) Another recent report showed that if you own a PSP and are male, you may well be a minority now... 52% of PSP owners are female. If you game on the PC and play casual games you're definitely a minority and if you play World of Warcraft, then there's only approximately a 61% chance that you're male (reference) ... and your percentage is dropping each year.

With the Playstation Move, Sony had the opportunity to attract a percentage of those women that own a PSP, own a Wii or play casual PC games... but no, instead they once again are advertising to a demographic they already have - 18-35 year old men. Geez, don't they get it? What most attracts 18-35 year old men.... are 18-35 year old women! They don't need to have advertising aimed specifically at women, but I would think that they could be smart enough not to create "exclusionary" advertising that implies that we don't game... that we are the pissed off "insignificant other" whose husband/boyfriend games, or at best we are the babysitting mom playing games with the kids and getting our face licked by a puppy. Why couldn't the boxer in the newest advertisement have been a female... in workout gear. That's an attractive image for both men and women.

Where are the videa game womengs?? We're there. We're growing in numbers. Even the Quantcast profile for Destructoid shows that 27% of the American visitors to this site are female, that's more than 1 in 4! (though I rather wonder about the accuracy and how those stats are arrived at).



I don't think that we women want everything in pink or to be catered to with advertising aimed specifically at our gender... I think we just want to feel that it's normal for us to game and to feel welcomed into the hobby of gaming. It is possible to create websites, advertising and games that appeal to both men and women. Oh, and as a total aside, I see that the Destructoid viewing options are now labeled as "chubby" or "quickie". To a woman (well, to me anyway) both of these seem to imply "short" (and dissatisfying). This seems yet another small but interesting look at how men's wordage might differ from women's, and that sometimes using less of a boy's club mentality might seem less exclusionary, and confusing, for women.

... and this entire rambling blog was brought to you by an ad that made me laugh. This ad makes fun of women but in a friendly, nice way. It satirizes what women are "supposed" to want, but laughs with us, not at us. After seeing this ad, I then saw the most recent PS3 "Insignificant other" ad, and the contrast got me thinking. Both ads are primarily aimed at men and make fun of women... but one ad was appealing, while the Sony ad just made me pissed off. Here's the ad that I thought did humor right:



What are your thoughts on advertising in the gaming industry? Do men find that Old Spice ad funny too? Is it possible for ads to attract women to gaming, while not alienating men?

Oh... and links to the PS3 Ads for reference, in case you missed them:
God of War III will make you ignore your girlfriend - Destructoid
Kevin Butler talks about Playstation Move FROM THE FUTURE - Destructoid