Ever since I was young I can always remember those rainy days when mom would let us stay inside and play video games all day. We would pop in Street Fighter, Mario Kart, and Mortal Kombat just to name a few. I always was one character in those games, and one character only.....the only girl ever in the video games. Chun Li, Princess Peach and Kintana became my alter egos, a recent revelation of mine that has made complete sense but also confuses me about the video game industry. Why aren't the video game makers filling the need for more bad ass females in their games and marketing that to the hugely growing female demographic?
A recent study revealed that 88.5 percent of game developers are male, tested by young men and marketed to young men. So why does the "recession proof" video game industry give us ladies what we want more of? In my opinion I believe they do. There are dozens of games out there that I would go buy, become a hermit crab, beat the game and not come out for days but not regret a second of it because of the gameplay. Problem is, I have to go HUNTING for those games because the females gamers are not taken seriously in this industry.
Along with having to hunt down quality games, when I get into a game that I love, there are no bad ass females to pick, and if there is, its usually only a few (if we're lucky). Studies show that the ladies like to work in groups, which would be perfect for games like Halo and Rainbow Six. When doing research for this article I did find a very intriguing game that seems fit this bill, the game is called "The Agency" and is due out in early 2009. The Agency is a James Bond/Splinter Cell type game but all the agents seem to be women. "FINALLY!", was my first thought when I ran across some other new "games". How about these joke-of-a-game titled Adventure Riders, Dance Squad and Gym Rockets. Those titles right there is enough to make me throw my DS through a wall. Write a cheer for that....
Women today are screaming for representation, from the presidency, to business, and on down to gaming. Marketers are missing out on a HUGE piece of the pie. A recent Gaming survey from comScore gathered that gaming has become nearly universal among all teens. Better start dusting off your marketing plan Xbox & Playstation.
So listen up top-dog video game developers, you've given me my Chun Li and Princess Peach for 15 freakin years, I want something new to play with!!
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There's been a smattering of the occasional bad-ass female main character for a while, I think. Whats her fave from Heavenly Sword, girly from X-Blades, and who ever it is you create in Fable II.
Did you know you can make a female character in Fable II? Maybe that's part of your point, I guess . . .
What would an advertiser have to do to speak to you as a woman?
At least lately they've given the opportunity in create your own character (Mass Effect) type of games to where you could make a strong female protagonist. Yeah though, apparently if you're not cleavagy enough, you ain't making it in the game world, which is kind've a shame.
Also, welcome? Don't suck. :)
The 18-24 year old male gamer is THE biggest consumer and buyer of games, yes females are buying consoles such as the DS and wii, but the software sales are usually linked to male gamers buying.
Not only that, but this generation has seen a mssive increase in games that are classed as 'mature' (READ: violent, bloody, action heavy and male dominated), which appeal to the majority of the gamer population, males.
Males buy much more games than females do, males discuss games much more than females do, and males gamers keep up to date with the latest gaming news more than female gamers do.
Indeed, it would not be out of place to say that the large majority of people here on the good old 'Toid are male.
The gaming, movie industries, and the respective advertisers are still stuck with the notion that females are merely sex objects. A disgusting way to think, but sadly it is seen everywhere, the sexualisation of Nariko, Lara Croft, DMC(remember the ads with the jap girl in?), and many, many more games throughout history. Movies are worse.
Smply put, in a male-dominated world, sadly females are seen as lesser beinds, wheter it be as pixels or as consumers.
Things will hopefully change, let's just hope they do.
Also, welcome to this wonderful site, be cool, don't suck, blog about good stuff, stay happy and hope you have a great day! :)
Oh, and expect some love off Mrsadistic, it's free, and warm. ;)
*that*
*massive*
*beings*
*Simply*
NEVER game and type at the same time, NEVER. :(
I think the problem is that most male gamers would rather a male as a protagonist, while females wouldn't mind as much whatever sex they are...
Muchman, that avatar is amazing.
Ps. Welcome to Destructoid, have a good 'un.
and every man knows.... women dont know what they want
That being said, if developers really want to appeal more to women, the gender itself doesn't really matter so much as the character design. Even if the protagonist is female, but portrayed as walking cleavage, that doesn't help anything.
So please, more Alyx Vances and Samus Arans, and fewer Bloodraynes. >.>
That being said, if developers really want to appeal more to women, the gender itself doesn't really matter so much as the character design. Even if the protagonist is female, but portrayed as walking cleavage, that doesn't help anything.
So please, more Alyx Vances and Samus Arans, and fewer Bloodraynes. >.>
That being said, if developers really want to appeal more to women, the gender itself doesn't really matter so much as the character design. Even if the protagonist is female, but portrayed as walking cleavage, that doesn't help anything.
So please, more Alyx Vances and Samus Arans, and fewer Bloodraynes. >.>
now shut up
Hahaha, thanks! :D
I have a female build in Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2. Granted I really only play with my co-workers and a few others, If I didn't have my mic on and entered a random game, you bet people would start hunting me down all day and talking dirty/trash to me till I left.
I think the female count needs to be pushed up more in games. We're seeing a lot more females in say...fighters and action adventure games compared to when it was usually males completely dominating. I can say games like DoA, as crappy of a game it is, helps push out the more girls fight. Rumble Roses helps too as there's a mix of good/bad/whatever personality. Problem is they're not being pushed much outside of Japan. Most americans want FPS or a game like RR where it's simply TITS of GTFO.
Also, welcome to DToid ^_^
Personally as male I hate playing as a girl. I remember playing Perfect Dark when I was younger and being completely turned off by the noises Joanna made when she was attacked. The girlish sounding moans ruined the experience for me, so much so that I never finished the game.
But that's just me. One day, when girls make up as big a demographic as guys, you'll get what you want. Just don't expect it to happen overnight, or you'll be sorely disappointed.
I think that games need deep female lead characters, not just more female characters. By that I mean female characters with... well... character. That could be applied to almost any gaming demographic, but I think it fits in with mainly women in this case. I don't want to play a game unless I can relate with the character and I'm sure that girls feel the same way. I'd much rather play as a character that has more human qualities than "badass space marine" qualities.
In truth the politics of sexuality shouldn't come into games. Why? Because a game shouldn't be so much about that, and more about the story, gameplay etc. Only if it improves or build upon those should it be at the forefront of a game.
Things have changed a lot from those Lara Croft /Chun Li games. Games like Mass Effect, upcoming Mirrors Edge offer such games characters. How much actual character is put into them will differ though. The Agency is another one of those games with various male and female character to be. Its cool when you get a choice of character.
Games are always gonna appeal more to males in design etc terms, but fun is a universal thing. The industry does pay attention like you ask, but its only really Nintendo that has captured that precious coveted industry fleece, and its one mighty hard fleece to emulate successfully. With games being evermore expensive, its always an uphill battle.
Good post though, and nice to have another sound female gamer voice on Dtoid.
Girlish moans ruined it for you? You are not a man!
But if games like Mass Effect and Fable II (Fable I having only a guy = huge fail) let you make female characters, we're slowly working in the right direction ... in my mind, we'll succeed when when advertisements for games that let you play both run with the female version pictured.
to comment back about the responses, I have no problem with blood and guts and the game-play of any games. my main problem is the representation (or lack there of) of the females characters in games as well as when female characters are in a game, they have all their 'goodies' hanging out. Whats wrong with making some good looking but bad ass females in games wearing outfits that doesnt get their boobs get caught on trip wire? Regardless of where the market has been for the past 20 years, there is no denying the growing number of female gamers that need to be represented and these huge companies are missing out on tremendous profits by not representing this particular market. Profits come from a variety of streams, not just one.