Don Ryan, the new COO at Oberon Media (AstroPop, Zuma Deluxe), has somehow come to the bizarre conclusion that women can be just as competitive as men. Maybe if they’re competing in a pot roast cook-off, amirite?
"My experience at MSN and Xbox Live is that women are as competitive if not more competitive than men, except that they just don't want to spend or have the time or learn 'up-down-X-X-Y-Y'...They don't want to deal with that. You give them one button, they'll kick your butt," Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz.
Honestly, I don’t even see why something like this needs stating. A person’s gender doesn’t automatically lend itself to what types of games they might favor, the sort of mindset they have while playing, or skill level. I’m sure there are plenty of girls that enjoy memorizing scores of complex combos in fighting games, just like there are plenty of guys that prefer having only one button to deal with.
Game companies should just be focusing on developing fun games -- with people naturally gravitating towards the types of gameplay that they enjoy -- and stop trying to pigeonhole gamers into distinct categories based on arbitrary physical differences. Or am I just spouting crackpot nonsense here?
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Contest:
11:16 PM on 06.09.2008
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How many buttons does that take?
Snap. Yeah, I went there.
Of course there are going to be exceptions to every rule, but I'd be interested in seeing teh results of a study on this sort of thing. It's unfortunate, but a lot of stereotypes are built upon a small truth. This may be one of those occasions. Like it or not, there's a reason fewer females than males play video games, and that when they do they are often (not always) attracted to different games.
You're my new favorite editor :D
The same thing happened to me with Project Silpheed too. I love the game (say what you will), but remembering those controls is a bitch. >.<
LOLclitoris
This proves the retard who made the previous comment wrong!
Seriously, a guy can't talk about a demographic difference between men and women that he seems to have observed without people freaking whining about the fact that women can be hardcore gamers.
Dear god, is it so hard to understand that what he was saying is that he had observed a freakin' TREND. Trend doesn't mean universally true for all women, it just means it's more likely.
And frankly, if you do observe a trend between two easily defined and seperable groups, men and women, you've got to be stupid as a company not to exploit this trend as much as you freakin' can. It's a really well known principle in microeconomics.
It's a similar principle to realising that kids won't really want to play "Crack whores and friends" and having them play, I dunno, Disney related tie in number 25 and thus creating games targetting each market.
So I'm sorry if I horribly offend all of your sensibilities but frankly this is like the third straight day of frontpage whining about a game developer saying that they want to target a demographic seperately and I'm getting rather bored of it.
Saying that girl gamers enjoy less complicated games is stupid. My girlfriend for one enjoys playing RPG's, puzzle games and other complex games and she would give many people a run for their money. Sure give her an FPS and she won't like it very much but that ain't a gender thing, thats a preference thing.
Well, there's his problem. Because there are no girls on Xbox Live, and...well, MSN isn't the greatest representative sample of gamers he could use...
This just makes me think that he got his ass handed to him by a girl at some point, and in order to mask his own insecurities, he makes the excuse that "Oh, well, of course a girl would be better at that game, since she's so much more competitive and the controls are so simplified. Yep. It has nothing to do with my manhood...nothing at all..."
Natural 20, I don't mind people pointing out differences between men and women. But I don't like it when people draw conclusions that are obviously contradicted by reality. Plus this guy's statement really pisses me off, because it makes it sound like girl gamers can't handle what he considers "hardcore" games.
@Dead Movie Star - Ahahhahaha!
I just love these guy vs girl gamer stories. The hilarity in the comments cannot be rivaled, seriously.
@Mechamonkey - Good point, there is something that could probably be said for multi-tasking skills differing for male and female. But as you said, a small truth only. I doubt any study could be factual enough to make the broad statement that all females can't or have difficulty in multi-task. That would be silly.
I don't think its game companies per say that are at fault for trying to divide and conquer the market. Its just what good marketing departments do. Analyze trends in other games, find the target audience and focus in on what they value. "Gamer" is just too general of a term for them to feel like they are accurately marketing the game correctly. They instead need to create categories of gamers. Including but not limited to casual/hardcore or girl/guy and console/PC labels.
I don't pretend to be an expert in marketing or anything, but thats just my opinion. Anyone else care to weigh in?
@Natural 20 - You have horribly offended all of my sensibilities! lol, jk. Yes, good points made. I think you and I are kind of thinking on the same level with the trend meaning just that, a trend, but not at all a universal truth. Just something that is in a probable. Though he doesn't have much fact to back up his claims, just his biased personal experience. Take it for what its worth, which isn't a whole lot really. So exactly to your point, why get upset?
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=254
I really think the gaming demographic is changing to include more women. I really think it has almost been a cultural conditioning that at least early on has made this a guys market. Now I see more and more of my friends playing games with there little girls and they are embracing it. Our society still does seem to push little girls to dolls and all thinks pink etc but maybe not as much now. Little boys really toys are more fantasy and varied cars robots soldiers heroes etc so seems pretty simple why guys embrace gaming so. With more parents being gamers I see this helping bring about some change.
every bit as insulting as if he'd said:
"They (Black People) don't want to deal with that. You give them a lightgun, they'll kick your butt."
but somehow more acceptable. i'll give HIM one button... F that guy.