Girl Gamers

[BigNiceJohn]

The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

 

[Fullmetal X]

The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

I can only partially agree with you, mainly because I tend to applaud girl gamers for their willingness to play and even enjoy games most people designate as "men's games". I know girls who have played and enjoyed Counter-Strike and Halo so it's not difficult for me to imagine that there are girls out there who like Gears of War. However, the female gaming market is really underdeveloped and should expand more, if only to serve as a gateway into the gaming world. Games like Gears of War, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, etc. can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of gender. The main problem is intimidation. You wouldn't tell someone who's new to the gaming scene to play Devil May Cry 3...it would utterly destroy them. Since there isn't much of a window for female gamers to begin with, it's understandable that they're hard to find. And that's not to say there aren't many. Some of them are actually embarrassed to admit they play games because many still believe it's for nerdy, geeky men who play chess and D&D.

 

[Fire Daemon]

The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

The problem is that men still make up a much larger part of the gaming comunity. Women need to get more interested in male targeted games before any women targeted games will be created. But I have played some girls on Gears of War but I think your more likely to find some girl gamers on CS, Rainbow Six or CoD4. More sensible games seem to have more female gamers playing.

 

[stompy]

I think the lack of girl gamers descends from 2 factors: the social stigma related with gaming ( the whole girly-girl and macho guy thing), and the pricks who don't help new-comers get into the 'mind set' or whatever you'd call it (basically those people who go "0MGZ, girlz.show uz pic").

My belief is that in the arena of gaming, everyone is fair game. The only deciding factor is skill. So, I don't go easy on anyone, unless I'm trying to teach them how to play (which hasn't happened yet), but I don't go after those who I perceive to be women.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[The Potato Lord]

Not to be too prejudice but most girls i've met who are into games(or anime) are really wierd. Dunno why though...

I second that notion. it's the same where I live too.
Not saying that's bad because many people around me find me to be "Unusual"

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

If I hadn't worked the late shift, I would never have played a video game. Generally, the breakroom/gameroom was full of guys killing each other and giving each other shit, and I did not want to plop my n00b ass down in the middle of that. I already felt conspicuous enough as a woman, and I felt like my lack of skill would be written off as a natural result of my gender, which pissed me off. "It's not cuz I'm a girl, it's because I've never played before, dickweed!" Also, whenever anyone tried to learn, there was always some jackass behind them, huffing and sighing because some little scrub was keeping them from getting their frag on.

I don't have a problem with killing virtual people, I have a problem looking like a fool in front of other people when I am already uncomfortably out-of-place in an environment to begin with.

Luckily, I worked later than most and so got to learn with the help of a friend and without the help of the peanut gallery. I started playing 3-4 hours after work every shift and finally bought a console of my own. I still don't play online though, because I'm not confident enough of my skills to do it, and I really don't take public embarrassment well at all when I am trying to learn.

 

[BigNiceJohn]

I first met the woman who became my fiancee through some mutual friends she went to high school with. Then it turned out she was a member of the community over at Red vs Blue, as I was (and still am).

I really dig the fact that there are these elite groups of gamer girls who routinely kick ass. If there is to be an upswing in female gaming, it's only going to start by having some women at the top.

I also think one huge thing that is not conducive to female gamers is the whole online experience. I wish there was an option, either in game or on xbl where you could actually choose an age group to play with.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

I also wonder if there's a pickiness factor. Most of the women I have known who play have zero tolerance for crappy combat systems, crappy level design, and grindingly repetitive objectives. On the other hand, it seems that guys are more likely to finish a game more or less just because they started it. If 90% of everything is crap, then I'm not surprised that women get through 80% and conclude it's just not worth the try.

If pickiness is a factor, then it's no wonder women would pick casual games, which can be played for 5 minutes if that's what you feel like. 5 minutes of mediocrity as opposed to 50 hours of mediocrity? I know which one I would pick.

Also, is this culturally specific I wonder, like comics? In the U.S., comics are a guy thing, while in Japan, comics are read equally by both sexes. Could it be the same way with games?

 

[Blayze]

I really dig the fact that there are these elite groups of gamer girls who routinely kick ass.

To be honest, that's a bit like having a clan that restricts entry based on the colour of your skin. I know they decided to take a more PC approach, but to me PMS will always stand for "Psychotic Man Slayerz". Hardly the nicest clan name to have, is it? I once suggested, on another forum, making a clan called "Female Genital Mutilation" and seeing how much hatemail I'd get (This was when I'd just learned about them - PMS, that is).

Many guys say "I love women who can kick my arse", and I can understand the desire to know someone who can challenge you (And whom you can challenge), so that you can both develop your mad skillz, but it shouldn't *matter* what gender they are.

If there is to be an upswing in female gaming, it's only going to start by having some women at the top.

The good thing is, any gamer- regardless of age, gender or whatever- has to earn their place at the top. They have to work towards it. You can't just get a free ride from "positive" discrimination until you get to the top in gaming, or from anything, for that matter.

Then we'll get another of the usual "Move over boys, the gamer grrls are destroying your OLD BOYS CLUB" articles written by the usual hacks who have no real news to report. A normal article, sure, I'll take it seriously. And by that I mean I'll show it the same lack of regard I show most other things. It's the best way to be fair, I've found.

Give nobody special treatment, and then you can easily shoot down the ones who expect it.

 

[ser710]

I haven't met a girl to this day that constantly plays video games. I've met some that play it every now and then but are just not into it.

 

[S4IR]

Urgh, I have the annoying compelling need to reply to this thred and dump my thoughts on the subject. Normally I just ignore this kinda stuff and think, who cares if girls are into games or not.

(Complete brain dump warning - little structure to this post)

Anyhoo...
Essentially I think people are looking at it wrong. We seem to be saying why aren't girls playing games? The answer is that most games are targeted at the 'core gamer' i.e. the men, so basically there just aren't enough games for girls. We seem to use this question in a way that assumes we want girls to play the kind of games guys play, but if we look at film, books tv etc we can see this shouldn't be the case. In the other entertainment industries there are things aimed speciffically for women and others specifically for men. For example desperate housewives, ugly betty, romatic comedies (bridget jones etc) these are aimed at girls (Note I say aimed - it doesn't mean there aren't some guys that like them). And obviously therefore there are tv programmes and films (I guess horror and action mainly) aimed at guys (but noting there are girls that like these).
Fortunately we are now seeing games aimed at girls like sims, cooking mamma or whatever. And this is a good thing as it will get consoles into the hands of the type of girls that wouldn't normally play games and then maybe they can explore more games that are for both genders.
Party games also seem to be a good way to get girls into games. I think the main issue is that girls are more likely to want to spend time in a social setting then guys. THey like to talk and do things together. I know alot of girls that have bought playstations purely for DDR and singstar.
In terms of social conditioning, yep it's probably true that most aged 20+ girls grew up with games being a boys toy, but now it is much more acceptable for little girls to have a DS (usually pink ones :] ) So this in the future will lead to girls being more used to having games about as a form of entertainment as much as any other. I have a niece who owns a ds, a whole bunch of girls games and games like mario etc and her and her friends are allways playing them. So the future of girls and games is there I think, a revolution is starting! ha ha. Also at the other end of the spectrum my Grandma has a DS and thouroughly enjoyed playing the wii at christmas.

So generally I think we are in the time where girls are being introduced to games (mainly thanks to nintendo) and we will see a change in this problem(if you think it is one) in the next 10yrs or so.

In response to the original post I think if you want to get girls to play games, get a wii, get some party games, get some alcohol, invite them round and play for fun. If they like it it could become a regular thing.

Also in response to some other posts, not all girl games are wierd, not all girls think about shoes all day and some girls do just like games and aren't in it because they want to be different! Also there are girls who like to play GTA, FPSs and torture their sims!

 

[Spinwhiz]

I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

 

[Dectilon]

I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

I don't really think the depth is the issue. If I'm not mistaken 50% of the people who play The Sims, which has to be seen as fairly complex, are women. And a large percentage of WoW-players are women as well. If anything, MMOs is something women seem drawn to as compared to simple FPS-games.

 

[Count_de_Monet]

I have a friend who plays Halo and is ridiculously good even when drunk. If she wasn't already engaged I would have asked her to marry me years ago.

 

[Aumichan]

I'm surprised that gaming is a mostly male dominated field. I love gaming. Even the shoot outs of zombies like resident evil, odd most girls find them disturbing.

 

[dreamshark]

I'm a female computer gamer. I know very few women or girls who play video/computer games, especially in my age group (middle-aged). Most female gamers that I know prefer non-violent games like The Sims or Tetris or (to a lesser extent) point-click adventures. I started out playing Sim City and Myst with my kids, and very gradually worked my way into FPS games (because I love the first-person immersiveness, not because I particularly like killing things). I suppose I'm also a little "weird" if geeky is weird. I'm a software engineer, and like the great majority of female engineers I've known, I've always been a bit of a tomboy.

Many of my daughter's girl friends liked computer games, but none of them had the kind of gaming obsessiveness you often see in boys. Only one of those girls likes action/horror games. But all of them (including the one that likes FPS) loved playing adventure games TOGETHER, working cooperatively to solve puzzles. I know it's a cliche that girls prefer cooperative play to competitive play, but my observations certainly support that. Do boys ever play computer games that way?

 

[GoddamnitReddas]

I'm not here to tell you some long, convoluted 'well my friend's brother's friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend played a game... once' story.
I'm telling you straight - I'm a female and I play vidya games.
I'd like to think I'm somewhat well rounded and don't just stick to one game. Well, I stick to one title until I either beat it, get to a level I'm proud of in it, or until I figure out 'I don't want to play this game', sell it, and buy a new one.
Honestly, I don't think I'm much different than any of you men when it comes to my experiences with gaming - I go for it for the story, for the challenge, and only seldomly for the instant action.
I always flipped the media the bird when it tries to tell me what I'm supposed to like and dislike because I'm a girl, so it's never been a big problem for me. Sure, I grew up playing with Barbies and the like, but as soon as I saw the commercial for Kingdom Hearts and faffed about on my cousin's PS2 while playng Harvest Moon, I was hooked. Then I just spread out into different fields.
@nekorion: I don't know about other female gamers, but I play games because I fucking enjoy myself. I wouldn't do something I don't like just because I want to 'stick it to the man' or some dumb shit like that. I do it because I like it. Don't you?

 

[Spinwhiz]

I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

I don't really think the depth is the issue. If I'm not mistaken 50% of the people who play The Sims, which has to be seen as fairly complex, are women. And a large percentage of WoW-players are women as well. If anything, MMOs is something women seem drawn to as compared to simple FPS-games.

I have found some older data that suggests that 16% of the game is female, which is closer to what I've heard (and if you have played any type of MMO (EQ2, City of Heroes, WoW, etc, you damn well know half of the people playing are not women). I think you may be confusing the guys that play female characters. You can check it out here: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001369.php

Again, even though this data is from 2005, statically, over any given period of time, the base of percentages remains the same. Basically, this means that even though WoW (in this example) has grown in subscription from 1 million users to 10 million users, the ratio from male to female generally will remain close to the same. That is not only in video games, but a formula used for research when brand launching in consumer goods in general.

Now, back to my term "depth" was not to say that women can't grasp the story, but that other things may fill that time consuming void.