What games do women play?

[spklvr]

There are other threads like this (I?ve even read a lot of them), but seeing as this is a school project, I needed to make my own. I also couldn?t find one that answered my questions specifically. I?m writing a paper on women and gaming, and one problem I?m having is finding information on what video games women are actually playing. I figured I might as well just ask.

When looking at the games I play, I?m not sure there really is a difference between me and the average male gamer, but me alone is obviously not enough research. I would be very grateful if you (men and women alike) would answer these two questions (and please mention your age and gender). I?m really interested in the answers, just to see if there is a difference or not. If you have any other comments, I would be happy to hear them.

What three games have you played and enjoyed lately?

What is most important for you to enjoy a game?

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I can use my wife and I as examples for you if you like...

We're both 29 and as for games...

What she's been playing and enjoying lately...
1) Minecraft, so much Minecrafy, she lives and breathes Minecraft at the moment.
2) Pokemon Black
3) Hidden Object Adventure Games (She's been going through a lot of them lately)

What my wife seems to enjoy most are games with a more "relaxed" playing atmosphere where you aren't being constantly bombarded by enemies, stimuli... what have you. She also really enjoys puzzles, especially in the Legend of Zelda titles, though she isn't very good at them we definitely play them together as I am complete shit at Zelda puzzles.\

In my case what I've played and enjoyed lately...
1) Bioshock: Infinite
2) Fire Emblem: Awakening
3) Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

And personally I'm a story junky when it comes to games, I mean I'll play pretty much anything but it's games with a strong narrative that really hook me, I rarely finish games that don't have good stories... also Colons... apparently I'm big on games with Colons in their titles...

 

[Sonntam]

Escapist is a pretty bad place to pose such questions. Most polls with gender separation showed a very, very small percentage of women around here.

That aside, I see most of my girlfriends play MMMOs and RPGs. Also I noticed a huge increase of Bioware fangirls and girl who were previously not interested in gaming getting into it.

The underlying message may be that women are more likely to play social games and/or games with strong RPG elements and good story.

What concerns me the last three games I played and enjoyed would be:

1) Bioschock Infinite
2) Neverwinter Nights 2
3) Kotor 2

But the last two are largely in the list because there are few good releases this year and I've been digging up old, cheap games to keep myself occupied.

Also, I like the story and immersiveness in games more than anything else.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

Hello I am a woman, we play the same games men do.

What three games have you played and enjoyed lately?

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Bioshock Infinite
Magic the Gathering : Duels of the Planeswalkers

What is most important for you to enjoy a game?

A good story is important for me personally, failing that good gameplay. I play a wide range of games, from Final Fantasy to Call of Duty. I personally don't see much difference in games that girls play, really we like killing stuff too.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Inb4 this becomes a hilarious sexism Flame War thread. INB4! This site needs to chill.



OT: Using my vast knowledge of the one girl I know, they all play League. Lots of League. Then her internet breaks and she can't PvP for a while

Ah well, at least I don't have to deal with carrying her scrub ass for a while. And hey, she can't turn my game invites down 24/7 if she ain't online. "Team stuff" apparently. Maaaaaaaaaaad

[sub][sub][sub]Just kidding, love you really Padding.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

[sub][sub][sub][sub][sub]But one game would be nice </3[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[Fappy]

I'm a dude and I will answer for my girlfriend and myself.

Three games she's enjoyed lately:

- Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
- Persona 1
- Pokemon White 2

What's important for her to enjoy in games:

She generally prefers more lighthearted stories (with the exception of SMT games) and is a huge fan of JRPGs specifically. She'll play WRPGs occasionally as well and loves Minecraft.

Three games I have enjoyed lately:

- Fire Emblem: Awakening
- Age of Empires 2 HD
- Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

I play a lot of different games and though I value gameplay, a good story/characters always sucks me in more than anything else. I go through phases where I play a lot of games in a specific genre or I focus on single player or multiplayer games. A few months ago I was playing JRPGs and then started playing a bunch of Mass Effect multiplayer. Now I'm gravitating towards JRPGs again it seems >.>

 

[Phasmal]

I have so many games I enjoy I can't really narrow it down very well. I'll go with my most recent though.

1)Bioshock Infinite
2)DOTA 2
3)Tomb Raider

I don't think my reasons for playing are any different from men's.
I like story. I love having customizable content.
But I also shooting and feeling like a badass.

 

[TehCookie]

The games I'm currently playing:

Skyrim
Disgaea 4
Xenoblade Chronicles
Metal Gear Rising
Atlier Totori
Pokemon
Devil Survivor
Persona 3 Portable
Guild Ward 2

The most important thing of a game is that it's good. It doesn't matter if it's the story or gameplay, I play them both for different reasons. Of course my personal taste of what I consider good comes into play as well.

 

[spklvr]

Escapist is a pretty bad place to pose such questions. Most polls with gender separation showed a very, very small percentage of women around here.

Good thing I'm asking on several forums then. Odd that there are so few women here.

 

[b.w.irenicus]

Well, three games my wife enjoyed more or less recently:

1. Mario Kart Wii
2. Harvest Moon
3. Gears of War 2

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'm a dude and I will answer for my girlfriend and myself.

Likewise.

Generally she likes RPGs. HUGE fan of the Bioware RPGs, and she took a shine to Witcher 2 as well. She also recently got into the Bethesda RPGS (Skyrim, Fallout 3) as well as New Vegas and enjoyed them greatly.

She likes MMOs as well, although there hasn't been one that really captured her since WoW/Warhammer. She flaked out on TOR after her grave disappointment with ME3's ending.

She likes shooters with reasonably strong story elements, like Bioshock or Far Cry 3.

She likes adventure and puzzles games, as well as story heavy hybrids like Walking Dead or To the Moon.

She enjoyed playing through some of the classic RPGs like Planescape/BG2.

She loves Katamari Damacy.

She (rather embarrassingly) also likes hidden object games.

She DOESN'T like strategy games, or sports games, or heavy duty simulations (she likes the Sims). She also can't drive virtual cars worth a fig for some reason and thus shies away from racers or car heavy games like Saints Row or GTA.

Good thing I'm asking on several forums then. Odd that there are so few women here.

Fortunately there is no shortage of girly men, like Fappy.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Mind games. They play mind games.

My gf plays pretty much everything. She is more of a console gamer though because of the fighting games which is her favorite genre. And she's absolutely incredible. I can't win. Ever.

 

[Fappy]

I'm a dude and I will answer for my girlfriend and myself.

Likewise.

Generally she likes RPGs. HUGE fan of the Bioware RPGs, and she took a shine to Witcher 2 as well. She also recently got into the Bethesda RPGS (Skyrim, Fallout 3) as well as New Vegas and enjoyed them greatly.

She likes MMOs as well, although there hasn't been one that really captured her since WoW/Warhammer. She flaked out on TOR after her grave disappointment with ME3's ending.

She likes shooters with reasonably strong story elements, like Bioshock or Far Cry 3.

She likes adventure and puzzles games, as well as story heavy hybrids like Walking Dead or To the Moon.

She enjoyed playing through some of the classic RPGs like Planescape/BG2.

She loves Katamari Damacy.

She (rather embarrassingly) also likes hidden object games.

She DOESN'T like strategy games, or sports games, or heavy duty simulations (she likes the Sims). She also can't drive virtual cars worth a fig for some reason and thus shies away from racers or car heavy games like Saints Row or GTA.

Good thing I'm asking on several forums then. Odd that there are so few women here.

Fortunately there is no shortage of girly men, like Fappy.

Hey now. That only applies to Thursdays when Daystar gets to be on-top. If I never let him feel important he'll report me to the IRS for marriage fraud or something.

 

[Auron]

Girlfriend sure likes her MMO's and multiplayer FPS(not much patience for story-driven but she'll happily co-op.)... That and extreme casual games on the wii(party, kart, etc.) or some mortal kombat on a noob level.


Sadly every muscle in her body retracts with agony and pain when I want to play Starcraft, Age of Empires or Civilization...


If I had to make a list I'd say


World of Warcraft
Counter Strike
Team Fortress 2


I don't really believe there's anything that makes male and female gaming preferences inherently different. She's just a different person, lots of men here have repeatedly damned multiplayer as the spawn of the devil, I have a seething hatred for most games/modes where you fight against a stupid AI where you could be fighting a real human opponent(best example being teaming against a computer in a RTS.) and learning from it instead of beating the AI yet again in the same old way.

 

[Fappy]

Mind games. They play mind games.

My gf plays pretty much everything. She is more of a console gamer though because of the fighting games which is her favorite genre. And she's absolutely incredible. I can't win. Ever.

That's the total opposite of my experience. All the women I know have one thing in common regarding video games... they all suck at fighting games.

No idea why, really XD

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Also I noticed a huge increase of Bioware fangirls and girl who were previously not interested in gaming getting into it.

Ahh, me too! I think it's because of the romance bits! Girls often like emotional stuffs.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Also I noticed a huge increase of Bioware fangirls and girl who were previously not interested in gaming getting into it.

Ahh, me too! I think it's because of the romance bits! Girls often like emotional stuffs.

My wife just thought FemShep was an awesomesauce badass... that's why she liked sitting in on Mass Effect.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Lady here, the most recent games I've played are Bioshock: Infinite and Ni No Kuni.

I like RPGs the most, but slightly prefer JRPGs over Western RPGs
(with the exception of the Witcher 2, I really loved that game), I also like platformers, adventure games, Strategy RPGs (Fire Emblem), and shooters with RPG elements (Borderlands, Deus Ex: HR).

Escapist is a pretty bad place to pose such questions. Most polls with gender separation showed a very, very small percentage of women around here.

Good thing I'm asking on several forums then. Odd that there are so few women here.

There are more here than a first glance will tell you.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Only three games?! Aw man. Well I'll pick the ones I've played recently that are the best examples of what kinds of games I like to play in general:
1) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2) Persona 3 FES
3) BioShock

RPGs and JRPGs are my favourite genres, but I'm also very much a fan of more visceral experiences (there's nothing quite like making people's heads explode, I find). Gameplay is what I need from a video game first and foremost, though this doesn't necessarily mean they have to be nothing but "fun" in that department. I can't say I really had what I consider fun playing Journey, for instance, but I nevertheless enjoyed the experience very much, if that makes sense. So in more encompassing terms, I always look at the interactive component of the game first, since after all that's what makes games unique. Next, the story and characters, while aren't vital, can contribute a lot to whether I like a game. Let's take BioShock Infinite as an example here; I loved the first BioShock's gameplay, but I was disappointed by the way Infinite handled things so differently in this department. I wouldn't have been much of a fan of this game if it wasn't for Elizabeth and the ending, which I found to be incredible.

Aspects side from gameplay and story/characters have a pretty negligible effect on my opinion of a video game. I do love a pretty landscape and unique art style, but I wouldn't pick up a game just for those reasons. Sometimes nice visuals can add to my sense of immersion in a game's world, but in the end it's more about level design and originality versus graphics.

Hopefully my response helps you out with your project. Oh, and I'm a 17-year-old female.

 

[MammothBlade]

I'll speak for my sister.

She plays TES Skyrim & Oblivion, Catherine, The Sims 3, and SMT Persona...

Freaking casual. I suppose I should give her more credit, she plays a lot in bursts when she has the time.