The Importance of the Female Gamer

The Weekend Gamer looks at the role that female gamers are about to play in making video games more mainstream.

"As one looks ahead to the future of our favorite pastime, there is currently no demographic that is more important to the ultimate health and blossoming of gaming into a mainstream medium than women. Face it guys–Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo–they have you. You're old news. Your money has already been spent. But the girl gamer, that ever less elusive female who enjoys playing video games, or even better, the female who even doesn't know (yet) that she enjoys playing video games, she is the real untapped market.

Women gamers are the fastest growing demographic in the industry right now. Nintendo recently announced that more females are now playing the Wii and DS in Japan than males–an incredible landmark in the gaming world, but one that went by largely unheralded. Likewise in the U.K., 79% of females play some form of games online, also overtaking their masculine counterparts for the first time. In fact, when asked about their favorite leisure activities, the women in that same survey reported that playing games or puzzles online was ranked equally with having sex. Equal. with. sex. Wrap your mind around that.

I am convinced that the female gamer is the most important participant in the industry right now, and although companies like Nintendo have made great strides to engage women in gameplay that is attractive to them, publishers and developers must do more. There are several reasons to do this:"

[THE_JUDGE]

who have played videogames for years, was there ever a point when you thought to yourself, "Hmmm, this game and whole gaming things isn't mainstream enough!"?? I highly doubt it. I have no problem with girls playing video games but when a shift in the industry happens because companies want more girl gamers, theres my beef. Casual games are fun and simple but its throwing off the hardcore foundation of gaming that we all know and love. Its kinda bitter sweet.

[WilliamRLBaker]

the hardcore fanbase is not the foundation of the gaming industry, the casuals are.

casuals account for something like 60-70% of gamers, hardcores are a small breed.

[Tsalagi]

Except casual gamers don't buy as many games. That's why the Wii has such a low attach rate. All the casuals are buying the systems but not that many games. That's great for the console manufacturers but it kinda sucks for the devs of games.

[WilliamRLBaker]

let alone most casuals that I know own atleast 20 ps2 games, An hardcore is someone difined as having over that ammount.

Devs will create games for the biggest audiance and in gaming thats casuals, hardcore gamers do not make up a very big part of the market, which is why many games dont clock in over 10 hours.

Hardcore gamers are not the foundation, casuals are, and the devs will cater to them, and gain money from it because in an industry of 150m+ with 70% of them being causals most devs are gonna make alot of money.

[Tsalagi]

It's just that they are were the money is and devs know it. Think about it. Have you ever seen a multi-million dollar ad campaign for any casual game? Now think of all the places Halo 3 was whored out at, and all the non-gaming merchandise associated with it. Devs know that hardcore gamers are who they'll rake in the big dollars from all at once. The casual market is their fall back plan to get a small amount of money for the rest of the non-holiday year.

[THE_JUDGE]

my point was that if a game like GOW isn't being made and a game like Cooking Mama is, thats just an insult. One a game like GOW has more value in the gaming world and could be used as an example of how videogames are an art form. Cooking Mama is not! If profit becomes the main motivation for making a game it loses it artiness. The industry is trying to cater toward demographics and losing its art-like-ness and some of its hardcore followings. Its sad.

[JsonHenry]

I don't care if women game or not. Just keep making the games I want to play and do whatever you want for the women.

[kss]

females aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhh

[bym051d]

All I know is my wife wanted a copy of Harry Potter: OTP for the Wii. I got it for her as part of her anniversary present. She's played it only once. When she's played, she wants me to sit next to her for help, and she so unskilled at it, the experience is painful.

"No, go right. That right there... the one on the right. Pick up the red item. No, not the blue one, the red one. It's right in front of you!"

At least she's pretty good at Wii Sports.

[Tsalagi]

An ex-gf of mine decided she liked Toomba (PS1 game) after watching me play it and wanted to give it a try. I swear i almost had an aneurysm trying to help her out. I couldn't leave her alone though or i would be buying a new controller many times a day so i had to grin and bear it.

[andy001]

watching our wives play games is just one of the things which will increase the rate of divorce. It is worse than trying to teach them to drive. And if they are playing games how can they fetch us food and drink on a regular basis? ;o)

[Bad_Karma]

There aint NEVER been anything wrong with a girl playing with ya joystick for a couple hours :) .

[The Real Joker]

I think the title would of been funnier if it said "The Importance of the Shemale Gamer"

[Zhuk]

Female gamers could become huge with games like Cooking Mama appealing to that demographic, all you need is Cleaning Mama, Laundry Mama, Art&Craft Mama and have Oprah somehow involved in the games and you could open up the 40+ stay at home mum demographic ;)

[Tsalagi]

It's just that most don't play online that much (with headsets) or if they want a game they have their BF/Husband get it for them. Now about this whole shift the industry to cater to women thing. Do you really want to be playing EA "Let's do the laundry 09" or something every year? Because thats the type of games devs think women want (looking at you Ubisoft). Devs just need to make games and let everyone enjoy them. Not try to cater to every little special interest group possible. If the game is good, everyone will enjoy it.

[grifter024]

I completely agree with you there, I dont want to see down the road in games that cater to just women...that would mean other games like Mass,Alan Wake, KillZone and the like might need more dev time or will be canceled or delayed just because they want to make a game that will cater to the women audience. I dont mind playing with women online except when they start trash talking to everyone in the game for no obvious reason, I mean when I played halo 2 I was in a game it was oddball 3 minutes into the game I got a triple kill and the girl was holding the ball I say "Triple kill fear(My cousin) these guys blow" all of a sudden I hear "Well get your triple killing butt over here!" I look and shes across map running around like an idiot, she dies and when she comes back she starts cussing out me and my cuz for "Not" protecting her.... she just goes off calling me F3ggot, J1ckass and the like and this was not a single incident most of the girls I played with just start talking trash to anyone so I dont think the female demographic would be good for the whole of the community of gamers. Unless of course you want to hear them nag you all the time in a game because they "Dont" understand.

[progx]

STFU and make me a sandwich b*tch.

Grifter buddy we got a games that cater to women, cooking mama and DS cookbook LOL.

[d3l33t]

i know girls that play cs, etc, but the 'video game' industry is wrong when they cater to women. Most games are catered to guys but they dont look at the development of a game and go "a guy will like this, and this, and this", they just make a fun azz game to play, and guys play it.

If you want to get girls involved in video games, you need to somehow drop the stereotypes that comes with the typical 'halo'/'cs' player. There are too many 15 y/o's giving us a bad name in LAN centers everywhere. They get all hyped up on sugar then throw a tantrum around the cafe. Any outside female observer is automatically turned off by the experience. They dont like to sit and watch, but be involved and feel part of the team.

if you can overcome a couple of these obstacles, you can penetrate the market.

as some have said, NO hand to eye coordination in 3d games, and little to no logical sense when solving puzzles. Could take hours to solve and they end giving up.