Female Gamers: Do Looks Matter?

Doubting the popularity of games like Samurai Warriors is a little silly. There's just something about taking on an entire army of faceless enemies that everyone can identify with. In a recent interview with Samurai Heroes producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, he explained some of the reasons for their series' large success, and about halfway through there was a statement that made me shake my head. In short, it was the proclamation that the reason his game was so popular amongst women was because of the character design, and choice to minimize the violence. That most women are also turned off from big, burly hulk-type characters. It seems like a very typical Japanese statement, a broad sweeping generalization that must only apply to a foreign culture. Or perhaps he's just wrong in general.