Girls and Video Games Just Dont Mix ?

[Babyboy]

Ok, I am a guy, but I think I know the main reason Girls/Women just don't seem to like Video Game's. The key thing is that most women don't like certain thing's and do like other's, such as most women don't like Horror Movie's or if they do they like them for the wrong reason's that being "oh I will go see this Horror movie cause then I cuddle up with my Boyfriend when I get scared" and that will be the main reason. What movie's do most all women like on the whole? Romance and/or Romantic Comedy, thing's that are less about action, saving the world or not getting killed and more about people and relationship's. Now how many game's are made that fit that category? Not many mostly only the Sim's game's and MMO's because on those you interact with other real people, this is why more women that play MMO's then any genre of game.

Here is the main problem, how do you make a Romance/ Romantic Comedy game that is not to sappy for a guy to play? I mean how many guy's are really excited to see that upcoming Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bolluck Movie "The Lake House"? Not many straight one's I tell you that much, but put those 2 in Speed 3 together and you got a movie that a lot of guy's are gonna want to see. It would be Very hard to make a romance game that would sell to men cause men don't care for romance much, Romantic Comedy would be hard cause most guy's want to be a cool dude or at least a guy that's not a clumsy loser in there game cause that make's a guy feel cool or at least it's a cool escape from reality. Who want's to play Ben Stiller in "Along Came Polly" a guy that is constantly making a fool of himself? Not many guy's I tell you that.

Most Women grow up wanting to be Princess Diana or Snow White because they are fine examples of Femininity. Most guy's want to be Bruce Wills in Die Hard or Stallone in Rambo, cause those guy's help save the world and kick butt doing it. This is just a fact of life, nothing will change this. Also, game's are to different from movie's, I can watch a romantic comedy cause that clumsy loser guy is not me, I don't however want to play a game where I am that clumsy loser guy cause there is nothing cool or fun about being a loser. I also DON'T want to play Snow White because I don't want to be weak female that has no place in an action or horror movie except maybe the one that dies innocently and we all know in video game's when you die it's game over. This is the advantage movie's have over game's you need a mission or something to do in a game, while in movie's you just watch other people do stuff with no big "Mission" in mind sometimes and it work's cause you are Watching something and not Doing it.

So, is there anything we can do to get women/girl's to play game's more? Not much, but is that the end of the world? Not at all. Do guys like female hobbies on the whole? No. So do most Women need to like a very guy Hobby like video game's? No, they don't. I mean sure, it would be cool if my Girlfriend wanted to play some video games with me, but I don't mine if she does not want to. I mean I don't think she expect's me to like the more girly hobbies she has. If a girl like's to play video game's that's great, but if they don't find it interesting, that is also fine. Developers don't need to target women when they don't really have a game type, besides a Sim's type game or an MMO that can hook them. What are we only gonna play the Sim's game's and MMO's? I sure hope not. Any thoughts ?

 

[SailorAlea]

Women do like video games--just different kinds of video games. Not many developers cater to women, but there's definitely a market for female-oriented games.

Look through your collection of games--how many of them feature a female lead? How many feature a woman that isn't a stereotype like the "badass femme fatale," or the "quiet, conservative mage"?

Women like customization, human interaction, romance and imagination--not bullets, blood and breasts.

 

[frsrblch]

Read the title and thought "Tell that to Alea."

Girls (my sister included) enjoy games like the Sims, rather than ones like FEAR.

Look through your collection of games--how many of them feature a female lead?

None, unless you count having a female character on KotOR.

 

[KidMan]

Only games I can remember having female leads was FF3, Tomb Raider and Perfect Dark.

 

[Adaptus]

I know plenty of girls who like playing games. One of them is a big RPG fan, MMORPGs too. Others I know are more into platformers or fighting games.

So I guess it's pretty diverse. I doubt many girls are really waiting for the next Barbie Riding Challenge game or whatever, so they just play what's there - even if they may not connect with the content as much as guys do. =/

 

[Ravendust]

I have girl-friends who play games, they exist alright, you just have to find them. I've found that as a general rule, multiplayer games, things you can play together, are the most appealing. It's also a two-way thing, you do the stuff they want, go out to clubs, go shopping, then you kick their ass at Soul Calibur.

Personally I hope the next GTA stars a female lead, it would be a nice change from the 'novice-turned-badass-alpha-male' leads Rockstar always seem to go with.

 

[kam!]

My little sister plays games. Her favourites are the c&c series, zelda and some others. And I think that are not 'typical' girls games/themes^^

 

[broli]

I've found that as a general rule, multiplayer games, things you can play together, are the most appealing. with.

Maybe nintendo listened to girls and created the wii

 

[Promiscuous Girl]

Well, the reason why women and games don't mix are a couple of things

1. The Girls in games - Girls like strong and independent girls, most games have the complete opposite. That is why many girls like Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2. Women in games are depicted as big breasted, scantily clad women who are very dependent on men. Girls are mostly depicted in most games as the epitome of femininity. Just look at games like DOA where they have girls with 36D boobs as fighting masters. Look at games where it seems that the less armor makes it more protective for some women, after all in the battlefield the smart thing is to wear less armor.

2. The depictions guys in game - Most girls don't like the machismo "I will take on the world" type of character. They like characters who are multifaceted and are tortured. In fact an article pointed out correctly that was written a couple of days ago that pointed out that girls wanted sexy guys in game. By sexy I mean a guy in a Calvin Kline ad, not a reject from a Rambo movie. Why do you think the recent Final Fantasy games have a LARGE female audience in America and Japan? That is because they like the so called "pretty boys" that disgust male gamers.

3. The different playing style of women - Most girls don't like playing games for 4 hours straight. In fact most like to play for a short time and then turn it off when they want to. The large success of the Sims and Animal Crossing with the female population shows that girls don't want to spend lots of time getting immersed into a game. They just want to play it when they feel like it. If you give the ability to save in more places and allow for more quality gameplay in short bursts, you would attract more women.

4. The difference in preferences of narratives - Look in Japan at the Manga market and compare Shojo and Shonen. Shojo has a huge majority of girls as the main fanbase with some men, Shonen has a large majority of men and a smaller percentage of women. Now look at the differences in storytelling. In Shojo Manga (girls manga) the story relies mostly on personal introspection with the lead character dealing with inner conflicts. They would resolve fights by talking it over and dealing with it emotionally. Just look in Fruits Basket or Kare Kano to see what I mean. In a Shonen Manga men don't talk about thier feelings and normally cover it up with bravado. A great example of that is naruto saying "I will be the next hokage" or Luffy in One Piece saying "I will be the King of the Pirates." They also deal with conflict through fights, just look at any typical series and you will see.

In Japan women write the stories for Females (shojo) and some make it to a predominantly male market and have HUGE successes (Fullmetal Alchemist, Hikaru No Go, Ranma 1/2, Anything CLAMP). Ironically men that make it to the female market have been HUGE failures and most of them take up female pen names now to hide the fact that they are men. I think you know where I am getting at.

Most people who make games are men, some men could understand what girls want. The only problem is that the gaming market is very competitive and not open like the Manga market in Japan. To really be a success in the female market is to have GIRLS make games. The only all female development team I could possibly think of is the now defunct OVERWORKS that worked for Sega. As I pointed out, there are men who can write stories that women want. I would also point out that none of them do so because the gaming market is predominantly male. It is predominantly male because they don't make games that appeal to women. It is a vicious cycle that will never ever end.

 

[Fire Phoenix]

Read the title and thought "Tell that to Alea."

haha, I pretty much thought the same thing. But was too lazy to post =/

 

[Babyboy]

Everybody made good points, though alea and soul's opinion view matter more because their female . So im asking u two to solve the riddle for me. What could be added to the gaming industry that would attract the average female to play more video games?

 

[|Overlord|]

I got a couple of female friends that play WoW. I also have other Female friends that play Daytona, DDR or Maxium tune at the arace I go to sometimes (I'm guessing they started playying those games from seeing guys playying them, atleast in Daytona's and Maxium tune's case =P).

 

[bapplebo]

I have female friends that play Runescape.

True story.

 

[Promiscuous Girl]

Everybody made good points, though alea and soul's opinion view matter more because their female . So im asking u two to solve the riddle for me. What could be added to the gaming industry that would attract the average female to play more video games?

Well to be honest, you might want to direct that question solely to S. Alea's side-- i usually enjoy the same games as most of you guys do -- (Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, SSB ect) -- and i really don't really care all that much either way. I struggled enough with my previous reply as it is-- most of it was just assumptions. Im expecting the " Wii " to take care of the so called, " Average Female Demographic " anyway. My view would only differ from one girl/woman to another-- she's probably more experienced on the matter, with a more diverse taste then me as well.

 

[Fire Phoenix]

My Ex girl friend kicked my ass at Bloody Roar: Primal Fury =/

Girls and Video games do mix, you just have to find the right girl(s).

 

[Cold Steel]

Yeah, like one time at bandcamp... I mean, at school I met a girl. And we were talking towards the computer subject. We ended comparing the games we like to play, and I was shocked how her list of favorite games was so close to mine.

Like FF said, you just have to find the girl. Or should I say person. There's plenty of guys who don't like video games either. It's not about being a boy or a girl but more about what kind of person you are. From my experience, people with limited imagination don't tend to play videogames as often as people with a rich imagination.

 

[Kamicciolo]

The way I see it both boys & girls play games but it seems like when a game is advertised a guy thinks "cool" whereas girls would rather try the game before jugding

thats my view anyway

 

[Promiscuous Girl]

I still don't understand why guys care so much anyway. If more girls were to get into the gaming industry, how exactly would it effect you in a postive manner ? Why should you care ? -- Im sensing loneliness and a strong lack of love interest from threads like these.

 

[Kurt`]

lol

The only girl I know (actually talk to) who seriously plays video games is "Belle", who is a CPL-level Counterstrike player

My sister plays the Sims 2 sometimes, but she shares my penchant for lighting the families on fire rather than playing the game in the manner it was intended to be O/

 

[Jakut]

My sister likes the GTA series and the NFS series