EA: Women 'too big an audience to ignore'

I agree that games are multi gender... Girls are not getting into games because they heard that companies were making female exclusive games.... they saw how much fun guys were having, and though they would like to try it out. Besides some women like hardcore action packed games. Let us not forget the famous FragDolls and their talent when it comes to Tom Clancy games and Gears of War! And as mskittykat stated, one of her fav games is God of War. Its like trying to say that women dont like action movies, so we need to start making romance films more. I mean Im just happy that women are taking an interest in games now, and destroying all stereotypical views, but these "pink" games are only encouraging stereotypical thinking! For example, "women only like playing games with puppies, bright colours, and games like the Sims which is about building a home and maintaining it."

Wow...I think I have more to comment on the posters than the article itself....first off, let me say I'm a chick (If you can't already tell by my tag)....second , love games, playing them and studying them; third...looking to develop games: maps, character design (monsters / creatures...go figure), and even be a video game critic...how 'bout that. Ok, with that out of the way, I understand why they want to try and gear games towrads females audiences, mainly because that a financial source that hasn't been fully tapped....it's all greed and profits. But let's face it, games ARE geared towards guys...and that's because there's an actual market for them. Girls, in my opinion, only recently made it to the scene because they're able to branch out more into these areas without social reprocussions....(yes, some of us still live in the past). But at least they're trying to address the situtaion. I think the biggest problem behind it all, is that whenever they do, some one some where feels the need to gear games solely towards women...why? Why not just make a good game that everyone can play?I don't mind playing as a half-naked chick, just so long as her character and profile work, it's whatever. Like someone mentioned, don't gear a game specifically to one genre...to be honest, I wouldn't play a game that features pink bows and pretty ponies.... my favorite game is God of War.The thing of it is, in recent times, they've started including women a lot more by making both male and female characters, and to me, as it should be for most, is enough.

I think the media is just trying to drum up news. The ratio of male gamers vs female gamers is like 50:1. I don't have any stats but males are the gamers. Female is still a small fraction of the total gaming population. However if you are talking about female (mom) who actually buy the games for their kids. Then that is a whole different story.

Sigh................I'm getting tired of hearing about women wanting this and women wanting that. Just give the games and give them the rights already. Anything to shut them up. Personally I think women really don't want to do some of the things guys do, it's really more of a pissing contest to prove that "whatever a man can do a woman can it just as well if not better". Obviously this is a good thing as far as gaming goes but in every other aspect in lfe, it's getting to be a real pain in the @$$ for me.

Well, I game on my PC and PS2 and they're "accessible" enough for me. My favorite genres are RTS, RPG, strategy and the occasional MMORPG. I do have an interest in the Wii for it's games and it' s potential but I don't believe my gender has anything to do with it. Hell, I only have interested in Fire Emblem right now. Is Fire Emblem considered a "girly" game? I've never played the Sims and I have never had an interest in it. I hate that we all get thrown into this kind of stereotype. Sure, I have a hard time playing games like Devil May Cry but I bet I could surprise some of you fellas in Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur!!! Not all women want more "accessible" games/hardware. Some of us, as the article pointed out, enjoy the same games you men do.

Too big of an audience to ignore? Let me guess? Its only taken you up until now to complain about all the Barbie and My Little Pony crap games that have been shoveled in your direction? Yeah right. The female gamers I know don't think the industry is predominately focused toward men, their opinion is that if they truely made games for women they would be more violent and perverse than what is currently out there. So cry me a river for things like this, its all spilled milk in the end. Women sure are doing pretty well in gaming for being "ignored".

I have to disagree with Yuko, until I see proof that women buy Wiis more even then it will reinforce the idea that Nintendo is for little kids/girls. Think about it whats more "girlish" Gears of War or Zelda?

YukoAsho is my hero. someone get her a chainsaw ;)

Haze - Well that part with the Wii shows exactly why the game industry at large will never appeal to the majority of women, save for a few standout games like The Sims. The industry still has this grotesque need to talk down to women. It's a shame too, because not moments before that remark, she says that women DO enjoy the same things as men.

m_y_n said: "How would they feel if i said that boys aren't supposed to go to the mall?" woman, don't even joke abt that.. you aint takin away my credit card.. anyway, i'm sure mrs knight meant well, but from that speach it sounded like she was sayin women a stupid. that whole thing abt wii being successful cos women find it less complicated is BS, if anything thats a reason for women wantin to play xbox360 or ps3 more, since womens brain adapt to more complex things easier than mens

I can beat any boy in my class at Halo 2, and some boys even admit it. Yes, I also play DDR and do girly things sometimes, but that doesn't mean I can't play video games. I own more video games than most boys I know, and I have been playing for longer than them. Many boys call me crazy, telling me that "Girls aren't supposed to play video games!" I don't care. I also hate how people think I would suck at video games because I'm a girl. Well boys, think about this when I beat you in any game: IN YOUR FACE!!! It's sexist. How would they feel if i said that boys aren't supposed to go to the mall? To all of you girls who play video games regardless of what others say, GAME ON!!!

Man I invited this girl I been eying at my job to my house. She said she loves video games, and I told her I had a "Wii", ("Yeah and I have that one too", I told her) the moment she heard that, she said she can kick my ass in Wii sports. Well we did have fun. Then we played "Wii" boxing, and she looked funny as hell punching around. I couldn't keep from laughing. She kept on asking me why I was laughing. I told her because you think you can beat me. Anyway, I love the idea of making games for woman, but hey we already have a system for them: the Wii. And the girls look cute playing with it.

Some women are too big to ignore as well.

I know a chick that plays videogames... although she is ugly and weird hahaha. But its fun, she actually plays final fantasy and god of war and so on. I like that :D Hmmm we need more good epic games that have a female character as main hero (thank you heavently sword lets hope you are a good game)

I'm a female gamer and I like The Sims 2. However, it's been the best part of a year since I've bothered to play it. I mean, why bother when it's just more fun to smash up creepies with Dante? I also hate Titanic… okay that’s not all true- I hate the romance of Titanic, when everything goes to hell and people start to panic, die, scream etc. it’s watchable. Great effects but I’d rather watch Star Wars IV, V or VI. There's a really stupid belief in society, especially in the media, that women and men are polar opposites in their tastes and desires but what any gamer wants, no matter what gender, is a good game. Take the eternally popular Final Fantasy VII and look at it’s fanbase. You’ve got as many girls drooling over Sephiroth (or well… probably writing yaoi fanfiction…) as you have guys who stare at Tifa’s boobs. At the same time, both girls and guys discuss the themes and plotlines of the game on forums as equals, there’s no MMORPG mentality of ‘ooooh… a girl’, like they’re the claw-prize aliens on Toy Story (which is why all my GW characters are male). With FFVII Square-Enix gave the same things (story, eye candy, character development, versatile gameplay…) to both genders. I like playing games where women and men are on an equal level, playing games where not every female costume is skin tight or barely there (or at least give us similarly attired men… mmm, shirtless Dante. Thank you Capcom) but also playing games where the fanbase isn’t all ‘ooooh… a girl’ when you go on a forum – hence my non-gender-specific username. However, this isn’t just a industry-internal problem, society has an assumption that girls are not normal if they like games. I’ve met girls actually embarrassed to admit they play certain games (Metal Gear Solid, Halo being two notable examples) because of how people look at them when they say it. That’s the biggest problem and it’s really annoying. Girls like violent and brutal things just as much as men do; Stephen King has fans of both genders, so do bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica and you’re just as likely to find a female fan of Park Chan Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy or Tarantino’s back-catalogue as a male one. It’d be really nice for this problem to go the f*** away, huh?

Trumpy - I think that's part of the whole idea of not making "pink" games. Obviously, the remark about the Wii is patronizing, but for the most part, it IS possible to market more to women. KoToR is the best example of a game that can appeal to any gender. DOAX2 by comparison... Not so much.

The danger is that EA would get too patronising, and thats more than possible. As the female gamers have said in this thread that they play exactly the same type of game as everyone else why not just give as many female character options to the game. On KOTOR this opened up other avenues of conversation when playing the game and didn't play to any stereotypes.

I don't give a **** what anyone says, but no way is Titanic better than Star Wars.

At the risk of sounding sexist. Most of the games out there are for guys. There is a strong surge of female gamers recently. But to try to make games just for females will never be a good sign.

I have around 250 games, and i know loads of other female gamers, we dont need to be 'eased' into the videogame industry. We're already playing videogames, have been for a while, get used to it

I agree with ptwon58 if you add the word "naked" before "girls/women"....

I wanna see more girls/women in video games, definitely need more.

First of all....the people making the sexist (for example, "Women just shouldn't be playing video games" etc.) and "Wii" comments, just grow up already. I don't see the big deal about women playing video games. It's not really anything new, either. I agree, the "pink" games, are quite stupid, and even quite sexist for a company to make. It's basically saying, "Women will only enjoy XYZ, in a game." XYZ, being something generally associated with the female stereotype. Though, I agree, that EA simply won't be able to take on a task like this. They'll end up making a "pink" game.

After sampling the pink PS2 - as i had bought it for my 12 year old nice. You marvel at the pink gloss finish, and i ask myself; why can't Sony just do the same for all the other models... imagine a black or silver GLOSS finish. That would be something. Still i have mine in one of those clear XCM cases from ebay - make do with what i have really. I think they do sometimes, demonstrate special consideration for girl/women gamers.

Guys i know 2 girl gamers, 1 of them plays devil devil may cry and ff12 etc.,and the other is a nintendo fan and is insane at super smash brosand all games she trie for nintendos lunch box. And before u ask, YES i have seen them both play and they are both very good gamers so its really comes down if u play it and practise thats all.

In a gaming enviroment, all genders are equal to be honest when it comes to games. Theres just a lesser majority of "obsessed" women gamers compared to male ones, thats all....no big formulae or mystery behind it. If you had to ask why, well "most" women are if anything casual gamers. So they are probably focussing more on their own careers and social life rather than gaming etc(and of course there is the male equivalent). I dont see what games they can or cannot play. Its like saying girls cant play the drumkit or guitar because its too difficult...but theres a plethora of female guitarists and drummers who can basically tear most male musicians apart. I think what the DS is doing right now for games is VERY accessible for all genders and all ages. Games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215 aren't just accessible to everyone but are also unique games which if some inconsitisies were ironed out, could end up being total classics! So to be honest, this isn't a new issue...i dont like how articles like this come off as all biased sounding but i can understand that there is a significantly less percentage of "obsessed" female gamers than male ones.

While I don't think there are gender restrictions on playing games, I think there are certain stereotypes that prevent people from embracing games. To date, games have largely been considered juvenile and male-oriented, and that perception has certainly kept a number of adults and females on the sidelines wondering "What's all the fuss about?" To that end, the Wii and the DS do represent a potentially radical shift. Many hit games are difficult to play for a beginner who isn't familiar with a 14-button controller with two analog sticks. That's sometimes easily forgotten by those of us who grew up with such a device in our hands. The simple controls of the Wii (along with some non-traditional games that don't focus on conflict or violence) help lower the barrier of entry for many would-be gamers. And once those people have been inaugurated with their first game, it's a lot easier to convince them to try some more involved things. Sitting someone down who has never played a game and trying to get them into a Gears of War deathmatch is an exercise in futility. I don't think that women need to be targeted specifically (though I'm not opposed to that) but I am glad to see at least one segment of the market focused on making the transition into gaming more gradual and easier on the whole.

Ok, I am a female gamer and I LOVE the sims. But not for the reasons you think. I never actually "play" the sims. I spend my Sim time building houses and decorating them. I find it to be an incredibly creative and artistic outlet. The Sim forums that I participate in are directed at building and decorating. I have over 11,000 articles of custom content for my game and perhaps %2 have anything to do with playing the sim people. The game is not just about playing a virtual life! Also! I love love love RPGs and play them extensively and I am currently in breathless anticipation of Fable 2. I am also enjoying our new wii on which I am playing Zelda. On my playstation 2 I have enjoyed many Final Fantasys and the Xbox also has had many enjoyable RPGs.....not so much on our xbox 360 but I am hoping that changes soon. If there is one thing to remember about gaming is that you can't piegon hole anyone, male or female. Most people are rather shocked when they find out what a huge gamer I am as I am girly-makeup wearing-stay at home mom- minivan driving- religious-and a very nice woman (if I do say so myself ;) ). People don't fit into "boxes". *edit* Kandekan2000- I couldn't have said it better.

Matt7895 I don't know any girls who play any computer game except The Sims. I played Battlefield Vietnam non-stop. I still love that game but it was one of the only fps that i got hooked on as far as the PC goes. I do think that we need to see more females in commercials for games. We're here!!!!!! And we kick A$$

her comments regarding women and the wii are embarrassing. She makes it seem like games on any other console may be too taxing or embarrassing for us to learn. As with any game you've got to learn how to play and women don't need to be targeted specifically. Just make good games and give us the option to play a woman character sometimes.

Ok, since when does EA ingnore any audience? If there is money to be had, EA is there.

I don't think the issue is in making games target for women or even making gender neutral games - I think the issue is in how gamers are presented to the public. It would probably be better to see marketing for video games in places where you would normally see marketing for movies. Newspaper adverts, non-game magazines (particularly general entertainment mags), bus stops, tv trailers, billboards - I mean seriously video games need to be presented and kept in the public eye just as much as movies are. Hopefully people will grow accustomed to them over time and that should bring in more casual gamers. And in response to "dasloafer" comment - even if you believe that video games are not a traditional form of media for women (i do't agree with that) now then there is no reason for that line of thinking to continue. Women traditionally would've worn dresses as opposed to jeans, traditionally would've stayed at home and looked after the family but are now career minded. Things change. Think of this: If you a stroppy messy sloching and miserable guy and you try to ask a girl out what do you think will be her response? Now try again but with a haircut, good posture, smile, and generally imporved apperance... Which of the two do you think will have more success? I'm not advocating misleading advertising, but actually a shift in the way the games-industry shows itself. It's not what you do that matters - but rather who you are...

I caught my girlfriend playing Soul Calibur 2 as Ivy once. It was awesome.

I had a girlfriend once who played SimCity...

I don't know any girls who play any computer game except The Sims.

Why don't girls play Zelda??? Is Link too macho?

deathskitten: I agree, both men and women will play games if they're GOOD, not because it's directed at a specific demographic, but still, most women aren't that interested in playing FPS's, for example.

I'm a female gamer and i'm happy with the games i can buy now, i dont feel like game companys are ignoring women. I play the same games men do so i really dont understand why companies need to 'target' women. Just concentrate on making great games not trying to see if it appeals to a female audience. If the game is good we'll probably play it regardless of what audience you targeted it at.

Yeah, since I introduced my girlfriend into the gaming world, she does nothing at house- just plays. Stupid me :) Better I would introduce her into the cooking world... :D

I'm wondering how a game based on Titanic could be... Eh, wait. Booooooooooooooooring!

So EA just needed an excuse to flood the market with even MORE sims expansion packs?great.

My friends girlfriend plays CS... :P

Woman I know love RPG's. But then there is that group called the Frag Dolls. They are hot and totally kick azz at FPS's. So woman all ready play games. So what? My wife plays tons of games. Nothing new here EA....

So what? If women want to play they will..it doesn't matter

Women love Wii's.. and that's the truth.... lol....

Many gamers nowadays are women. What's the concern ?

You know I am all for women playing games and everything, but what the hell, do we really need a frickin conference about getting women to play games? Here's an idea, if you want to attract more female gamers then take the money that you spending at conferences like this and then go out and either hire more female designers, who one would assume would be qualified to make a game that women would like, or better yet, as the people that already work for you to question the women in their life about their gaming preferences. But of course doing that would require imagination so what will most likely happen is that more pointless conferences will be held, the companies that don't already know how to make a game appeal to both genders will continue to think women gamers all want Barbie or horse games and the ones that do know what they are doing will just get back to work. Other things that may help, dress female game characters less like Lara Croft and more like, umm...... *tries to think of a cool female game character that doesn't spend the game running around half-naked, in a skintight suit and/or helpless* darn this is hard, the only ones that I can really think of are Zelda, Samus, Jade from BG&E, Alyx from HL2 and Alex Roivas from ED. I know there are more out there, but you should get the point. How about changing up the advertising as well, don't get me wrong, I love massive explosions and whatnot in games as much as the next guy, but if your game has a killer story or great character development then try showing that off, heck I am almost convinced that GeOW only sold as well as it did because of the Mad World trailer, although I don't know if that was effective in luring women to the game. Now keep in mind that the points I made won't work on the entire female populace, let's face it, a lot of women are gamers now and that was accomplished by following status quo. Well that's my uneducated rant on the subject.

Well I would say they shouldnt for get about them

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator] .....;) sigh.