A commonly accepted misconception about video games is that women do not play them; the vast majority of gamers are men. This stereotype is just that -- a stereotype. In fact, the difference between numbers of male versus female gamers is only about seven to fifteen percent (Womengamers.com "The Web Site" 1). Women gamers comprise approximately forty-three percent of PC gamers and thirty-five percent of console players (Wright "Video" 1). "However, because the vast majority of [video game] developers are male, the industry is overly influenced by the needs and wants of that recognized male demographic" (Lowenstein 2).

In recent years, a multitude of web sites and video gaming companies aimed at addressing the neglected female market have surfaced. However, like companies that came before them, they have been confronted with the controversy over what it is women gamers really want out of their video games. What kinds of games appeal to the female audience and why? What differences between the genders may help define why games developed for men are not successful with women gamers? How can developers address the female demographic without alienating their time-honored male consumer? The answer is relatively obvious. Women gamers are looking for that which readers have sought for generations: a compelling and emotionally engaging narrative through which gamers can find entertainment, accomplishment, and resolution.

Before defining what women gamers want, examining what they do not want or what has not been successful proves very revealing. Until 1994, no major video game developer had at all addressed the female market. However, once that step was taken, what developed was been ultimately unsuccessful. These failures can be attributed to basically three overlapping reasons: girl games are aimed at pre-adolescent girls, many see the female characters in video games as demeaning sexual objects, and the story lines or lack thereof in most girl games are stereotypical and superficial.

According to the New York Times, "by the end of 1998, there were approximately 65 varieties of computer games aimed at girls between the ages of 4 and 14" (Wright "The Gaming Industry" 3). HerInteractive.Com, a major developer of female-oriented video games, "believe[s] that computer and multimedia industries typically neglect young girls in the same critical years young boys enjoy their greatest exposure to computers as sources of entertainment" (Riedl 1). However, that focus can limit the exposure the female audience has to that same technology they are supposedly trying to encourage in girls. The fact is after the age of fourteen, there’s nothing left for girl gamers to play. A majority of the companies developing games aimed at the female audience do not recognize the adult gamer, despite the fact that "nearly three quarters of PC gamers are adults" (Wright "Video Gaming" 2). The girl gamer movement is making progress to increase awareness of the female gamer; however, instead of blocking the adult female gamer on gender lines, they are neglected because of their age.

Most girl games are aimed at the pre-adolescent girl, giving rise to the second major reason girl games have been virtually unsuccessful: games are, frankly, stereotypical and cheesy. For example, the first title released by HerInteractive was "a game about finding a date for the prom" (Weil 7). The games developed so far are not at all socially significant. Developers and designers are having trouble moving away from the idea of just adding a little pink to the cover of a box and saying it is designed for the female gamer. Instead of giving female protagonists the tools and skills to outsmart and defend themselves from the enemy, they are, inevitably, given little more than "a purse, complete with compact, lipstick and credit card" (Weil 10). The games reinforce stereotypical and often sexist gender roles in an attempt to satisfy the female audience leaving gamers dissatisfied and bored: "most girl games today flounder because they’re poorly executed, shallow and underrefined. The products can feel like artless preteen musings, and to a certain extent, they are" (Weil 10). Instead of trying to pacify women with "girlie versions" of games originally designed for boys" ("Games Bad For Girls" 2), designers need to address the actual needs and wants of the female consumer.

Outside the girl gaming industry, general game developers often address the needs of female gamers by merely creating more female characters in games; those characters, however, are more often than not demeaning and ineffective. According to a study done by a child advocacy group based in California, "almost half of the best-selling console games with female characters also promote unrealistic body images, provocative sexuality, high-pitched voices and fainting" ("Games Bad For Girls" 1). Most often, female characters are the victims or the enemy. As opposed to the main protagonist in video games, their only purpose is to be saved or collected for a reward, or they are meant to be "overthrown by the male protagonist" (Wright "The Gaming Industry" 2). In addition, when players are given female characters to choose, those characters are often equipped with weaker skills and weapons than the male characters (Wright "The Gaming Industry" 3). Ultimately, not only are the games developed for women ineffective and unrewarding, the female characters meant to appeal to women in more male-focused games are unappealing and demeaning.

As mentioned above, what women gamers want boils down to the basic elements that comprise truly successful narratives: age-appropriate content, character, and socially relevant plot. Adult women gamers cannot be satisfied when the only games marketed specifically for the female gender "are focused on activities such as shopping, fashion, dating, and physical fitness" (Wright "The Gaming Industry" 3). If anything, the gaming industry should be marketing more gender-neutral games as opposed to categorizing gamers according to age and gender. Focusing on stereotypical gender-based contents makes video games unappealing and limiting.

Women want realistic female characters that are not sexual objects but are strong heroic protagonists. Female characters do not have to be Barbie clones to be successful and engaging. For example, in "The Longest Journey," the Norwegian adventure game, the main character is April Ryan, a young but realistic heroine, "with a down-to-earth wit to match" ("The Longest Journey" 2). Women gamers do not want to see the female body gratuitously exposed or objectified. Female characters should be equipped with the same skills and weapons as their male counterparts, founded in the same reality as their male counterparts, attaining socially relevant goals. Some games do fulfill these expectations; however, the tendency of game design is to place female characters in the stereotypically weaker role.

Games based around those socially relevant goals will appeal to both genders, allowing for fulfilling and attainable rewards and conflict solutions. Women want emotionally engaging plots instead of quick-response games in which the main objective is to act faster than the other character (kill or be killed, for example). Females are not satisfied with visual rewards, they "require emotional resolution" (Weil 8). Women need a goal or cause about which they can be passionate. It is all about the storytelling. Without the foundation of an engaging narrative, many women gamers are relatively unsatisfied with their video gaming experience. An abundance of research has shown that most women gamers want captivating narrative structures and socially significant objectives, elements that have proven to appeal to all audiences, male and female alike.

Presented here is an unbelievably short summary of a fraction of the information pertaining to women gamers available on the Internet and elsewhere. More than anything, breaking down the misconceptions many have about video games and specifically women gamers will expose the gaming industry to a completely untapped consumer market, opening up the video gaming realm to women and improving the quality of narrative in all video game genres.

Works Cited

"Games Bad For Girls?" GameGal: Video and Computer Games for Chicks, Women, Girls, and Divas. <http://www.gamegal.com/childrennow.htm> (26 April 2001).

Lowenstein, Doug. Interview. WomenGamers.Com. <http://www.womengamers.com/ interviews/idsa.html> (28 April 2001).

Riedl, Robert. Interview with Kathryn Wright. WomenGamers.Com. <http://www.womengamers.com/interviews/
herinteractive.html> (28 April 2001).

"The Longest Journey." GameGal: Video and Computer Games for Chicks, Women, Girls, and Divas. <http://www.gamegal.com/longestjou_pc.htm> (26 April 2001).