Video Games: Are for Women?

June 10, 2010 - PRLog -- PC Games: Is it ok for women?

Surprisingly, there is increasing participation of women as gamers worldwide, the figures show that as of today, the majority, contrary to what one might imagine, are female. It is estimated that 64% of American teenagers (aged 12 and 20 years) frequently play video games, while men account for 36% remnants.
By Robert Baruh - Guest Writer: http://www.pcgametrek.com

Several factors influence the choice of play in women and men. The consumption habits of women are different to those of men, that extends the choice of the game, and in the time allotted to play.

According to a study at the European University of Madrid: "Women and videogames," they expressed new concerns and preferences when choosing. All women referred to a higher offer on the theme of the games. Preferred strategy, problem solving and puzzles, more elaborate plots, co-op, interactive and, of course, more female protagonists. Games of love, romance and adventure games related to costumes and makeup: inevitable in the interests of women.

Most women are looking for content targeted to girls (as the game series The Sims, which has had a strong presence in the female audience) but, above all, that contain another type of discourse. This is the case of HerInteractive Megan Gaiser (www.herinteractive.com), who in 1995 founded the company that has had success with a series of games whose main character is called Nancy Drew. The series aimed at teenagers with an entirely different discourse, seeking to integrate the game with the most common type of reading in this audience: the detective and research.


The culprit is the technology

Until now, access to games consoles and a PC specially configured to play, seemed to be a specific area of males. As the girls take their time with other tasks and concerns, men have always shown a greater approach to technology issues. Even the habit of discussing technological aspects, it is much more verifiable in these talks.

So what was it that happened? How women approached? The launch and success of the latest personal consoles such as Nintendo DS and PSP, it's probably one of the factors of this approach. Not having to worry about the latest video cards or sound or the complication inherent in their configurations, thus becoming portable consoles also very accessible to teens.

Nintendo's entry with a new paradigm of play, through the successful launch of its Wii, brought up the entrance of a huge number of people without ties to the culture of video games to play. Wii players can move their bodies no longer attempting to move the buttons with your thumbs: we are talking about a radical change. Now we can play and be in motion, taking control of the characters on screen. Are "they" took the Wii that. Women are betting on new games without violence and also involve some physical exercise.

In England, in 2008 the typical female gamer were between 30 and 35 years old, played seven hours per week and spent 170 Pounds Sterling in games, as mentioned an article from the BBC (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi / technology/3615278.stm). The market of males between 15 and 24 is saturated and reach the mass market, companies must explore new markets.

Women Play Games

Role-playing - Final Fantasy

Narrative Adventures - Legend of Zelda

Easy Car Simulators - Colin McRae Rally

Intriguing Adventure - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Rapid-fire arcade games - Tetris

Simulations of real life - The Sims

Source: ELSPA white paper on women in games

In addition to the consoles, online multiplayer games are also a major attraction for women. They are the ones most adept at the use of blogs and communities participate more online than men. We can say that women have a stranglehold on this scenario. It is estimated that over 50% of pre-adolescent girls in the U.S. has its own blog. A sort of online extension of their day, says a change of mentality, because these journals represent a part of feminine intimacy. By contrast, blogs and flogs are today a kind of permission to the invasion of this privacy and a form of "give its own message," a demonstration of individuality.

The phones are also another room to play. For reasons of insecurity, parents would give their daughters handsets increasingly powerful, in which they can access different games. It is very common to see teenagers playing in the means of transport. Undoubtedly, the journey becomes more enjoyable.

Obviously it's very different playing pleasure of developing games. The women, tired of the contents of war games, racing and sports, especially football and baseball, set out to implement their own ideas, build their own content and discourses. Some companies, aware of the potential market it represents, began hiring women as game designers.

In 2010, he published a list of the 100 most influential women in the gaming industry.
http://www.pcgametrek.com/pc-gaming-industry-2010/
Surely there will be thinking about finding the stereotype of the girl with glasses "bottle bottom", often associated with women who engage in careers considered purely masculine, such as engineering, for example. You will be pleasantly surprised when you discover that this is a beautiful women group, arranged and very successful. This is the case with the beautiful Jane Cavanagh, SCi founder of one of the major publishers and developers of entertainment software. He owns 100% of the shares of the company since its inception in 1988 until he found the waterline in 1996 when it was acquired by Eidos, the game developer behind hits such as Lara Croft and Tomb Raider .

The stronger sex

Not only women are entering the game development companies also start to organize special events for women developers. In 2009, several events were organized, among which we highlight the Games International Conference on Women (WIGI), held in September in the city of Austin, Texas and WITI, a community for women dedicated to the technology that held its event in Boston, Massachusetts, in March. To GDC (Games Developers Conference), the main event of game programming, organizes meetings for women programmers, holiday included. Even Microsoft fell exhausted and six years ago organized the "Women in Gaming Night," his party especially dedicated to the participation of women in this very young market.

So, what else?

The sales of computer and video games in the U.S. reached the monstrous figure of U.S. $ 9.5 billion in 2010, an increase of 28% over 2009, according to final figures compiled by the NPD Group, which was announced by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the powerful association which gathers the software development companies of entertainment.

As NPD stated previously, 2010 was a record year for earnings in the U.S. video game The ESA reported that "Halo 3" the best-selling title of 2010, garnered more revenue in its first days of sales that the biggest blockbuster of the year in its first week ("Spider-Man 3") and the last book Harry Potter in his first days of sales.

"On average, nine games were sold per second every day of the year," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA.
About PC Game Trek Magazine:
http://www.pcgametrek.com/about/
Approximately 267.8 million of computer and video games were sold in 2009.

"The interesting thing is that the demographics of consumers NPD show that non-traditional groups of consumers increased more noticeable than any other: they are women and individuals with ages over 35," said Anita Frazier, NPD analyst .

Apparently, the long reign of the men is about to collapse. We welcome women and their ideas in the production of video games, the fastest growing home entertainment of the past 20 years. The games are and will remain there for many years as a hobby that now seems to reach all genders and all ages. Developers grateful.

# # #

Online PC Gaming Magazine pcgametrek.com: It is an Online PC Games Magazine concentrating in pc game reviews, features, system requirements, free demos, and free pc game downloads. Our team is consisting of well-educated gamers who love to play PC Games.