Women's Games

Ok, so before I have talked about how games catered to men it seems almost exclusively. Well not exactly. There was a point where the industry was still flailing along that men and women disagreed about what was in a game. Instead of trying to find middle ground between men and women in gaming and producing games that both could enjoy, the industry made the anti-thesis to 'mens' games with things like Barbie Fashion Design. This game experienced brief popularity because it was Barbie that the girls were after however other games made in the same fashion failed because they were dull. They had removed any real challenge to the game in an effort to make them woman appropriate. The first true women's game was an accidental success: The Sims. This game was designed for men, but women tended to gravitate towards it since they had the ability to create their own world from the ground up with realistic challenges and minimal gratuitous violence. Even the women were only overly sexualized if they wanted them to be.

Now this little oops in the gaming industry happened in the 90's and a lot of things we can look back now and declare them to be silly, but really, did things ever change? As I mentioned in a previous article women tended to play games where there was  a story oriented reason for the gratuitous violence. Men didn't seem to care what you hit as long as it hit something. I am in disagreement with this statement, despite the evidence. I have found that all gaming evidence tends to be shady at best and it reads as if someone was simply telling the researchers what they wanted to hear. This is what I have seen. Let's start by exploring the current game market. I don't know about you but in my future I see Skyrim, Batman Arkham City, Bioshock Infinate, and Assassins Creed: Revalations. 

Hmmm. Well according to the research I've read. I shouldn't like these games. These are high action gratuitous violence games that will involve a challenge. The only women I will notice in Assassins Creed is the brothel women who I pay to hide me behind their beauty. Skyrim is a story led game, bonus, but a driving force will be fighting, ditto for bats. Bioshock is another high action adventure game. Oh my. 

Well I hate to tell the silly little researchers whose articles I read that I thoroughly plan on enjoying all of these games at some point. To say that I gathered all this information prior out of books that were theoretically backed by research, I think that they may have forgotten something. I think they forgot to ask the women what they wanted. In all the years I have been gaming, the women have seemed to have just as much fun with games designed for men, as the men do. I really do not understand the need for segregation. Granted women are a little more prone to games like Cooking Mama than men, but it's more a nice addition to the market rather than a stamp of the only games women want. 

What I would like to see from someone (with more money and research capabilities than me) is an honest to god study of gaming. Find out what men really think of games, what women really want in a game. How many more men than women game? Why? Is that case even still true. I am doing a lot of speculating  based off my experience and all that is saying is that men and women enjoy the exact same type of games collectively. However it's not the same as a legitimate study. 


Well this is feeling flaky even to me.
Corset signing off to get her thoughts together.