No girls allowed. First-person shooters, action games and sports games have been popular among boys ever since the early '90s. In 2012, the three categories combined were responsible for 58.8 percent of video game sales in North America. They're easily some of the most visible kinds of games, lining the shelves at retailers and appearing on television screens any time a story about video games makes the news. But not everyone buys the idea that games have become the realm of males. "I've always known there were some games and genres that attracted a heavier male audience than others, like shooters for instance," says Brenda Romero, a developer who has worked in the game industry since the early '80s and has been credited on titles such as Wizardry, Jagged Alliance and Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes. But Romero points out that if we go back to fall 1993, two significant things happened in gaming.
In fact, the 1990s is filled with exceptions. Marketing gender in video games | Skeining. The face behind the controversy: FemShep 5 A recent controversy has arisen around the marketing campaign for the hit video game series Mass Effect. At issue: how should a woman who is also a soldier — a “female Shepard,” in this case, referring to the protagonist of the series — be portrayed in the campaign? According to PC Gamer columnist Kim Richards, BioWare’s not doing it right. Richards is referring to BioWare’s Facebook-hosted poll to determine what “face” the Female Shepard should have in the new marketing campaign.
This is the first time that female Shepard will be shown to the world. She concludes: “it breaks my heart that the mass public have gone for such the wishy washy, Barbie faced personality vacuum that is Shep 5.” Video games are no stranger to controversy when representing women on screen. Women represent about 40% of gamers, and that number will soon hit 50%. All that said, I wonder to what degree Richards is simply arguing over minutiae. Like this: Like Loading... Video Game Commercials: Advertisements for Boys and Girls | Game Industry News, Interviews and Videos | Game Theory. Video Game Commercials: Advertisements for Boys and Girls | Game Industry News, Interviews and Videos | Game Theory.
Bringing Gender Neutrality To Video Game Marketing. To see the point I’m trying to make, one merely needs to turn on the TV. That point being, that women gamers are divided into two camps. We are either stereotypically feminine, loving cute animals, the colour pink and fashion, OR those who want to work out during gaming time, prancing around the living room with friends, getting sweaty doing Zumba, treating gaming as a social activity. While I’m not condemning either of these things, I do find it frustrating that women who play games are primarily viewed as only belonging to these two niches. I find it frustrating that what these types of advertisements say about women is that we are focused on appearance, whether it be through clothing or through working out. I’m frustrated that marketing is focused on ‘casual’ female gamers.
When I look at the marketing for the games I would rather play, I’m simply unable to find that much that says “Both genders can enjoy this gaming experience!” Written by Becci Yare. Gender – Game Ads.