Girls Got (Video) Game, Too

Originally published February 1, 2007

As Sony and Microsoft fight for the top spot in next generation consoles, what is more interesting is that the Nintendo Wii has been attracting a lot of attention from people who normally don’t play video games: women.

In the ‘80s the original Nintendo with Super Mario Brothers was the game that everyone and their grandmother played. As time went on, these classics faded and today the industry is bombarded with sports games, first-person shooters and anything else that involves animated violence.

Video games have primarily been targeted toward a male audience; especially the 25-35 age group because they grew up playing video games. Now that they’re out of school and working, they’re also buying a lot more games.

What some developers have begun to figure out is that there is a growing population of female gamers. Video games is a $13.5 billion industry in the United States alone and in 2006, five out of the top 10 PC games sold were expansions for “The Sims 2.”

The first game “The Sims” was the best-selling PC game of all time with 60 percent of its fan base being female. “The Sims” is similar to a “digital dollhouse” set in suburbia where you control the lives of your Sim by having them eat, work, play as well as develop relationships. There are no goals in “The Sims;” these types of games are described as sandbox games where you’re open to do whatever you like.

Nintendo recently has focused on their handhelds, which still draw in a huge audience; but a majority of Nintendo fans are usually kids and anyone else who grew up with Nintendo.

Nintendo’s latest handheld, called the Nintendo DS, has also attracted a wide variety of players. With brain games like “Brain Age” and “Big Brain Academy,” people of all ages have been playing puzzle games like Sudoku and other math-related problems in the form of a video game.

I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I got a hand-me-down Atari back when computer monitors only had two colors. I was instantly hooked. With my brother, we played video games all throughout my childhood years.

Most people seem surprised that I play video games, and even more surprised that I plan on going into the video game industry. It’s an industry where only 10 percent of the workforce is female. There are stereotypes regarding the type of person that plays video games. Everyone always thinks it’s the dorky guy, but no one would think that someone like my sister, who is a dancer, also enjoys video games.

There is this other half of the population that people don’t necessarily associate gaming with. Why is it that this form of entertainment is mostly catered toward the males? I do like the occasional shooter, “Gears of War” is one of the few that I’ve played and enjoyed, but there are very few female heroes when it comes to video games. Lara Croft would be one, but we all know what her best features are. People like to relate to what they’re playing, which could be why “The Sims” is really popular among females.

The adventure genre was popular in the late ‘80s early ‘90s where the player points and clicks with their mouse to collect items and solve puzzles. This is unfortunately a dying genre, but it’s a genre that females tend to enjoy and a genre that Roberta Williams, one of the most influential female gamers of her time, made popular with her King’s Quest series.

There are game developers now that are slowly realizing that the “casual” player, who enjoys games like Bejeweled and Tetris, include both genders and that it is a market that could potentially grow.

The new Nintendo Wii has been a hit with gamers and non-gamers alike. Instead of relying on hand-eye coordination with a few buttons on a controller, it involves full arm movement that is easy for anyone to grasp. It wouldn’t surprise me if the female gaming population begins to grow with this step that Nintendo has taken. The next few years should be exciting in terms of how the gaming industry will go. Maybe the growing female gamer population will help change the stereotypes, and everyone can enjoy video games without the strange looks and with more options that don’t always have to involve sports and violence.

Sophia is a communications major who also enjoys reviewing video games on the side.