I just don't think people understand the real differences in male/female lifestyles... and first-off, females that do play video games were brought in by a male (brother, friend, boyfriend). I've always wondered what women do with their spare time if they don't play videogames like we do, and then it hit me; TV. Women are just about the only ones still watching TV, and it's showing with the higher volume of chick-shows, and this has definitely been the case with the movie scene too. Games have always been a male-dominated scene, and every attempt to target females fails (i.e. bratz and barbie horse adventures). It's how it is, and you have to admit that chick who play games become creepier in a way. I kinda miss the holier-than-thou attitude from girlfriends that "just don't get it".
Nope. Wrong.
I was not brought into gaming by any male. Neither of my parents liked games and still don't. If you count BOARD games...then my family played Monopoly when I was a kid. I do not have any brothers, just one sister. As far as video games go....I discovered those on my own back in the days of Atari....begged for the system....haven't stopped playing since. As a matter of fact....I got both of my husbands into gaming and one of my two sons. So even THAT stereotype isn't always accurate.
I've always hated television. The only thing I watch on TV is either InSession on CourtTV or on rare ocassion something on Discovery Channel or History Channel...maybe a Forensics show. Never go out to see movies. I subscribe to Netflix and my favorite movies are action or suspense thrillers....I am not at ALL fond of romantic comedies, I think they're about on the same level with soap operas generally....they target women who still live in the delusional fantasy of fairytale romances and Prince Charming. I've been alive long enough to know that those things are complete fantasy. I also read a lot. No....I don't read romance novels, I read James Patterson, Michael Crichton, Wendy Corsi Staub, Bentley Little, Stephen King....nothing too "fluffy."
You must think women are made of marshmellows. I suppose some might be....but that certainly doesn't apply to all of us, and it's pretty unlikely it applies to female gamers. Do you have any idea the amount of crap women put up with any time they are perceived as "invading" a male dominated "area?" If you have no backbone or you're a prissy airhead....you either don't survive, or you simply fade into the woodwork and are ignored or treated differently because you're....after all....a GURL. /rolls eyes
Even more important a question; how do I get my girlfriend to play MMORPGs? She only plays Facebook games, and she even found Harvest Moon and Puzzle Pirates too difficult and frustrating. (Note: her articles on genetics and microbiology are widely cited.)
Even more important a question; how do I get my girlfriend to play MMORPGs? She only plays Facebook games, and she even found Harvest Moon and Puzzle Pirates too difficult and frustrating. (Note: her articles on genetics and microbiology are widely cited.)
I don't think video games are for everyone any more than golf is for everyone. Video games are a recreational hobby. Personally...I hate the idea of stamp collecting.....
It may just very well be that it's just not her thing. I have one son that loves gaming and one that doesn't. The one that likes gaming also happens to be a competitive athlete, the one who doesn't.....is a musician. My daughter can take it or leave it, she'd rather spend her day off reading a good book and she's studying law, so it obviously has nothing to do with intellectual prowess. As shocking as it may be....not all intelligent people like video games. lol People are all different. Some like playing video games....some don't.
Female gamer here, and I absolutely love the social aspect the games offer. I am currently back playing wow after I was talked into it. I left that game a year ago as I had a very sexist encounter ... not my first... that really turned me off it. I was raiding for a month with a guild as a PUGger and they invited me into guild but told me I now had to get a mic. So after another week or two playing in guild with them I went and got a mic and logged into their vent to say hi. Their reply was "OMG your a girl... sorry we don't allow girls in guild as they cause drama." and then they kicked me from the guild and blocked me from their raids. Up until this point they had no issue with me as a player.
Best games are ones you play with friends. I am not so competitive but do love to pull my weight. I would never want to be the useless player tagging along because I was the token girl. I do Rock Band and Left 4 Dead and Borderlands with friends as well. So MMOs better be careful as some of these games that allow friends to run about having fun in an online world are picking up. But if I am in an MMO, then I like to be in a raid group. If I am soloing...then I could be playing Dragon Age or Mass Effect.
Not the biggest fan of crafting. In most games it is a tedious waste of time. I tend to prefer the gathering ones... but this could be that I am lazy. Somehow I always end up fishing in Dalaran waiting for the raid to fill.
And boys some of us girls play male toons. Just a heads up ... we are not always cute n fluffy.
I just don't think people understand the real differences in male/female lifestyles... and first-off, females that do play video games were brought in by a male (brother, friend, boyfriend). I've always wondered what women do with their spare time if they don't play videogames like we do, and then it hit me; TV. Women are just about the only ones still watching TV, and it's showing with the higher volume of chick-shows, and this has definitely been the case with the movie scene too. Games have always been a male-dominated scene, and every attempt to target females fails (i.e. bratz and barbie horse adventures). It's how it is, and you have to admit that chick who play games become creepier in a way. I kinda miss the holier-than-thou attitude from girlfriends that "just don't get it".
Nope. Wrong.
<SNIP FOR SPACE>
Thanks Girlgeek. That post really needed a response.
Personally speaking, I got my first computer (a ZX Spectrum 16k) at 10, learned to program on it, and have been playing games ever since. That was 27 years ago.
Bratz and Barbie Horse adventures are targetted at tweenage girls, not at women.
An 8 year old girl and a 25 year old woman would want different things from a game as much as they'd want different things from a movie or a book.
And as for women who play games being "creepier in a way", that says more about you than it does about us.
As a male, I have to say i'm not sure if a question like this has much to do with a gender at all.
While I enjoy action games, and many other things many males tend to enjoy. I also tend to stray a bit, far, far away from many males as well.
I tend to enjoy dramas more then regular TV shows, and movies. I read Japanese Manga, "Shoujo", which is targeted towards a female audiance, and tend to enjoy it a lot more then most other types of Manga.
In many games, I spend most of my time collecting rare items, not particulary good ones, especially appearal ones.
While i'm not saying everyone is different, or there really is any stereotypes at all, I just wonder if a question like this can really have an accurate answer for a whole gender. Then again, that may not be the context of the thread I suppose.
Developing games does have to target a general audiance, so I guess a bit of mashing ideas is involved.
Gear/fashion,this is why Eve will never fly with female gamers,you can't look fashionable wearing a ship .
No real player in Eve either makes it yet another reason,this is the game that you can use as reference because ,other games all have fashion and real players.
FFXI can be used as well,i highly doubt and have never seen one single female gamer play a Galkan,so that pretty much proves it right there.This is not saying there isn't maybe one lol,but i have never witnessed it and it would definitely be rare,they are not avoiding the Galkan for any oher reason than looks/fashion.
I have had conversations with female gamers that had an incredible want for +1 items,even though i could prove they were almost useless to spend an extra million,they just refuse to believe it and still want that +1 item even at ridiculous prices. Example +1 has +1 more STR,takes 2 STR to get 1 more dmg,and even 1 more dmg does not equal 1 more dmg in the games math equation,so the item is literally useless to waste more money on.The only difference is to look fad wearing an item that takes more effort to attain.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I just don't think people understand the real differences in male/female lifestyles... and first-off, females that do play video games were brought in by a male (brother, friend, boyfriend). I've always wondered what women do with their spare time if they don't play videogames like we do, and then it hit me; TV. Women are just about the only ones still watching TV, and it's showing with the higher volume of chick-shows, and this has definitely been the case with the movie scene too. Games have always been a male-dominated scene, and every attempt to target females fails (i.e. bratz and barbie horse adventures). It's how it is, and you have to admit that chick who play games become creepier in a way. I kinda miss the holier-than-thou attitude from girlfriends that "just don't get it".
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population? That means what? Four to five million female MMO players?
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population?
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population?
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
Draenei girls, blood elf girls and night elf girls too. All are very feminine.
There are many female heroes in lore too. Sylvanus the Foresaken leader, Jaina, Alexstraza the queen of the red dragon flight to name a few.
My wife has had me kill certain bosses because they drop an apparel item she wants.
I had a very hot ex gf once who, at the time, played EQ before I even knew what an MMO was. She'd usually play it at night then after that we'd have sex time.
And then - you woke up.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
What appeals to women in games are the same things that appeal to men. There are very few differences.
As a female gamer of 15 years I for the most part want everything that a male gamer wants, for myself personally I hate fluffy stuff. I am competitive and love to win, I like Uber loot, I love raiding (I cannot play a game casually) and combat. In fact I have left some games because the combat aspect was lacking for me. I dont collect pets (all the guys in my guild do though), I cant stand holiday events in game and NO, my boyfriend didnt get me into MMO's, I got myself into the genre. Started playing Diablo in 1995 then moved over to a true MMO later.
Studies continue to show that females play MMO's as much as males do so I am not sure what the illusion is that we dont. If I was a game developer I'd be taking out ads in womans magazines moreso than ever. Women tend to "stick to one" MMO more than men do, so if you get us hooked you have a loyal customer. By the way I also play EVE, and for MANY, men and women, the ship Avatar isnt cutting it. I have heard many complaints about the lack of human avatar in EVE and its not only women making them.
As far as social aspects of games, they are important to me only insomuch as a raiding guild needs to win. You need members that can get along and work together. Other than that I really dont like sociallizing much in MMO,s because frankly I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. Sorry but its been my experience. I have a very rich rl social life so I dont need it in game. A few pleasantries and chat with the other women in the guild is fine with me (we have our own secret channel! hehe)
Anyway thats my two cents. I will say this, the BIGGEST thing that keeps women away from MMO's (again my experience) is the rampant sexism in some of the communities. I beleive theres alot of money to be made from women by game developers, and the only thing standing in the way of them making Billions is their male customer base! lol!!
What appeals to women in games are the same things that appeal to men. There are very few differences.
As a female gamer of 15 years I for the most part want everything that a male gamer wants, for myself personally I hate fluffy stuff. I am competitive and love to win, I like Uber loot, I love raiding (I cannot play a game casually) and combat. In fact I have left some games because the combat aspect was lacking for me. I dont collect pets (all the guys in my guild do though), I cant stand holiday events in game and NO, my boyfriend didnt get me into MMO's, I got myself into the genre. Started playing Diablo in 1995 then moved over to a true MMO later.
You're not typical. You are the exception, not the rule.
Studies continue to show that females play MMO's as much as males do so I am not sure what the illusion is that we dont.
What 'studies'?
If I was a game developer I'd be taking out ads in womans magazines moreso than ever.
Hmm. Do you read 'Women's magazines'?
I'm pretty sure game companies have done research about where their potential customers are. I doubt many of them read women's magazines on a regular basis.
Women tend to "stick to one" MMO more than men do, so if you get us hooked you have a loyal customer. By the way I also play EVE, and for MANY, men and women, the ship Avatar isnt cutting it. I have heard many complaints about the lack of human avatar in EVE and its not only women making them.
As far as social aspects of games, they are important to me only insomuch as a raiding guild needs to win. You need members that can get along and work together. Other than that I really dont like sociallizing much in MMO,s because frankly I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. Sorry but its been my experience. I have a very rich rl social life so I dont need it in game. A few pleasantries and chat with the other women in the guild is fine with me (we have our own secret channel! hehe)
Anyway thats my two cents. I will say this, the BIGGEST thing that keeps women away from MMO's (again my experience) is the rampant sexism in some of the communities.
Speaking of sexism: "I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. "
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
What appeals to women in games are the same things that appeal to men. There are very few differences.
As a female gamer of 15 years I for the most part want everything that a male gamer wants, for myself personally I hate fluffy stuff. I am competitive and love to win, I like Uber loot, I love raiding (I cannot play a game casually) and combat. In fact I have left some games because the combat aspect was lacking for me. I dont collect pets (all the guys in my guild do though), I cant stand holiday events in game and NO, my boyfriend didnt get me into MMO's, I got myself into the genre. Started playing Diablo in 1995 then moved over to a true MMO later.
You're not typical. You are the exception, not the rule.
Studies continue to show that females play MMO's as much as males do so I am not sure what the illusion is that we dont.
What 'studies'?
If I was a game developer I'd be taking out ads in womans magazines moreso than ever.
Hmm. Do you read 'Women's magazines'?
I'm pretty sure game companies have done research about where their potential customers are. I doubt many of them read women's magazines on a regular basis.
Women tend to "stick to one" MMO more than men do, so if you get us hooked you have a loyal customer. By the way I also play EVE, and for MANY, men and women, the ship Avatar isnt cutting it. I have heard many complaints about the lack of human avatar in EVE and its not only women making them.
As far as social aspects of games, they are important to me only insomuch as a raiding guild needs to win. You need members that can get along and work together. Other than that I really dont like sociallizing much in MMO,s because frankly I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. Sorry but its been my experience. I have a very rich rl social life so I dont need it in game. A few pleasantries and chat with the other women in the guild is fine with me (we have our own secret channel! hehe)
Anyway thats my two cents. I will say this, the BIGGEST thing that keeps women away from MMO's (again my experience) is the rampant sexism in some of the communities.
Speaking of sexism: "I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. "
Not sure what your doing MMO Doubter, I'm not here to argue the points I made, I beleive I have clearly stated these are MY experiences. And dont think pointing out that I am tired of dealing with lonely,needy males is being sexist. Its simply what I have experienced. And there are MANY female gamers that are similar to myself, we just dont run around bragging about things. So NO, Im not the exception, and you cant claim I am unless you profess to know EVERY single female gamer (which you obviously dont).
And your wrong, many MMO developers DO NOT know where all the customer base lies. I went to an EVE Online fanfest just a few years ago and one of the devs made a comment about "women not liking to blow things up"...we thought it was funny that this young man actually thought that. Many of them are as out of touch with reality and their own potential markets as anyone else. As far as the studies, they have been everywhere, I'll try and dig up some links. Again I'll repeat, the only major stumbling block developers have to making more money and opening up their markets is some of the communities in these games. I know several women that have been turned off by gaming by the sexism in the community, it had nothing to do with the game itself.
I can't speak for female gamers, but I can tell you what my wife likes and does not
No mucking about, more than five minutes hanging around before she can kill something - she's bored.
Lots of classes - she like to experiement with difference playstyles, DAoC was her favourite; expect she is the worst healer around taking the view that she is a healer only to heal herself.
Hates, crafting, gear chasing, and quests (pretty much).
Like OOC chatting inbetween pwning other players.
Best to worse MMO. DAoC WAR LoTR EVE (boring) and WoW (full of kids and too cartoony)
At 55 she may not be your typical female gamer of couse (and she rides a bog-off massive motorcycle too)
I can't speak for female gamers, but I can tell you what my wife likes and does not
No mucking about, more than five minutes hanging around before she can kill something - she's bored.
Lots of classes - she like to experiement with difference playstyles, DAoC was her favourite; expect she is the worst healer around taking the view that she is a healer only to heal herself.
LOL! Aren't they all?
No, I know there are good healers out there. I have known several, and I always heal when I play a healer, but yes, a lot of healers do it only to save themselves.
Hates, crafting, gear chasing, and quests (pretty much).
Like OOC chatting inbetween pwning other players.
Best to worse MMO. DAoC WAR LoTR EVE (boring) and WoW (full of kids and too cartoony)
At 55 she may not be your typical female gamer of couse (and she rides a bog-off massive motorcycle too)
Damn, she's cool. You're lucky.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
The premise of the OP is asking *for* a stereotype. A true one, which some female gamers posting here fight, and some support. I'm not saying, as it may be implied, that the *true* stereotype is the one in everyone's minds' eye. I'm saying the true one being the one that speaks to the masses of the demographic, which may or may not agree with your individual perspective.
How does a gaming company bring in *females*? Not, how does a gaming company bring in *you, the stand-alone female*?
Where industries are concerned, men do not evolve. Scientifically our prefrontal cortex taps out around age 25, and most of the time, habits learnt in our teens don't change, which leads to just being cemented at age 25.
Wether we want to argue that society imposes role stereotypes on us, or that it accentuates the roles that exist already in nature is moot. The exist, that is all, and that is what's important.
Men don't grow their wardrobe after high school / college. The way of making friends is also very set in stone in the same life periods. The appeal for material things is very primitive. We are territory driven.
Women do care how they look- much more so then men. Women experience far more diversity in the people they know and associate with than men do. Women are people driven.
My fiancee is a certified tom's boy (state-level soccer player). My younger sister as well (international-level swimmer). Neither paint their nails or spend half an hour of daily hair prep before leaving their place of residence. Both prefer male friends to female friends- some might argue for the whole 'competition for male attention' angle, but it's not.
But yet, inside of any game they've played, colors were important. Interaction on a social level was important. Acceptance as a female, but also respect for being a female rated high when faced with 'eager male gamers'. Basically everything 'extra' to a game that I, or any of my pals, glazed over or failed to notice altogether, was at least noteworthy to them.
'Oh hey, that squirrel is cute'. Woah, you were looking at the squirrel? There's a fat monster with phat lewt we're actively trying to kill so we can get you these cool looking boots you talked about for half an hour yesterday...
Women desire the completeness of a game, based on my emprical findings. It's not that they are 'less forgiving' if something is not 'full', but they are less 'accepting' or 'interested' if it isn't. There's gotta be variety to goal-oriented tasks, and personal hobby space/time as well. And the biggest thing: it's gotta be easy to pick up (clear UIs, concise directions) and be able to go through at one's own pace.
That is exactly right, and we're not saying NO to save WoW, because it is already a lost cause. We are saying NO to dissuade the next group of greedy suits who decide to emulate Blizzard and Cryptic, etc. We can prevent some of the future games from spewing this crap, but the sooner we start saying no, the better the results will be. So - Stand up, pull up your pants, and walk away. - MMO_Doubter
My biggest attraction to mmos is an in-depth gathering and crafting system. I want to spend months or years on these fields and be able to turn profits. I dont mind farming hard to get items to use in crafting. (the female gatherer I suppose)
I enjoy a tighter community, but not so much for an expensive chat room as an easy way to get the people needed in order to accomplish goals.
As far as combat, I enjoy dual weilding or mage type classes. I always tend to get suckered into healing though.. and Ill do it if it helps get shit done. I like pvp, but it isnt my focus. I just dont care enough to be dedicated at it.
I dont enjoy collecting pets or mounts. In fact, I find non combat pets quite annoying. I also dont like MOST cute races, and opt for the strongest or most sneaky looking one. An example of a cute race I liked were Mithras in FFXI. In WoW, I usually played female taurens or orcs.
I'm hoping FFXIV will give me my gathering/crafting fix. Time will tell!
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population?
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
MMO_D.....After reading all of your responses, I have to say I'm shocked. I never knew you were so sexist. That really disappoints me about you. I thought you were a pretty bright guy...seriously. Racism and sexism aren't ideologies that are generally attached to smart people. I have to say reading your responses disappointed me more than seeing someone else say those things. I apparently had you figured all wrong from reading everything you've ever written before.
First of all, there is probably a vast difference in what most little girls like and what most women like. Unlike most men (not ALL, of course), as someone else posted....our desires CHANGE somewhat as we age, while some men do still seem to place great importance on naked night elves, some women do NOT play gnomes with pink hair and love holiday events. I am using the word "some" a lot, because you can never determine what an ENTIRE people group likes or thinks about anything on earth. We're all DIFFERENT.
I collect everything in games. I like collecting, yes. But I also like to slaughter in PvP....with my male Tauren warrior (at least if we use WoW as an example) and he (my character) has had a PvP title since "back in the day." I do NOT play fluffy looking characters (I have never played a night elf in WoW, for example), and I absolutely LOATHE WoW's holiday shit. I have NEVER played a pink haired gnome. GROSS. I DO like appearance gear (in EQ2) that differentiates me from every other person in the game. There is NO ONE running around in EQ2 that LOOKS the same as I do. And if I were to ever SEE someone that did....I would make new appearance gear. I do have a gnome in EQ2...but they're not "cute" in EQ2, and my main characters are ratongas....yes....rats. How feminine of me. I also have a sarnak, and a couple of wood elves. I guess the wood elves are fairly attractive...but they are not stripper-esque like night elves either.
Other than those things....I'm afraid you don't understand female gamers like you seem to think you do. First of all....we're not all the same. And, WoW is not the only game with a female player base that is almost as large, or AS large, as the male population in game. I hate to tell you guys, but if you would Google up some research on the matter, you would find that MMOs are actually VERY popular with women.
All the sterotypical and sexist statements in this thread are why most women may not TALK to you in games (or even TELL you they are female), however....so you may not realize how many of us there ARE, simply because your minds won't ALLOW you to grasp the concept that gaming is no longer "man's territory." Welcome to the year 2010. Some of us were gaming before some of you were even BORN, for that matter.
The premise of the OP is asking *for* a stereotype. A true one, which some female gamers posting here fight, and some support. I'm not saying, as it may be implied, that the *true* stereotype is the one in everyone's minds' eye. I'm saying the true one being the one that speaks to the masses of the demographic, which may or may not agree with your individual perspective.
How does a gaming company bring in *females*? Not, how does a gaming company bring in *you, the stand-alone female*?
Where industries are concerned, men do not evolve. Scientifically our prefrontal cortex taps out around age 25, and most of the time, habits learnt in our teens don't change, which leads to just being cemented at age 25.
Wether we want to argue that society imposes role stereotypes on us, or that it accentuates the roles that exist already in nature is moot. The exist, that is all, and that is what's important.
Men don't grow their wardrobe after high school / college. The way of making friends is also very set in stone in the same life periods. The appeal for material things is very primitive. We are territory driven.
Women do care how they look- much more so then men. Women experience far more diversity in the people they know and associate with than men do. Women are people driven.
My fiancee is a certified tom's boy (state-level soccer player). My younger sister as well (international-level swimmer). Neither paint their nails or spend half an hour of daily hair prep before leaving their place of residence. Both prefer male friends to female friends- some might argue for the whole 'competition for male attention' angle, but it's not.
But yet, inside of any game they've played, colors were important. Interaction on a social level was important. Acceptance as a female, but also respect for being a female rated high when faced with 'eager male gamers'. Basically everything 'extra' to a game that I, or any of my pals, glazed over or failed to notice altogether, was at least noteworthy to them.
'Oh hey, that squirrel is cute'. Woah, you were looking at the squirrel? There's a fat monster with phat lewt we're actively trying to kill so we can get you these cool looking boots you talked about for half an hour yesterday...
Women desire the completeness of a game, based on my emprical findings. It's not that they are 'less forgiving' if something is not 'full', but they are less 'accepting' or 'interested' if it isn't. There's gotta be variety to goal-oriented tasks, and personal hobby space/time as well. And the biggest thing: it's gotta be easy to pick up (clear UIs, concise directions) and be able to go through at one's own pace.
BEST POST IN THREAD BAR NONE.
This is the ONLY assessment I've read that pretty much hit the nail on the head for me. Well....except for the squirrel thing. Yes....I notice the squirrels and the details of all environments (I really really enjoy intricate details in games, not just in gfx, but in combat animation, in set up of skills and abilities, etc), BUT....not when I'm about ready to whoop ass up on some mob. LOL
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population?
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
MMO_D.....After reading all of your responses, I have to say I'm shocked. I never knew you were so sexist.
I wasn't mocking those things. I was just pointing out that they appeal to women gamers more than men.
That really disappoints me about you. I thought you were a pretty bright guy...seriously. Racism and sexism aren't ideologies that are generally attached to smart people. I have to say reading your responses disappointed me more than seeing someone else say those things. I apparently had you figured all wrong from reading everything you've ever written before.
I'm not sexist. Why do you think I am?
First of all, there is probably a vast difference in what most little girls like and what most women like. Unlike most men (not ALL, of course), as someone else posted....our desires CHANGE somewhat as we age,
Oh. Now you're being sexist.
while some men do still seem to place great importance on naked night elves, some women do NOT play gnomes with pink hair and love holiday events. I am using the word "some" a lot, because you can never determine what an ENTIRE people group likes or thinks about anything on earth. We're all DIFFERENT.
I never say "all" this or "all" that. Generalities have exceptions.
I collect everything in games. I like collecting, yes. But I also like to slaughter in PvP....with my male Tauren warrior (at least if we use WoW as an example) and he (my character) has had a PvP title since "back in the day." I do NOT play fluffy looking characters (I have never played a night elf in WoW, for example), and I absolutely LOATHE WoW's holiday shit. I have NEVER played a pink haired gnome. GROSS. I DO like appearance gear (in EQ2) that differentiates me from every other person in the game. There is NO ONE running around in EQ2 that LOOKS the same as I do. And if I were to ever SEE someone that did....I would make new appearance gear. I do have a gnome in EQ2...but they're not "cute" in EQ2, and my main characters are ratongas....yes....rats. How feminine of me. I also have a sarnak, and a couple of wood elves. I guess the wood elves are fairly attractive...but they are not stripper-esque like night elves either.
Other than those things....I'm afraid you don't understand female gamers like you seem to think you do. First of all....we're not all the same.
I never said you were.
And, WoW is not the only game with a female player base that is almost as large, or AS large, as the male population in game. I hate to tell you guys, but if you would Google up some research on the matter, you would find that MMOs are actually VERY popular with women.
Define "very popular". The point being discussed is whether they are more popular with men or women.
All the sterotypical and sexist statements in this thread are why most women may not TALK to you in games (or even TELL you they are female),
I have good female friends in MMOs. Many of them have called me a 'sweetheart'.
however....so you may not realize how many of us there ARE, simply because your minds won't ALLOW you to grasp the concept that gaming is no longer "man's territory." Welcome to the year 2010. Some of us were gaming before some of you were even BORN, for that matter.
No online gaming before I was born.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population?
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
MMO_D.....After reading all of your responses, I have to say I'm shocked. I never knew you were so sexist.
I wasn't mocking those things. I was just pointing out that they appeal to women gamers more than men.
That really disappoints me about you. I thought you were a pretty bright guy...seriously. Racism and sexism aren't ideologies that are generally attached to smart people. I have to say reading your responses disappointed me more than seeing someone else say those things. I apparently had you figured all wrong from reading everything you've ever written before.
I'm not sexist. Why do you think I am?
First of all, there is probably a vast difference in what most little girls like and what most women like. Unlike most men (not ALL, of course), as someone else posted....our desires CHANGE somewhat as we age,
Oh. Now you're being sexist.
while some men do still seem to place great importance on naked night elves, some women do NOT play gnomes with pink hair and love holiday events. I am using the word "some" a lot, because you can never determine what an ENTIRE people group likes or thinks about anything on earth. We're all DIFFERENT.
I never say "all" this or "all" that. Generalities have exceptions.
I collect everything in games. I like collecting, yes. But I also like to slaughter in PvP....with my male Tauren warrior (at least if we use WoW as an example) and he (my character) has had a PvP title since "back in the day." I do NOT play fluffy looking characters (I have never played a night elf in WoW, for example), and I absolutely LOATHE WoW's holiday shit. I have NEVER played a pink haired gnome. GROSS. I DO like appearance gear (in EQ2) that differentiates me from every other person in the game. There is NO ONE running around in EQ2 that LOOKS the same as I do. And if I were to ever SEE someone that did....I would make new appearance gear. I do have a gnome in EQ2...but they're not "cute" in EQ2, and my main characters are ratongas....yes....rats. How feminine of me. I also have a sarnak, and a couple of wood elves. I guess the wood elves are fairly attractive...but they are not stripper-esque like night elves either.
Other than those things....I'm afraid you don't understand female gamers like you seem to think you do. First of all....we're not all the same.
I never said you were.
And, WoW is not the only game with a female player base that is almost as large, or AS large, as the male population in game. I hate to tell you guys, but if you would Google up some research on the matter, you would find that MMOs are actually VERY popular with women.
Define "very popular". The point being discussed is whether they are more popular with men or women.
All the sterotypical and sexist statements in this thread are why most women may not TALK to you in games (or even TELL you they are female),
I have good female friends in MMOs. Many of them have called me a 'sweetheart'.
however....so you may not realize how many of us there ARE, simply because your minds won't ALLOW you to grasp the concept that gaming is no longer "man's territory." Welcome to the year 2010. Some of us were gaming before some of you were even BORN, for that matter.
No online gaming before I was born.
The part where I highlighted the background in blue....doesn't make much sense to me. I don't generalize and am careful to say those things do not apply to everyone, but I'm sexist?...however...you did the same thing with less emphasis on the lack of broad application? Either we're both sexist or neither of us is. I'm going to say that we BOTH probably have some sexist leanings due to experiences with low quality people of both genders. How's that?
Fair enough. Now I feel much better about you. Seriously...I was literally shocked at some of your responses. I suppose as long as you're able to qualify that the statements you made do NOT apply to all female gamers....that's fair enough. I've always thought you were a sweetheart too. But you know good and well that WoW isn't popular with women because of gnomes and holiday events. C'mon now. lol Maybe those things appeal to some women. But it's highly doubtful that the majority of women who play MMOs....play for things like that. Personally....I would say a good many of us like KILLING THINGS and competing and playing to accomplish in game goals of ALL types, including arena ranks, PvP titles (back when we COULD) etc.
I'm sorry for being kind of snippy with you....I just never expected some of those comments from YOU. But you having explained them, at least a little, helps reinstate my faith in you. lol
I just don't think people understand the real differences in male/female lifestyles... and first-off, females that do play video games were brought in by a male (brother, friend, boyfriend). I've always wondered what women do with their spare time if they don't play videogames like we do, and then it hit me; TV. Women are just about the only ones still watching TV, and it's showing with the higher volume of chick-shows, and this has definitely been the case with the movie scene too. Games have always been a male-dominated scene, and every attempt to target females fails (i.e. bratz and barbie horse adventures). It's how it is, and you have to admit that chick who play games become creepier in a way. I kinda miss the holier-than-thou attitude from girlfriends that "just don't get it".
Nope. Wrong.
I was not brought into gaming by any male. Neither of my parents liked games and still don't. If you count BOARD games...then my family played Monopoly when I was a kid. I do not have any brothers, just one sister. As far as video games go....I discovered those on my own back in the days of Atari....begged for the system....haven't stopped playing since. As a matter of fact....I got both of my husbands into gaming and one of my two sons. So even THAT stereotype isn't always accurate.
I've always hated television. The only thing I watch on TV is either InSession on CourtTV or on rare ocassion something on Discovery Channel or History Channel...maybe a Forensics show. Never go out to see movies. I subscribe to Netflix and my favorite movies are action or suspense thrillers....I am not at ALL fond of romantic comedies, I think they're about on the same level with soap operas generally....they target women who still live in the delusional fantasy of fairytale romances and Prince Charming. I've been alive long enough to know that those things are complete fantasy. I also read a lot. No....I don't read romance novels
Girlgeek and I have a lot in common. I wasn't brought into gaming by a guy - it was the other way around, actually. I got my ex-husband into gaming. He looked at what I was playing and said, "whatcha doing? That kinda looks like fun. Can I try?" Same with one of my brothers, my ex-husband's father, my ex-husband's uncle, and a few male friends. While it probably is true about 80% of the time that guys do get their girlfriends, sisters, wives, daughters into gaming, it's also true about 20% of the time that it is the other way around. The problem with generalizations, in my opinion, is that they're not always 100% correct and end up creating stereotypes that can cause problems within the gaming industry in terms of marketing and community (again, only my opinion).
I tend to be somewhat competitive as well in some of my gaming. Not to the point that I will scream at people who make mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes - including me. But I was an athlete in high school and a 4.0 student in college and that does breed a bit of competitiveness in a person which does carry over into gaming. So again, it's not necessarily true that girl gamers are non-competitive. We are probably a bit less competitive than many male gamers, sure, because as a general rule, women are very different from men in that regard. But I don't necessarily agree that it's true or even fair to presume that women are wholly non-competitive. Again, in my opinion, it's probably an 80-20 percentage or perhaps an 85-15 percentage, but the percentage of competition among girl gamers is there and I don't believe it can be completely ignored.
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Comments
Nope. Wrong.
I was not brought into gaming by any male. Neither of my parents liked games and still don't. If you count BOARD games...then my family played Monopoly when I was a kid. I do not have any brothers, just one sister. As far as video games go....I discovered those on my own back in the days of Atari....begged for the system....haven't stopped playing since. As a matter of fact....I got both of my husbands into gaming and one of my two sons. So even THAT stereotype isn't always accurate.
I've always hated television. The only thing I watch on TV is either InSession on CourtTV or on rare ocassion something on Discovery Channel or History Channel...maybe a Forensics show. Never go out to see movies. I subscribe to Netflix and my favorite movies are action or suspense thrillers....I am not at ALL fond of romantic comedies, I think they're about on the same level with soap operas generally....they target women who still live in the delusional fantasy of fairytale romances and Prince Charming. I've been alive long enough to know that those things are complete fantasy. I also read a lot. No....I don't read romance novels, I read James Patterson, Michael Crichton, Wendy Corsi Staub, Bentley Little, Stephen King....nothing too "fluffy."
You must think women are made of marshmellows. I suppose some might be....but that certainly doesn't apply to all of us, and it's pretty unlikely it applies to female gamers. Do you have any idea the amount of crap women put up with any time they are perceived as "invading" a male dominated "area?" If you have no backbone or you're a prissy airhead....you either don't survive, or you simply fade into the woodwork and are ignored or treated differently because you're....after all....a GURL. /rolls eyes
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Even more important a question; how do I get my girlfriend to play MMORPGs? She only plays Facebook games, and she even found Harvest Moon and Puzzle Pirates too difficult and frustrating. (Note: her articles on genetics and microbiology are widely cited.)
I don't think video games are for everyone any more than golf is for everyone. Video games are a recreational hobby. Personally...I hate the idea of stamp collecting.....
It may just very well be that it's just not her thing. I have one son that loves gaming and one that doesn't. The one that likes gaming also happens to be a competitive athlete, the one who doesn't.....is a musician. My daughter can take it or leave it, she'd rather spend her day off reading a good book and she's studying law, so it obviously has nothing to do with intellectual prowess. As shocking as it may be....not all intelligent people like video games. lol People are all different. Some like playing video games....some don't.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Female gamer here, and I absolutely love the social aspect the games offer. I am currently back playing wow after I was talked into it. I left that game a year ago as I had a very sexist encounter ... not my first... that really turned me off it. I was raiding for a month with a guild as a PUGger and they invited me into guild but told me I now had to get a mic. So after another week or two playing in guild with them I went and got a mic and logged into their vent to say hi. Their reply was "OMG your a girl... sorry we don't allow girls in guild as they cause drama." and then they kicked me from the guild and blocked me from their raids. Up until this point they had no issue with me as a player.
Best games are ones you play with friends. I am not so competitive but do love to pull my weight. I would never want to be the useless player tagging along because I was the token girl. I do Rock Band and Left 4 Dead and Borderlands with friends as well. So MMOs better be careful as some of these games that allow friends to run about having fun in an online world are picking up. But if I am in an MMO, then I like to be in a raid group. If I am soloing...then I could be playing Dragon Age or Mass Effect.
Not the biggest fan of crafting. In most games it is a tedious waste of time. I tend to prefer the gathering ones... but this could be that I am lazy. Somehow I always end up fishing in Dalaran waiting for the raid to fill.
And boys some of us girls play male toons. Just a heads up ... we are not always cute n fluffy.
Currently Playing: D3-ROS
Previously played: WoW, Tera, SWTOR, TSW, Rift, Defiance, GW2, Aion, LotRO, Rapplez, RoM, Dofus, LC, Requiem, WoKF, PW, etc
Waiting on: Wildstar
Thanks Girlgeek. That post really needed a response.
Personally speaking, I got my first computer (a ZX Spectrum 16k) at 10, learned to program on it, and have been playing games ever since. That was 27 years ago.
Bratz and Barbie Horse adventures are targetted at tweenage girls, not at women.
An 8 year old girl and a 25 year old woman would want different things from a game as much as they'd want different things from a movie or a book.
And as for women who play games being "creepier in a way", that says more about you than it does about us.
It really does....
Alright, just hoping to contribute slightly.
As a male, I have to say i'm not sure if a question like this has much to do with a gender at all.
While I enjoy action games, and many other things many males tend to enjoy. I also tend to stray a bit, far, far away from many males as well.
I tend to enjoy dramas more then regular TV shows, and movies. I read Japanese Manga, "Shoujo", which is targeted towards a female audiance, and tend to enjoy it a lot more then most other types of Manga.
In many games, I spend most of my time collecting rare items, not particulary good ones, especially appearal ones.
While i'm not saying everyone is different, or there really is any stereotypes at all, I just wonder if a question like this can really have an accurate answer for a whole gender. Then again, that may not be the context of the thread I suppose.
Developing games does have to target a general audiance, so I guess a bit of mashing ideas is involved.
Gear/fashion,this is why Eve will never fly with female gamers,you can't look fashionable wearing a ship .
No real player in Eve either makes it yet another reason,this is the game that you can use as reference because ,other games all have fashion and real players.
FFXI can be used as well,i highly doubt and have never seen one single female gamer play a Galkan,so that pretty much proves it right there.This is not saying there isn't maybe one lol,but i have never witnessed it and it would definitely be rare,they are not avoiding the Galkan for any oher reason than looks/fashion.
I have had conversations with female gamers that had an incredible want for +1 items,even though i could prove they were almost useless to spend an extra million,they just refuse to believe it and still want that +1 item even at ridiculous prices. Example +1 has +1 more STR,takes 2 STR to get 1 more dmg,and even 1 more dmg does not equal 1 more dmg in the games math equation,so the item is literally useless to waste more money on.The only difference is to look fad wearing an item that takes more effort to attain.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Books too. I write some so I pay attention. Women are like the only ones who read anymore. There is a whole generation of young men who only know lord of the rings via the movie.
How did WoW achieve a 40% female population? That means what? Four to five million female MMO players?
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Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
Pets, Gnomes, novelty clothing, and holiday events.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Depends on the age.
Girls: unicorns horses ponys faeries glitter pets bunnies hello kitty hair clothes princesses etcetc
Boys: pvp, half naked elves
Women: social interaction
Men: pvp, half naked elves
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
Draenei girls, blood elf girls and night elf girls too. All are very feminine.
There are many female heroes in lore too. Sylvanus the Foresaken leader, Jaina, Alexstraza the queen of the red dragon flight to name a few.
My wife has had me kill certain bosses because they drop an apparel item she wants.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
And then - you woke up.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
What appeals to women in games are the same things that appeal to men. There are very few differences.
As a female gamer of 15 years I for the most part want everything that a male gamer wants, for myself personally I hate fluffy stuff. I am competitive and love to win, I like Uber loot, I love raiding (I cannot play a game casually) and combat. In fact I have left some games because the combat aspect was lacking for me. I dont collect pets (all the guys in my guild do though), I cant stand holiday events in game and NO, my boyfriend didnt get me into MMO's, I got myself into the genre. Started playing Diablo in 1995 then moved over to a true MMO later.
Studies continue to show that females play MMO's as much as males do so I am not sure what the illusion is that we dont. If I was a game developer I'd be taking out ads in womans magazines moreso than ever. Women tend to "stick to one" MMO more than men do, so if you get us hooked you have a loyal customer. By the way I also play EVE, and for MANY, men and women, the ship Avatar isnt cutting it. I have heard many complaints about the lack of human avatar in EVE and its not only women making them.
As far as social aspects of games, they are important to me only insomuch as a raiding guild needs to win. You need members that can get along and work together. Other than that I really dont like sociallizing much in MMO,s because frankly I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. Sorry but its been my experience. I have a very rich rl social life so I dont need it in game. A few pleasantries and chat with the other women in the guild is fine with me (we have our own secret channel! hehe)
Anyway thats my two cents. I will say this, the BIGGEST thing that keeps women away from MMO's (again my experience) is the rampant sexism in some of the communities. I beleive theres alot of money to be made from women by game developers, and the only thing standing in the way of them making Billions is their male customer base! lol!!
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
Speaking of sexism: "I'm tired of dealing with lonely, needy males that try to attach themselves to a female gamer. "
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Not sure what your doing MMO Doubter, I'm not here to argue the points I made, I beleive I have clearly stated these are MY experiences. And dont think pointing out that I am tired of dealing with lonely,needy males is being sexist. Its simply what I have experienced. And there are MANY female gamers that are similar to myself, we just dont run around bragging about things. So NO, Im not the exception, and you cant claim I am unless you profess to know EVERY single female gamer (which you obviously dont).
And your wrong, many MMO developers DO NOT know where all the customer base lies. I went to an EVE Online fanfest just a few years ago and one of the devs made a comment about "women not liking to blow things up"...we thought it was funny that this young man actually thought that. Many of them are as out of touch with reality and their own potential markets as anyone else. As far as the studies, they have been everywhere, I'll try and dig up some links. Again I'll repeat, the only major stumbling block developers have to making more money and opening up their markets is some of the communities in these games. I know several women that have been turned off by gaming by the sexism in the community, it had nothing to do with the game itself.
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
I can't speak for female gamers, but I can tell you what my wife likes and does not
No mucking about, more than five minutes hanging around before she can kill something - she's bored.
Lots of classes - she like to experiement with difference playstyles, DAoC was her favourite; expect she is the worst healer around taking the view that she is a healer only to heal herself.
Hates, crafting, gear chasing, and quests (pretty much).
Like OOC chatting inbetween pwning other players.
Best to worse MMO. DAoC WAR LoTR EVE (boring) and WoW (full of kids and too cartoony)
At 55 she may not be your typical female gamer of couse (and she rides a bog-off massive motorcycle too)
my wife likes cute shit.
She likes high customization, a ton of social options.
Her games can't be overlly macho like Tanks and spaceships and lazers type stuff.
She isnt really an aggressive type of person so she prefers pve.
LOL She considers pvp as "Being mean" lol!
I will often hear her refer to something in Lotro and WoW as cute.
Anyway thats all I have. I couldnt speak for other women just mine
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
Damn, she's cool. You're lucky.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
The premise of the OP is asking *for* a stereotype. A true one, which some female gamers posting here fight, and some support. I'm not saying, as it may be implied, that the *true* stereotype is the one in everyone's minds' eye. I'm saying the true one being the one that speaks to the masses of the demographic, which may or may not agree with your individual perspective.
How does a gaming company bring in *females*? Not, how does a gaming company bring in *you, the stand-alone female*?
Where industries are concerned, men do not evolve. Scientifically our prefrontal cortex taps out around age 25, and most of the time, habits learnt in our teens don't change, which leads to just being cemented at age 25.
Wether we want to argue that society imposes role stereotypes on us, or that it accentuates the roles that exist already in nature is moot. The exist, that is all, and that is what's important.
Men don't grow their wardrobe after high school / college. The way of making friends is also very set in stone in the same life periods. The appeal for material things is very primitive. We are territory driven.
Women do care how they look- much more so then men. Women experience far more diversity in the people they know and associate with than men do. Women are people driven.
My fiancee is a certified tom's boy (state-level soccer player). My younger sister as well (international-level swimmer). Neither paint their nails or spend half an hour of daily hair prep before leaving their place of residence. Both prefer male friends to female friends- some might argue for the whole 'competition for male attention' angle, but it's not.
But yet, inside of any game they've played, colors were important. Interaction on a social level was important. Acceptance as a female, but also respect for being a female rated high when faced with 'eager male gamers'. Basically everything 'extra' to a game that I, or any of my pals, glazed over or failed to notice altogether, was at least noteworthy to them.
'Oh hey, that squirrel is cute'. Woah, you were looking at the squirrel? There's a fat monster with phat lewt we're actively trying to kill so we can get you these cool looking boots you talked about for half an hour yesterday...
Women desire the completeness of a game, based on my emprical findings. It's not that they are 'less forgiving' if something is not 'full', but they are less 'accepting' or 'interested' if it isn't. There's gotta be variety to goal-oriented tasks, and personal hobby space/time as well. And the biggest thing: it's gotta be easy to pick up (clear UIs, concise directions) and be able to go through at one's own pace.
That is exactly right, and we're not saying NO to save WoW, because it is already a lost cause. We are saying NO to dissuade the next group of greedy suits who decide to emulate Blizzard and Cryptic, etc.
We can prevent some of the future games from spewing this crap, but the sooner we start saying no, the better the results will be.
So - Stand up, pull up your pants, and walk away.
- MMO_Doubter
As a female 24 years old-
My biggest attraction to mmos is an in-depth gathering and crafting system. I want to spend months or years on these fields and be able to turn profits. I dont mind farming hard to get items to use in crafting. (the female gatherer I suppose)
I enjoy a tighter community, but not so much for an expensive chat room as an easy way to get the people needed in order to accomplish goals.
As far as combat, I enjoy dual weilding or mage type classes. I always tend to get suckered into healing though.. and Ill do it if it helps get shit done. I like pvp, but it isnt my focus. I just dont care enough to be dedicated at it.
I dont enjoy collecting pets or mounts. In fact, I find non combat pets quite annoying. I also dont like MOST cute races, and opt for the strongest or most sneaky looking one. An example of a cute race I liked were Mithras in FFXI. In WoW, I usually played female taurens or orcs.
I'm hoping FFXIV will give me my gathering/crafting fix. Time will tell!
MMO_D.....After reading all of your responses, I have to say I'm shocked. I never knew you were so sexist. That really disappoints me about you. I thought you were a pretty bright guy...seriously. Racism and sexism aren't ideologies that are generally attached to smart people. I have to say reading your responses disappointed me more than seeing someone else say those things. I apparently had you figured all wrong from reading everything you've ever written before.
First of all, there is probably a vast difference in what most little girls like and what most women like. Unlike most men (not ALL, of course), as someone else posted....our desires CHANGE somewhat as we age, while some men do still seem to place great importance on naked night elves, some women do NOT play gnomes with pink hair and love holiday events. I am using the word "some" a lot, because you can never determine what an ENTIRE people group likes or thinks about anything on earth. We're all DIFFERENT.
I collect everything in games. I like collecting, yes. But I also like to slaughter in PvP....with my male Tauren warrior (at least if we use WoW as an example) and he (my character) has had a PvP title since "back in the day." I do NOT play fluffy looking characters (I have never played a night elf in WoW, for example), and I absolutely LOATHE WoW's holiday shit. I have NEVER played a pink haired gnome. GROSS. I DO like appearance gear (in EQ2) that differentiates me from every other person in the game. There is NO ONE running around in EQ2 that LOOKS the same as I do. And if I were to ever SEE someone that did....I would make new appearance gear. I do have a gnome in EQ2...but they're not "cute" in EQ2, and my main characters are ratongas....yes....rats. How feminine of me. I also have a sarnak, and a couple of wood elves. I guess the wood elves are fairly attractive...but they are not stripper-esque like night elves either.
Other than those things....I'm afraid you don't understand female gamers like you seem to think you do. First of all....we're not all the same. And, WoW is not the only game with a female player base that is almost as large, or AS large, as the male population in game. I hate to tell you guys, but if you would Google up some research on the matter, you would find that MMOs are actually VERY popular with women.
All the sterotypical and sexist statements in this thread are why most women may not TALK to you in games (or even TELL you they are female), however....so you may not realize how many of us there ARE, simply because your minds won't ALLOW you to grasp the concept that gaming is no longer "man's territory." Welcome to the year 2010. Some of us were gaming before some of you were even BORN, for that matter.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
BEST POST IN THREAD BAR NONE.
This is the ONLY assessment I've read that pretty much hit the nail on the head for me. Well....except for the squirrel thing. Yes....I notice the squirrels and the details of all environments (I really really enjoy intricate details in games, not just in gfx, but in combat animation, in set up of skills and abilities, etc), BUT....not when I'm about ready to whoop ass up on some mob. LOL
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
The part where I highlighted the background in blue....doesn't make much sense to me. I don't generalize and am careful to say those things do not apply to everyone, but I'm sexist?...however...you did the same thing with less emphasis on the lack of broad application? Either we're both sexist or neither of us is. I'm going to say that we BOTH probably have some sexist leanings due to experiences with low quality people of both genders. How's that?
Fair enough. Now I feel much better about you. Seriously...I was literally shocked at some of your responses. I suppose as long as you're able to qualify that the statements you made do NOT apply to all female gamers....that's fair enough. I've always thought you were a sweetheart too. But you know good and well that WoW isn't popular with women because of gnomes and holiday events. C'mon now. lol Maybe those things appeal to some women. But it's highly doubtful that the majority of women who play MMOs....play for things like that. Personally....I would say a good many of us like KILLING THINGS and competing and playing to accomplish in game goals of ALL types, including arena ranks, PvP titles (back when we COULD) etc.
I'm sorry for being kind of snippy with you....I just never expected some of those comments from YOU. But you having explained them, at least a little, helps reinstate my faith in you. lol
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Girlgeek and I have a lot in common. I wasn't brought into gaming by a guy - it was the other way around, actually. I got my ex-husband into gaming. He looked at what I was playing and said, "whatcha doing? That kinda looks like fun. Can I try?" Same with one of my brothers, my ex-husband's father, my ex-husband's uncle, and a few male friends. While it probably is true about 80% of the time that guys do get their girlfriends, sisters, wives, daughters into gaming, it's also true about 20% of the time that it is the other way around. The problem with generalizations, in my opinion, is that they're not always 100% correct and end up creating stereotypes that can cause problems within the gaming industry in terms of marketing and community (again, only my opinion).
I tend to be somewhat competitive as well in some of my gaming. Not to the point that I will scream at people who make mistakes, because everyone makes mistakes - including me. But I was an athlete in high school and a 4.0 student in college and that does breed a bit of competitiveness in a person which does carry over into gaming. So again, it's not necessarily true that girl gamers are non-competitive. We are probably a bit less competitive than many male gamers, sure, because as a general rule, women are very different from men in that regard. But I don't necessarily agree that it's true or even fair to presume that women are wholly non-competitive. Again, in my opinion, it's probably an 80-20 percentage or perhaps an 85-15 percentage, but the percentage of competition among girl gamers is there and I don't believe it can be completely ignored.
Firebrand Art
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr