Female's and gaming.

[ApeShapeDeity]

Why aren't girls into games? (Yeah, ok. I know this isn't universally true, but generally, face it.)

There must be something about it that either activly discourages women, or simply fails to capture their imaginations. I can almost guarantee that if you meet a nice girl at a party she's not going to want to hear about how you owned arse on Medal of Honor last night... Ok, those discussions can be tedious... meh.

The real question is 'Why don't (generally) females get enraptured with video game excellence?

Off the top of my head I can only surmise that it has a lot to do with the low brow gender roles depicted in many games, or the lack of female protagonists, or that female dialouge is being done badly.

Tell me what you think, I'd especially like to hear from our lady gamer friends and hear your opinions on this...

 

[Gentile]

Girls do like videogames.

Cooking Mama and Mario Kart comes to mind.

 

[Zhukov]

I wouldn't want to hear about how you owned arse on MoH last night either.

...

FIne, fine. Have a more serious answer:


PS. This topic has been done to death.

PPS. You don't need the apostrophe after "female".

 

[Iznat]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

 

[Lost93]

I'd say it was mostly just social expectations, like how they recently found girls are just as good at maths as boys are in schools but because of the social expectations less go on to study it after it stops being compulsory.

We can also probably point to the audiences games are made for, being honest many of the "blockbuster" games are very male oriented (see Gears of War, God of War, and the no women in call of duty theories) and many gamers dismiss the games aimed more neutrally or towards the female population as 'casual' or 'shovelware' and therefore not definable as 'real' games.

This is changing though as the market widens, a lot thanks to Nintendo, and gaming becomes more sociably acceptable anyway.

 

[ApeShapeDeity]

PPS. You don't need the apostrophe after "female".[/quote]

Good call. A momentary lapse on my part.

Also, sorry if this topic is a bit 'old hat', but I feel that more disussion on the matter couldn't hurt. Plus, I'm genuinely interested.

Do we think that social games like WoW have a bigger female fan base? Would incorporating more social elements into games (mics, mechanics etc.) would help girls love to game?

 

[Fishyash]

From my guesses and my foggy of memory from watching a video about this subject from extra credits, I would say that some females consider video games as "boy's toys".

Kind of like how girls like barbie and guys like action man.

 

[Dyp100]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

 

[Zhukov]

FIne, fine. Have a more serious answer:

Hey. Hey. Screw you, buddy. I love Hooters. The waitresses are ugly, but can you name a chain restaurant with better cheeseburgers? No you cannot.

I wouldn't know.

I live in Australia. I'm pretty sure we don't have Hooters here. Plus, it's been over ten years since I last ate a cheeseburger.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

We do like games, actually. Whenever I get a girl to play a game, even one like Halo, they have a blast. Many are just turned off by them because guys can be overzealous about them.

 

[oplinger]

...Girls do like games. Actually a lot of them do. They aren't just naturally turned off from games. That's just silly to think some gender has a chemically inclined reason to interests.

However most mainstream games are quite violent, and bank on your being a dick to someone, or mean in some manner in order to achieve a goal, or be a rebel of some kind. I mean many games tend to be in a ballpark girls don't like to touch.

However, In the less violent genres and games, there's quite a few girl gamers to be found. I'm not talking casual games either. There are plenty of exceptions yeah, but girls tend to not like being violent...or mean...

Just something I've noticed in my long travels through gaming...

 

[Iznat]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

Well, it's a scary genre.
Don't take this the wrong way - I'm not here claiming that ALL AND EVERY female ever hates FPS'. I know some that can't get enough of 'em, but most girls I know can't play them.
I've been trying to play Fallout: NV for a while now, and I keep pussying out and switching to third person 'cause I get so freaked out.

In first person you feel like they're shooting at *you,* (and I get that it's to make it more immersive, thanks ) and some girls (myself included) really don't like that. Third person however, it's more detached, and I enjoy it more. It's less stressful, ^_^

Don't apply this to ALL girl gamers. It's just that, in my experience, it's been one of the main reasons girl's don't game so much.


D: Please don't get mad at me.

EDIT:

Do we think that social games like WoW have a bigger female fan base? Would incorporating more social elements into games (mics, mechanics etc.) would help girls love to game?

I love love love WoW.
Mics are nice, especially in multiplayer PC games, but I dunno 'bout consoles

 

[freakydan]

I was recently called all manner of horrible names by a girl because I got God of War III at the start of a week when she couldn't come over and play it. Seriously, she was REALLY pissed that she couldn't get her Kratos on.

I will marry this woman. She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

More on topic, I'd say it's the same reason little boys play cowboys and indians and little girls have tea parties. From a young age, boys are conditioned to want to be manly men, and women are conditioned to be little Suzy homemakers, so when we grow up, boys like to play games with manly men, and women just don't get it. Generally.

 

[LightningBanks]

FIne, fine. Have a more serious answer:

Hey. Hey. Screw you, buddy. I love Hooters. The waitresses are ugly, but can you name a chain restaurant with better cheeseburgers? No you cannot.

I wouldn't know.

I live in Australia. I'm pretty sure we don't have Hooters here. Plus, it's been over ten years since I last ate a cheeseburger.

I have to wonder if Hooters exists in places other than America. It seems like something that would be rather heavily frowned upon pretty much anywhere else. There is no excuse, however, for not eating a cheeseburger at least twice a month. You must renounce your wicked ways and embrace the beef.

A hooters just opened in Bristol, UK. Havent been there yet though, I may be going next friday, I think Ill have a cheeseburger now.

 

[LightningBanks]

Double post due to that dam captcha thing ><

 

[Dyp100]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

Well, it's a scary genre.
Don't take this the wrong way - I'm not here claiming that ALL AND EVERY female ever hates FPS'. I know some that can't get enough of 'em, but most girls I know can't play them.
I've been trying to play Fallout: NV for a while now, and I keep pussying out and switching to third person 'cause I get so freaked out.

In first person you feel like they're shooting at *you,* (and I get that it's to make it more immersive, thanks ) and some girls (myself included) really don't like that. Third person however, it's more detached, and I enjoy it more. It's less stressful, ^_^

Don't apply this to ALL girl gamers. It's just that, in my experience, it's been one of the main reasons girl's don't game so much.


D: Please don't get mad at me.

Don't worry, I won't. Was just asking about you, really, cos I know not to generalise. To be fair, I was gonna say immersion is the better points of the FPS genre, though, if you tend to get freaked out easier I can see how that could be a problem. It's a shame really, some of the better FPS's tend to play up on the horror element of games (STALKER, Left4Dead, that kinda thing) I suppose we all have our limits for creepiness. I for one get totally freaked out by a game like Dead Space, though, when I was younger I was too scared even to play a game like Morrowind, all the dark corners and underground caves and giant crabs and all....To be fair, giant crabs still scare me, giant crustaceans/bugs are pretty bloody creepy.

So, how are you liking New Vegas in 3rd person?

 

[moretimethansense]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

I once read something that said it's due to the difference in the way men and women process visual information.

In short:
Men are better at tracking targets and have better spacial awareness.
Women are better at detecting patterns and distinguishing between colours.

Hence men would prefer FPSs and similar action games, women would be better at and prefer puzzle games.

That could be part of it, it could also be due to the excessive macho posturing that is prevalent in FPSs and similar games.

 

[KindOfnElf]

...Girls do like games. Actually a lot of them do. They aren't just naturally turned off from games. That's just silly to think some gender has a chemically inclined reason to interests.

Thank you!!! Girls ARE into games.
And I'd totally want to hear how someone own arse in Medal Of Honor last night... that is if you can come to word because I am a female (talk a lot, I talk fast *is generalizing*) and I love bragging about how I owned arse in Unreal Tournament (or whatever). -_-

Most males I know are not into things I like that are more common than gaming, but it's not something to be questioned because we are not the same gender. It's an individual choice, a hobby. And I am sorry but I really dislike this generalization, it's getting old and it's a bit annoying, especially because on this forum there are lots of females that obviously proves that we are into gaming. And we play FPS's. And we are good at it!

 

[Vampire cat]

Plenty of girls play games, but the girls that play games are the shy and quiet type so you won't find them in the club when your not looking for shy and quiet girls that are not super-attractive, and admit it: you never look for those, do you? You never look in the corner of the room! Look there next time and you'll find one (unless it's the wrong kind of party, I don't know what places you go to...)

 

[Dyp100]

Girls do like games.
I'm a girl - I like games.

Most girls I know that play games though, (myself included) hate first person shooters.
HATE HATE HATE 'em.
It's scary :c

But otherwise, that's the only reason I can think of. Or, girl's ridiculous loss of finger function when being attacked >_>

What's with hating a whole genre? Any reason?

I once read something that said it's due to the difference in the way men and women process visual information.

In short:
Men are better at tracking targets and have better spacial awareness.
Women are better at detecting patterns and distinguishing between colours.

Hence men would prefer FPSs and similar action games, women would be better at and prefer puzzle games.

That could be part of it, it could also be due to the excessive macho posturing that is prevalent in FPSs and similar games.

Ah yes, that DOES make a lot of sense, actually...Thanks for the answer, never thought of it like that.