Rumor: Activision Doesn't Think Female Leads Can Sell Games

[Shamanic Rhythm]

You know, despite the fact that dozens of people have already listed popular female leads and I KNOW the position is wrong, I CAN see where Activision are coming from on this (assuming the rumour is actually) true. It's a stupid place, but I can see it.

What is the biggest-selling game Activision has ever made? Modern Warfare 2. What are the other biggest games on the Xbox360? Halo and Gears of War. What are 2 of the biggest and most prominent games on the PS3? God of War III and Uncharted 2. What is one of the biggest games on BOTH consoles? Grand Theft Auto IV. NONE have playable female characters. While the gamer audience here may love female leads, we're the tiny minority that make up the sales records of these titles. The vast majority of sales is made up by male gamers who think macho, testosterone-fueled "hard men" are the only heroes (or anti-heroes) worth playing with. Bayonetta only barely managed to outsell God of War III, despite both coming out earlier AND being on 2 consoles while GoWIII was a PS3 exclusive. Its sales are also roughly on par with Darksiders, despite Darksiders being a pointedly inferior game.

So while Activision's attitude is not only stupid but not helping the problem, to be honest I can't ENTIRELY say they're completely wrong. While there have been a lot of GREAT games with female leads, and even some really well-selling ones, games with male leads simply sell better. You know you're making a mistake when you're citing Jade from Beyond Good And Evil. That game usually tops the 'Best Game No-one Bought' lists more than any other.

So Activision can see the problem- the thing is that they're only contributing to it, rather than trying to be part of the solution by making more female leads in good games. And I mean GOOD female leads, not brainless T&A eye candy like goddamn Bloodrayne.

It's certainly true. I think the real problem here is that, if true, this rumour just further shows how greedy Activision really are. They won't let people take artistic and creative risks like having female leads because they want EVERY game they make to be a Modern Warfare 2; they want every game to be a huge selling title with the potential to be 'exploited' (Kotick's exact words) every year. As a result, they are stifling all kinds of creativity and setting an uncomfortable benchmark for the gaming industry that unless you pull off astronomical sales, the game is a relative failure.

This is not at all surprising though, it's typical publisher behaviour. You'd think that selling four million albums would be a good thing, right? Well when Fleetwood Mac sold that many with 'Tusk', it was seen as a failure by the record company because it didn't sell sixteen million like 'Rumours'. That's the kind of absurd thinking that artists of any kind will always have to struggle with.

 

[DarkPanda XIII]

The major problem with what they're saying is that it wouldn't sell, there are two major problems with that...

1) They haven't really, really looked at the previous games back in the day, and looked at characters like Lara Croft, or Samus Aran, or any of those sexy characters that worked. Samus Aran didn't quite hit us off with the strong female until we found out, but she does indeed fit the profile. Lara Croft is the one, with her sexy stretches, the glistening water of her clothes, even that time where you could get a hack that left her nude. It was enough for people to buy it.

2) Anytime a female is portrayed as the kick-ass head of the game, it's actually not her fault that the game failed. This isn't because of her, but the gameplay itself. It's either built to be psychodic and people aren't interested, or it was built to be too sexual and people are turned on, but still not interested.

 

[kannibus]

I think this has less to do with the concept of a female lead and more to do with Activision's inability to create a LIKABLE female lead. Seriously, being a ***** doesn't make for a a strong character. Nor does having stonking great tits make someone attractive.

So long as a character is smart, funny, tough, has a good reason for doing what they're doing and is of course in a GOOD GAME, that character will work

 

[oppp7]

Ok, Activision's venturing into sexism now. I refuse to defend them on internet forums anymore.

 

[CitySquirrel]

I didnt say I'd hate it. I just dont have any confidence it would be better than any of the other GTA games.

Actually, what you said was, "I don't think I would play...". So you are saying that you would not play if there was a woman in it because you don't think it would be made better by having a woman in it? And if you wouldn't automatically hate it, why would you decide ahead of time not to give it a chance? By the by, No one is talking about a game being "better" just because it has a woman in it... being better or worse would have to do with the game itself.

And really, its a lot more believable that a crazy ass 160+ pound russian/black/italian/(whateverthefuckclaudewas) guy is carjacking people with their bare hands than a 120 pound lady. I would believe it if it was some husky/ripped chick, but I dont wanna play as a husky/ripped chick just so the main being a woman makes sense.

It is completely unbelievable that anyone would survive as much abuse as a GTA protagonist, such as being hit by cars and sent flying, car accidents without seat belts (Nico would go flying through windshields, would he not?), and being shot repeatedly. Yet, we accept it... Nico survives because he just does. But you can't just accept that a woman is pulling people out of cars because she is composed of fewer polygons?

I also am curious about your notion of badassery. Yeah, a woman might sound ridiculous acting like Nico, but there are other ways to be badass. And they don't all have to be tough-as-nails-ice-queen badass. Perhaps you could argue that what makes GTA attractive is the masculine thug / outlaw fantasy, and this is perfectly fine and valid if that is the argument you make.

By the way, I'm not demanding that you like the idea or saying that you should enjoy it. I was just questioning why you would decide ahead of time not to play because the lead character is a digital representation of a woman. However, I am challenging the notion of believability because most video games are highly unbelievable in any way shape or form, including the GTA series, and I am a little suspicious of a sudden demand for realism.

 

[Blue Musician]

This is what I would say in the face of Bobby Kotick:


"Just shut the hell up and start making good games, not crappy ones and making remarks of games that do not suck!"

But I probably wouldn't if he has bodyguards...

But this is just a rumor, so I would talk too soon...

 

[craddoke]

April Ryan - greatest female lead ever.

Also, I completely buy this story - the management at my company (mis)uses focus group results in exactly the same way. They just keep asking until someone validates their prejudices; then, when the idea/product bombs, they can point to the (supposedly impartial) data.

 

[fenderstrat]

i agree, female leads are good, as long as they dont whore out the character so they can sell more... weird to think about a game with a fully dressed female character. does one even exist?

 

[WrathOfBanja]

Actually, what you said was, "I don't think I would play...". So you are saying that you would not play if there was a woman in it because you don't think it would be made better by having a woman in it? And if you wouldn't automatically hate it, why would you decide ahead of time not to give it a chance? By the by, No one is talking about a game being "better" just because it has a woman in it... being better or worse would have to do with the game itself.

---------------------------------------------------------------

It is completely unbelievable that anyone would survive as much abuse as a GTA protagonist, such as being hit by cars and sent flying, car accidents without seat belts (Nico would go flying through windshields, would he not?), and being shot repeatedly. Yet, we accept it... Nico survives because he just does. But you can't just accept that a woman is pulling people out of cars because she is composed of fewer polygons?

I also am curious about your notion of badassery. Yeah, a woman might sound ridiculous acting like Nico, but there are other ways to be badass. And they don't all have to be tough-as-nails-ice-queen badass. Perhaps you could argue that what makes GTA attractive is the masculine thug / outlaw fantasy, and this is perfectly fine and valid if that is the argument you make.

By the way, I'm not demanding that you like the idea or saying that you should enjoy it. I was just questioning why you would decide ahead of time not to play because the lead character is a digital representation of a woman. However, I am challenging the notion of believability because most video games are highly unbelievable in any way shape or form, including the GTA series, and I am a little suspicious of a sudden demand for realism.

Alright, I might play it. I guess what I meant is that I probably wouldnt purchase it due to my skepticism about a female being able to fill the same shoes as the other protagonists.

As for flying through windshields and getting shot a lot and stuff like that, those things are meant to be absurd, or they are there to keep gamers from being frustrated because they die instantly. The little things in the game shouldnt be absurd though. I've never found myself thinking "there's no way Niko could take that guy", but I might in the case of a female protagonist.

And yeah, the basic reason I like the GTA characters is because they act absurdly badass, and I simply dont think a female character could do it without being annoying or completely absurd(in a bad way). Sure, there are definitely other ways to be badass. I just dont think this particular kind of badassery works well with a female role.

tl;dr i dont think a female protagonist could be niko, tommy or cj and be a believable and appealing character.

 

[ecoho]

um first off can someone clearify this for me i thought blizz bought Activision not the other way around? next i will say this i play a women in dragon age and yes i am a guy,and im strait i actualy find a game a bit more fun with a female lead mostly because its always fun to see a hot girl (not a DOA jiggle fest guys) beat the shit out of anyone.

 

[CitySquirrel]

tl;dr i dont think a female protagonist could be niko, tommy or cj and be a believable and appealing character.

Right, fair enough.

 

[Glamorgan]

Oh come on. Lara Croft! That is all I have to say!

 

[jamesworkshop]

um first off can someone clearify this for me i thought blizz bought Activision not the other way around? next i will say this i play a women in dragon age and yes i am a guy,and im strait i actualy find a game a bit more fun with a female lead mostly because its always fun to see a hot girl (not a DOA jiggle fest guys) beat the shit out of anyone.

You are half right

Blizzard was part of the Vivendi Games group of Vivendi. In July 2008 Vivendi Games merged with Activision, using Blizzard's name in the resulting company, Activision Blizzard.


On July 8, 2008, Activision announced that stockholders had agreed to merge. The deal closed on July 9, 2008, and the total transaction was an estimated $18.9 billion. Vivendi was the majority shareholder, with a 52% stake in the company.

Blizzard do not own Activision directly Vivendi own Blizzard and the majority shareholder of Activision.

It's a merger between 3 seperate businesses Vivendi is the top dog with Activision and Blizzard opperating as Subsidiary of the parent company Vivendi.

All three corperate entities have their own seperate board of directors the job of
Bobby Kotick is to be the CEO/president of everything that involves the joint efforts made by Activison and Blizzard.

Underneath him is Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing and Michael Morhaime, President and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment.

 

[gurall200]

whats next, news that Activision hates children.

In all honesty, is anyone really shocked by this, a game company not thinking that female leads will sell games, look at the shelves at a gamestop and pick how many games feature female characters as the leads, then tell me how many of them you would buy, if you have a answer more then one (and it doesn't include bayonetta) i will be surprised.

 

[Signa]

... Sarah Connor ..couldn't sell games

No, but she could sell tampons!

 

[dagens24]

The problem isn't that people are against female leads, the problem is that most developers don't known how to create appealing female leads. Women in video games are either damsels in distress, bland excuses for jiggle physics (when I was a kid I wanted Tomb Raider 2 because she had HUGE breasts; sex sells to teenagers) or badass' that try to not conform to the damsel stereotype (which is now it's own stereotype). When developers start writting interesting female leads then those leads will sell their games. I would totally play a game where Alyx Vance is the lead because she's a wonderful example of effective characterization for a female; she's hardened and wise from hardship but still feminin. She can take care of herself and gets the job done but the weight of the world still has an impact on her.

 

[Danpascooch]

Let's be real, when has a game with a female lead ever sell a game?

Spoiler: Oh wait...

[

I wouldn't really take Lara Croft or that last picture as the merits of casting women as lead characters, because they are really just breasts that happen to be affixed to one dimensional characters, if anything, selling a game on the sheer "look at this chick" factor really hurts the case for female leads more than it helps it.

Metroid is a great point for female leads, as long as they stop all this "zero-suit" spandex over-the-top crap.

 

[Danpascooch]

... Sarah Connor ..couldn't sell games

No, but she could sell tampons!

Oh man! Those tampons prevent leaks even when you're being gunned apart by robots from the future!

 

[Kollega]

I blame Activision here, because they're jerks (and everyone knows it)... but not only them. I also blame the stupid macho audience, the kind of people that play nothing but Modern Warfare 2 and for whom any female is just a walking pair of tits, regardless of personality. It is because of them that best-sellers of gaming suck at being "art". I hope they all die in an actual World War 3.

I can't really say or do anything except facepalm at it all.