When will game developers realize there are female players too?

[Gigaguy64]

You mean like Gears of War 3 where there are two female main characters?
Halo Reach which also has one?
Tomb Raider.
Metroid.
Portal.
Mass Effect.
Dragon Age.
Fallout.
Tenchu.
Borderlands.
Mirrors Edge.
Perfect Dark.
Bayonetta.

Quite a few of these are Triple A titles.

I don't see why there has to be a female character for you to enjoy the game anyway. Portal is one of mine and a lot of peoples favourite games and a significant amount of them are males with no complaint.

Granted RPG's should always have a gender option because they are based upon role-play where people frequently like to play as themselves in a fantasy setting, but beyond that you are playing as a character not an avatar of yourself.

By that logic you shouldn't like books written in the first person with a male narrator either. Or television programmes or films where the protagonist is male as you cannot relate to them.

I personally have no issue whatsoever playing as a female character, and not because of the "If I have to stare at a pixellated ass..." argument either.

Pretty much this.
Will i agree in the sense that RPGs need to have that option, not all games need too.

The Gender of the Main Character shouldn't stop you from enjoying a game.
Im a guy and i have no issue with playing a game there the Protag is Female.

Metroid is probably my favorite series of all time.
And i couldn't care less about Samus's Gender while im playing the game.
Regardless of Samus's Gender Metroid is one of the Best Series iv ever played.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Why don't they realize that most women don't want to play as male characters? I mean just switch it around, how many male players would enjoy games if most of the ones available had women as the main character?

Where are you getting these statistics? Most women I know don't care two shits if its a male or female avatar. Same with men.

If your argument was true, then Metroid would have terrible sales, rather than being one of Nintendo's top-selling franchises.

You do know that Samus was the one who actually broke the gender rules?
I mean, you do know that everyone refered to Samus as a HE until they got the Best ending, right?

That was the Joke.
Even the Manuel for the game was Gender Neutral when talking about Samus.

 

[Uber Waddles]

Triple A titles for the consoles are generally aimed towards a specific demographic. Granted, that demographic relies heavily on the type of game and console. For all intents and purposes, we will talk about the "Shooter" genres; as RPG's usually dont apply to the standard demographic, and usually have customization of some sort. The shooter genre is aimed towards High School/College Male, the one that spends an average day at the gym and talking about how sick their quickscope was.

When it comes to marketing, this demographic doesnt want a human character with flaws and emotional issues. They want one bad-ass no-face motha-fucka to blow the shit outta the genocidal aliens. Most of the time, they arent doing it for love. They are doing it for vengence, or because they just wanna kill some aliens. Now, there are exceptions. First off, there are a few games that do have females in them as leads/major characters. However, I would like to point to games like Tomb Raider and point out that if you DONT think those games are selling because of some sort of sex appeal, your out of it. Second, games like Gears of War, probably one of my favorites shooters, mixes this up a little: the characters do have their own personalities (although most can be described by grunting and pointing to a PlayBoy magazine), there are motivations (hence why Dom whines about his wife every 4 seconds), and they will be adding something to the genre by including females into the mix (and I think its hard to be sexy when your wearing a half ton of armor; a rule that applies to everything).

That being said, the AAA games industrys are all about marketing towards a key demographic. Most have hopped onboard with shooters or Sandboxs, which have their own niche appeal to the, well, guys. Casual games aim towards kids and the elderly, Nintendo makes games friendly for kids, but appealing to other crowds. RPG's appeal to, well, RPG fans (we are kind of unique), with the split between JRPG fans (who have their own demographic qualities) and WRPG fans (who also have their own demographic qualities aka OMGOD BIOWARE).

Would it be refreshing to see a game where the lead was a female? Yes. Would it be refreshing if she was a likeable character instead of a cold-hardass who looks like a model with two watermellons struggling to leap out of her shirt? Yes. Would it be refreshing to see a female lead pull a game, and do it without it feeling like a gimmick or like its trying to market off of sex appeal? Of course. Unfortunately, thats just not something game developers are looking into. I think it would be FANTASTIC if the lead in the new Call of Duty was a female, but the way things are in this industry, it probably wont happen.

 

[manaman]

I am kinda the same with you on this.
If I see a game that I find interesting but read "You play as Testestorone Bomb Joe", then I won't buy it.

So you would have bought it if it was roid rage sue?

That's such a cop out answer. You probably wouldn't have bought the game anyway, and changing the feel of the game so it can support an actual feminine character would have changed the game so significantly that it wouldn't be the same game.

OP: That's the answer anyway. You play the games that appeal to you as a person. You can wish every game was tailored to your specific likes, but they are not. I am not complaining that Barbie Horse Adventures was made, and didn't feature a testosterone fueled male character that blew everything up. I would go on to list games with feminine protagonists (other then generic RPG #7 which allows you to select the characters gender) but I see I was already beaten to that.

 

[Misterian]

Developers know that their are female gamers.

they simply don't give a hoot which gender their top gamers are, and they shouldn't have to.

As long as the game is good, and it sells well, that's all developers should have to worry about.

 

[Fusionxl]

Having female characters hardly encourages more girls to play, in most games women are portrayed as empty soulless walking boob racks with bouncy bottocks and nothing more. Bayonetta has to get naked for super moves, Lara Croft rarely wears more than skin tight shorts and a tank top, Bloodrayne looks like she has to get her tight leather suit on with liquid soap every morning. It's downright insulting, it's like making every male character an emotionless macho asshole with a gritty voice.

Oh wait...

Anyhoo, I think it would encourage more girls to take up gaming if they could relate to the characters more. Give them human emotions, some flaws and uniqueness, relationships other than a love scene after three short conversations. Not all males are horny insensitive nerds or jocks, we appreciate good character development too.

 

[squid5580]

Developers know that their are female gamers.

they simply don't give a hoot which gender their top gamers are, and they shouldn't have to.

As long as the game is good, and it sells well, that's all developers should have to worry about.

This.

Pisses me off when the Nazi-feminist movement tries to stifle creativity. Passing on a game because of the gender of the MC is BULLSHIT!!!

 

[veloper]

There's mega popular games like the Sims and bejeweled that target women specificly.

The indusrtry knows. They also know they won't sell the next Gears of War of they watered it down trying to cater to everybody.

Different audiences, different games. Quit hoping for the next rape simulator to be female friendly.

 

[squidbuddy99]

Are you suggesting developers make more games designed for females? Because I don't think those work out very well, e.g. Barbie's Horse Adventure. I think developers have been making games specifically for males for so long that they forget that games don't need a lot of pink and horses to make it appealing to the fairer sex.

 

[etherlance]

how many male players would enjoy games if most of the ones available had women as the main character?

Are you really asking us that question??

 

[Femalegamer]

This has bothered me as well. Thought I was the only female player to complain. Why they don't consider females when they design games is beyond me.

Maybe they should take a survey or something to realize we are here,

Like you, I don 't buy games that are not geared to female players. If enough of us complain maybe they will get the message.

I have been coming to this forum for awhile and this is the only post I have responded to. Probably because i am upset about this issue too.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Why don't they realize that most women don't want to play as male characters? I mean just switch it around, how many male players would enjoy games if most of the ones available had women as the main character?

Where are you getting these statistics? Most women I know don't care two shits if its a male or female avatar. Same with men.

If your argument was true, then Metroid would have terrible sales, rather than being one of Nintendo's top-selling franchises.

You do know that Samus was the one who actually broke the gender rules?
I mean, you do know that everyone refered to Samus as a HE until they got the Best ending, right?

That was the Joke.
Even the Manuel for the game was Gender Neutral when talking about Samus.

Samus Aran first appeared in 1986, as the playable protagonist in the video game Metroid. Originally , Samus was created solely as a alternate identity for the player to put themselves as, and was given no separate personality or defining features, characteristic of the creative treatment of many video game characters of the time. Partway through the development process, one member of the team suggested: ?Hey, wouldn?t it be cool if the character turned out to be a woman?? A vote was held and Samus was changed into a woman. Since the film series "Alien" was acknowledged as a major influence in the development of Metroid, it is reasonable to assume that the inspiration for making Samus a woman may have very well come from the film's own Ellen Ripley. Indeed, in the Nintendo Power-published Super Metroid comic, her personality was based on a mix of Ripley and Princess Leia from the Star Wars series. Contrary to popular belief, Samus was not created by Metroid producer Gunpei Yokoi. The original game concepts were done by game director Makoto Kanōh and were designed by Hiroji Kiyotake.[5]

Samus?s true identity as a woman was a heavily guarded secret, and was obscured by the already simple Power Suit?s androgynous appearance. The game manuals for Metroid in Japan uses pronouns like It mainly because the Japanese language only has gender-neutral pronouns like aista. The American manuals instead used male pronouns like "he" but it is unknown if this was a botched attempt to keep Samus?s gender a secret or simply a mistranslation. Only by beating the game in under an hour could the player gain access to a secret ending where Samus would remove her Power Suit and reveal herself to be a woman. It has become a tradition for Samus to do so in every Metroid game since, if the player completes the proper in-game requirements.

There you go.
We're both right.

Which makes Metroid Lucky in a way.
Iv known a few people who don't like playing games where the main character isn't their Gender.
So because most people didn't know what Samus's gender was or just assumed she was a man, it gave Metroid a better chance.
Though i still think that Samus's gender wouldn't have mattered to many by the end of the game anyway (as it was an awesome game) but, its kinda sad that some people wont try a Game unless the Main is the same gender as them.
But anyway, point being Gender doesn't matter to me if the Game is good.
Though sometimes specific Genders make sense with the story.

 

[Femalegamer]

You know what I hate, people who have no idea what this post is about.

 

[Nimzar]

Also this early episode of ExtraCreditz (before it was called that) is kinda relevant.

 

[Woodsey]

Are you joking? You refuse to play games where the PC is male?

That's just the way the market goes; it may not even necessarily be because the majority of gamers are male, but because the majority of developers/publishers are male.

I think you'll find most female gamers manage to cope with a male lead, just like most male gamers manage to cope with a female lead.

I take it you're being purposefully stupid on your last question just to suit your argument. Most games have fixed characters because most games will tell a specific story about that character (unlike RPGs), not to mention it's then double the work you've got to do on the lead with another character design, and re-recording and re-writing dialogue.

 

[Edorf]

What makes you think women wants to play a female character? And why do you think all the male characters have no chest, arm or leghair and look kind of sexy?

I know a few female gamers, and they tend to go for the male characters (Doesnt the majority of male gamers go for the female ones?)

 

[Omikron009]

I'm a guy, and I have no problem playing games with female protagonists. Just because no game with a strictly female protagonist has ever caught my interest doesn't mean that I won't play them.

 

[Azure Sky]

Imagine if Link were a girl and Zelda were the male?

I would so buy that game.

Now to actually contribute something...

While I can't speak for anyone else I see it two ways.
1)You are either playing a set character, regardless of gender.
2)You are playing a game with more depth, such as an RPG where the developers hope is to immerse the player into the game via the main character(s)

#1: When you get one of these, regardless of gender, it's tough cookies. This is what the game is designed to be. But to elaborate on my opening quote, what about a female Bond? No, because it breaks canon. Male protagonist in Metroid? Same thing.

#2: Now here is where it gets interesting. Most games following this type these days give you a choice, or are so damn good a game it doesn't matter. I do have to say this though, whats so wrong with roleplaying the other gender in a game? It's not that different to say.. a Jock roleplaying a wizard. or a Bookworm roleplaying a Barbarian. even an 80 year old roleplaying a Space Marine. Is it really that much more different? Games are meant to be enjoyed after all. =3

Now that I think about it, Zelda.
Strange, pantsless, green-wearing swordsman that cannot speak aside.
#1 What is the game named after.
#2 What is the main plot device.
#3 Who is generally the most the most intelligent as well as elegant character. (This may only apply to the later games, Ocarina and up)
#4 Who is is one of the most powerful people, both politically and magically. (Also, see #3)

Just food for thought. =3

 

[blankedboy]

Well, even though (apparently) 40% of gamers are girls, the developers are still targetting males. Some games are targeted at girls, but usually at 5-9 year olds.

They probably do recognise them, but are too sexist to make women in games more than just a sex object. Y'know, like me.

 

[Shycte]

You oughta be trolling...

But in case you are not.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay, I know that you are entitled to your own opinion and all that. But seriously? Okay, first of all, that is not true, there are plenty of AAA titles with female protaganists.

And why it is a problem? Because it would fuck up the entire story. Look at Mafia för example. It would be like, no, there are no female taxidrivers. GAME OVER.