When will game developers realize there are female players too?

[Miles Tormani]

Game developers do realize that there are female players. You act as if devs are moronic and have totally missed out on the fact that women make up roughly half of the population. That's a stupid assumption. They just don't care.

Oddly enough, I feel similar to you...I can't get behind games that feature FEMALES as lead characters. I hate Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy 13 bored me, Bayonetta just makes me want to play Devil May Cry, and don't even get me started on Onechanbara.

Honestly, how many women do you think want to be portrayed like a man? You can't just change Marcus Fenix into a girl and expect men to buy the game. Once you change the no-no parts, you have to change the ENTIRE GAMING EXPERIENCE. I don't think you really want a game with a strong female lead, you want a game with a female lead that worries about girl stuff. I don't mean to be blunt, but I can't think of a more PC way to say it. I don't want to play "Twilight: The Video Game" any more than you want to play "Tim the Tool-Man Taylor: The Game." You know what everyone likes in games, though? Shooting things. Who does most of the "shooting things" in real life? Men. It's just the way it goes.

Those games had female protagonists designed for men, why would a soldier like lightning run around flashing her thighs?
You don't need to have a female character to have a game marketed towards women i'm not saying you think that but its seems to be the general idea in this thread that thats the issue despite loads of game have female protagonist that female gamers don't seem to care for


EDit**
" lightning run around flashing her thighs?"

can't believe I missed that pun

You are correct, those are games with females designed for males, but you lost me when you claim that I must have missed to point of the thread somehow. The OP clearly states that she wants games with more females leads. Period. She doesn't state any more than that. Those are games with female leads. I didn't like them because of the fact that they had female leads. Where is our disconnect?

Apparently, according to the OP, you DO need a game with a female character marketed towards women. She clearly stated that she WON'T BUY GAMES THAT HAVE MALE LEADS. Did you even read the original post?

? sorry but I don't understand you

I never said you missed the point of the thread nor was I talking about the original post you've lost me completly, She might require a female protagonist but the wider market doesn't because women that are playing games are clearly through a lack of female options playing male characters otherwise they could barely play any games at all.

Your confusion confuses me. You say the general idea is to make games with leads that females care about (regardless of gender/sex), but the OP CREATED THE THREAD WITH THE INTENT OF LETTING PEOPLE KNOW SHE WANTED FEMALE LEADS. That IS the general idea of the thread. If you don't understand my original post, then it probably wasn't written for you. Perhaps it was written for the OP to read...consider that?

The general idea in this topic is that females can only care about female leads, the original poster is not the only poster, other posters in this topic count too.

"general idea in this thread "
Does not mean it's the only or the orginal idea in what is now 7 pages, its gained from the vibe I was getting from various people, loads have question the quantity of female leads and suggesting that increasing the numbers will make things better rather than an increase in character quality.

I'm not having trouble understanding your original post but why you felt I was suggesting that you lacked understanding which I am assuming you meant to take as me calling you stupid to which I have no idea why you would feel that way.

I think that a lot of people in this thread have been asking the wrong things, personally only dealing with the first post I believe that getting what she is asking for is not going to satisfy, the reality is her idea is only going to achieve a cosmetic change at best while at least doubling the cost of game production and time taken it a business with expensive production values already.

PM with a grammatically correct version of what you just posted and I'll respond. Not an insult, I'm just having difficulty understanding your response.

What I believe he is saying is that, well... how do I sum this up?

Most people in this thread are saying that giving the choice alone doubles the workload in various areas, and even then, it doesn't wind up being an adequate change. There are lots of things that just work differently depending on your character's gender, unless, for example, every love interest in every game ever is bisexual.

...Not that I'd mind every potential love interest to be bisexual, but it would be kind of weird to see, say, Princess Peach falling in love with a female plumber. Not unwelcome. Just odd. (Then again, it's kind of odd that a princess would be in love with a portly plumber with a thick mustache in the first place.)

 

[Gabriel Xollan]

Oblivion allows one to choose a Gender and of course there is always Onechanbara. But of course that game is a bit trashy for women players. In any case, I say most males are interested in games that's why they have most of the characters as male. As you said, people often play as what they identify with.

I can go either way it really doesn't matter, but I feel wrong if I play as a female character. Like I'm playing for all the wrong reasons. I get over it though. Besides, its just a game.

Good luck with the politically correct gaming world.

They're not firemen...they're firepeople. Get it straight, muha!

 

[Doc Funky]

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?

As a male player, I don't see why it would matter.

I play games to have fun, and I don't care if my avatar in the realm of fun is female or male. As long as the female characters in this fantasy game world were well-rounded characters instead of total stereotypes, I'd be fine with it.

I mean, there are current games that feature completely one-note male characters that I refuse to play...God of War comes to mind here. Kratos plows anything attractive that has a vagina, and tears the heads off of everything else, because he's SO ANGRY AND MANLY...and while every other male gamer creams his pants about it, that shit holds absolutely no appeal to me. I'd rather play a hundred games featuring wimpy everyday men like Ethan Mars from Heavy Rain than even one God of War.

 

[Antidrall]

I would like to direct you to number four in this article: http://www.cracked.com/article_15748_gamers-manifesto.html

 

[FaustCainus]

I can role play, and I mean Dungeons and Dragons serious role play, as a guy or a girl, Gender is irrelevant, it's a story, not you. If you need a way to get through a game going "OMG I'm a ", think of them as a child or something you want to protect/raise/empower/etc.

Again, they are not you!

I have a tenuous grasp on reality and I am a slight sociopath, and I can tell the difference...

Also, power to Samus.

 

[Terminate421]

Look at Halo: Reach, you can play as a woman (by editing your character)

 

[mendokusai]

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?

Well, as you said, it's all about the bottom line, and as a female gamers are as of yet a minority, those focused on the bottom line do not pander to minorities. And personally (being a male), I wouldn't mind if most games had women as the main character - as long as the main character is well-written/developed and is voice acted well, gender is irrelevant to me.

Why is it a problem for them to develop games where gender option is allowed?

Because this would require them to construct the narrative in such a way that it allows both genders to fit in comprehensibly, and that is just not financially feasible, as well as being potentially weakening to the narrative itself.

I, for one, don't purchase games that only allow a male character. I can't even role play a character like this. It's just not fun.

Usually these characters have a romantic interest. Of course the romantic interest is female.
C'mon, maybe some female players can go for this but not this player.

Well, you're certainly missing out on a lot of good games then for a comparatively minor reason. And if you want to roleplay, well, stick to roleplaying games (most offer gender selection if they have half-decent character creation).

Maybe someone here can help me understand why gender option on MOST games, is not allowed.

To reiterate: it's more demanding, money-, time-, and creativity-wise, to produce a game where the story can be told just as well with one of two different gendered main characters as it is with one main character. So the latter happens, and as video games are mostly produced by males for males about traditionally-male activities, which gender do you think makes the most sense?

 

[Aura Guardian]

Cut cut cut

Spoiler: And this game as well

Just look at LeonLethality's character Agrias.The fact that a lot of games have the option of choosing a Male or Female character now a days. And plus...Some female gamers love picking the male avatar.

 

[migo]

Maybe females don' make up a majority of players but they are out there. Every no sale of a game relects on the bottom line and I am a no sale on most current games.

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?

Why is it a problem for them to develop games where gender option is allowed?

I, for one, don't purchase games that only allow a male character. I can't even role play a character like this. It's just not fun.

Usually these characters have a romantic interest. Of course the romantic interest is female.
C'mon, maybe some female players can go for this but not this player.

Maybe someone here can help me understand why gender option on MOST games, is not allowed.

If you have gender options it's harder to make for a franchise around a character.

Here's a question though, did you buy Mirror's Edge, Wet or Bayonetta?

 

[mrdude2010]

the only mainstream games where the single player campaign is exclusively male are FPS's... EVERY major RPG allows you to play as a female and most online games allow you to at least do multiplayer as a female.... and really? you want rockstar to create an alternative storyline for Irina Bellic? women aren't even allowed in combat roles in some country's militaries, how do you get around that? the main storyline is what it is, but most RPGs have female options

 

[mrdude2010]

But the op was suggesting gender options. Being able to decide if you want to play as a female or male. That's all.

and most RPG's give you that option.... besides im pretty sure in most militaries women aren't allowed to join the infantry anyway so it's not like you can rewrite COD4 with a female protagonist, and at least in all MMOs and some online FPS's you can customize your character's gender

 

[Swny Nerdgasm]

Here's a thought;
Imagine if Link were a girl and Zelda were the male?

That actually sounds pretty awesome

 

[Lizmichi]

Ok let me put it this way. Think about NMH or OoT with a female lead. You can't think of it can you? Why because both games work with their male leads and a female wouldn't work at all. Allot of game story lines work better with a male then a female and some work great with a female. The industry isn't sexiest they know what works better for a game. Have you heard someone say a game would have been better if the lead was male or if it was female? No, well I haven't so far.

There are more and more games coming out like Mass Effect that let you pick your gender or even have a full fledged female lead. Look at Saint's Row 2, anything by BioWare, Tomb Raider, Golden Sun (it's not just Issac and Felix), FF has had many look at Rain, Metroid, P.N.03, and Bayonetta. I could go on for ages. Being a female gamer I find any game enjoyable no matter what sex the lead is. Yes for any game I can pick the sex I go for a female but all the others I don't mind at all.

 

[Necrofudge]

Personally I don't care if I have to play by a female character. I'm perfectly ok with playing by samus and Joanna Dark.

But I think the choice of gender could be nice with certain genres. With others though, (MMOs for example)it could set the stage for those creepy situations where a 40something guy pretends to be a girl your age. The world is full of them, and I don't like the idea of giving them extra opportunities.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Because you made it seem like it was universally accepted that Samus were a female, yet back in that day and age, it was rather shocking and controversial. Imagine the screams if Master Chief from Halo would had been revealed by the end of the third game that it was infact, a Woman.

If not universally accepted, widely accepted, since the games continue to move plenty of units. It may not have been accepted back THEN, but there ARE companies that have female protagonists and still have great sales in the male-dominated market.

 

[darkman80723]

Hey quit complaining at least there are SOME games out there where women are the lead....JRPG's aside there are little or no games where the protagonist is homosexual, and I mean out-and-out no question about it flamer...still doesnt keep me from enjoying a game that is well written, fun, challenging, and most importantly entertaining. And yeah, I have no problem playing a woman character or the majority of big brutey, testosterone freaks in games. all the same to me.

 

[Femalegamer]

I just read that Bethesda is working on two new games, bet they will allow us to play as a male or female character.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

I actually don't mind playing as a female (about ninety percent of my Fallout 3 characters where female, as they just have a more interesting story), and, although males are the majority of heroes, there are games with female main characters.

Spoiler: A short list

Perfect Dark (which, if not for cutscenes, you would never know that you're a female character)
Tomb Raider (though, that is more "Staring Lara Croft's Breasts")
Most MMOs (and some of them are, actually, women)
Mirrors Edge (Which, much like Perfect Dark, you couldn't tell you where a woman unless you looked closely)
Don't ask how I know, but there are H-games that are actually female friendly (however, they are ONLY female friendly and focus on males how male friendly H-games focus on females)

I think it has to do with the fact that it's easier to see a male in a game like Call of Duty or Gears of War. Most people want a muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger type character to be in shooters and brawlers, and people want females to be in the games like Mirrors Edge, where you don't have to fight. I think this comes from the fact that most men (the majority) don't want to see men getting the shit beat out of them by women and women (most none gamers, who have a LOT of sway in the gaming industry for some reason, anyway) don't like being seen as people who shoot things and beat the shit out of people.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Jade in Beyond Good and Evil (Adventure)

YES!!!!! Seriously, she's an amazing character.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

When Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2 stops selling so well.