The lights are on
Thanks, Nintendo. Thanks a bunch. I'm looooving the fact that you are now acknowledging girl gamers with such lovely cooking, pet, and dress-up games. And YES, that is total sarcasm. Do I have to fall under such a shallow stereotype? Just because I'm a girl, does that mean I'm more inclined to play a game that's crappily-made with such superficial themes?
What the heck makes them decide to put together these ideas? "Hm, girls like cooking. Let's make Cooking Mama." Maybe I'm different than others lacking Y chromosomes, but that game didn't appeal to me at all. Nor did the others designed with a girl audience in mind.
For younger girls, they've been cranking out games like Hannah Montana, Imagine Fashion Designer, Diary Girl, Cheetah Girls...bleh. And for older female audiences, they've crafted mainly puzzle games. That's from what I've seen, anyway. And it's dreadfully disappointing.
I thought modern society was supposedly eliminating these stereotypes about girls? I appreciate the fact that Nintendo is trying to branch out to create more girl gamers, but what makes them think they can do that with the rubbish they've been supplying?
According to Wikipedia, "female players often draw extra attention due to their rarity." Well, maybe there'd be more of us if you'd take the marketing more seriously and try a little harder. Besides, I see quite a few girl gamers nowadays, such as myself, and I'd play Left 4 Dead over We Cheer any day.
The girl-oriented games I do actually enjoy consist mainly of Atlus's simulations, DDR, and Harvest Moon. Not all of the "let's go to muffin princess castle, model some uber fashionable outfits, gawk at boys, and raise a baby via video game!" crap. Most girl gamers I see are RPG fanatics, so maybe Nintendo should be marketing more of that genre instead. With IN-DEPTH storylines, 'cause I know I sure as hell don't want to play something about saving the world via makeup or something.
Epic Mickey looks like a decent game that may attract girls, so maybe there's hope for Nintendo yet.
Thanks. Thanks a lot. ><;;
I completely agree (ok, full disclosure: I am weirdly obsessed with cooking games. But all the other magical hairdo sorority fashion hotel games, not so much). There is a real impression that, unless you're spending all your time playing Madworld, Call of Duty, or Halo, you're not a "real" gamer. It's extremely frustrating - I like video games, I play video games, I read game informer - but since my husband plays MadWorld and I frankly find it boring, he's the real gamer and I'm not. Look at the reviews in GI - 90% of them are fighting/ race/ shooter games. A lot of girls want complex RPGs with in-depth storylines and a vast world to explore. Everyone likes to blow something up occasionally, but where's the diversity?
Amen to all of the above! The only area that I see where there has been *improvement*in the development in including girl-gamers is character creation. I remember the days when there was never a choice to play as anything other than a man. Most games that are not story-driven by a male(or sometimes female) lead will allow a choice and customization of characters. It's a start. I don't think a developer should set out making a game specifically for a girl or specifically for a guy. Making a good game for gamers should be the point.
Thank you for your input! Greatly appreciated. =]
To be fair to Nintendo, most the games you're listing aren't made by Nintendo directly. Cooking Mama, for example, is a Majesco series, and the Hannah Montana games are published by Disney Interactive.
I agree with your overall point, though, definitely. Publishers need to start taking the female demographic of gamers more seriously and not just pump out trash that talks down to them.