Since the earlier post related to this topic has become useless so thought of starting a new topic. I came by an article related to this while i was going through my magazines collection. Since its a real long article so read patiently and only when u got lots of free time
here goes-GAMES AND THE WOMEN
It is a commonly held belief that gaming is the domain of teenage boys. Take a look at any market shelf, and the proliferation of guns, gore and scantily clad women make it obvious that developers are tailoring their product to the young heterosexual male. Yet , with an entire generation having grown up computer literate , not only has the average age of the gamer gone up to 29- almost a fourth of all gamers being above 40, according to Nielson Entertainment’s survey – other things have changed too.
Most notably, studies show that women now form 39 per cent of all gamers in the US, about 25 per cent the UK and a staggering 69 per cent in Korea! In fact, women aged 18+ outnumber boys 17 and under when it comes to gaming.
Despite fast changing demographics, this industry, which is said to be bigger than Hollywood, persists in perpetuating the stereotype of the gamer as being an adolescent male. In the most games women are usually portrayed as distressed damsels in need of rescue, as sexual objects or at the best as sidekicks. Even in a game like Tomb raider- which by the way is quite popular with women because of its puzzles-the portrayal of the protagonist seems designed to attract male attention. Though many games do have an option to play as a female,these are few and far between.
WHAT WOMEN WANT-
Contrary to popular perception, women do play games, and their numbers are on the rise. The profiles of women gamers are as diverse as the kinds of games available, as my interviewees proved, right from the 16-year old Laura, a schoolgirl in Northern Ireland, to Nandita a 50-something schoolteacher in Delhi who surprises her friends and family by putting in up to 10 hours of game play a week.
According to one school of thought, women prefer “pink” games or “softer” games, if u like. But it appears that they go for gender neutral games, those that do not reinforce common gaming stereotypes or show women are casual gamers. Interactive Digital Software Association’s survey points to 30per cent of gamers clocking more than 10 hours a week being female. With more and more women- and men- growing up with computers and consoles, for many gaming is a hobby just as reading or gardening might be.
Ewan Roberts, a developer involved with Gumshoe Online (an online mystery game set in 1930’s USA), mentions in response to a blog entry about being surprised to find that about 70 percent of their players were women. This despite the fact that there were no female roles and the NPCs are mostly male. Gumshoe Online was never developed exclusively for women either. Similarly, The Sims which has sold 50million copies worldwide is virtually split down the middle when it comes to male and female players. An RTS where u controls the lives and fortunes of people, it is totally gender neutral and is virtually endless.
Industry research indicates that increasing numbers of gamers online are women, because they seem to like making a social occasion of it. When women play, observed one gamer, they like to have fun; unlike men, they seem to remember that it’s ”just a game”.
There are various reasons why women play. “Escapism” is quoted by a few. Swapna, a 28 year old bank executive, says she plays for fun. Addicted to Lemonade Tycoon, she finds gaming “good mind exercise”. Lubna, 28, a researcher with a media organization, finds “the pleasure of solving puzzles, finding solutions …..the challenge of working out the best strategy. The anticipation of what happens next” the most stimulating aspects of gaming.
Marie, a 20 year old university student likes to “explore other worlds and experience a different life”. Laura find gaming a fine way to take her mind off things. Perhaps Nandita sums it up best: “I enjoy the excitement of solving mysteries and interfering with other people’s lives”
That in a nutshell, defines gaming for all of us.
…..AND WHAT THEY DON’T
Weak plots, tacky graphics, and unnecessary violence puts of most gamers, including a significant number of men. “Stupid, hackneyed story, boring game play, user interface that is not well thought out, and of course ugly graphics,” are some things that Lubna hates. She has been gaming for over 10 years and swears by Blizzard, developers of masterpieces such as Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo.” “And yes a little less chauvinism in the graphics of female characters will be appreciated”.
“I hate the games where you do nothing but kill and fight,” says Laura, which Nandita agrees with. Of course, there are many number of women who enjoy a jolly frag-fest!
THE GAME MAKER’S STORY
Developers of gaming software and hardware are beginning to accept that fact that the long-held notion of quintessential gamer being the adolescent male no longer is true. Game makers id software, of Quake and Doom fame, have decided to make the women-only version of QuakeCon- called Ms. QuakeCon-official. While women have always been welcome to participate in QuakeCon, successful female gamers often found themselves harassed, especially when they started winning. Not able to deal with being “beaten by a girl”, they would also often get kicked off the servers by men!
Getting more women into games development will be a key issue for the future. One of the reasons why the gaming world has remained steeped in sexist representation was because so far games were being made by men and for men. Where a significant proportion of the team consisted of women-the Sims, for example-the difference has been telling.
LAST WORD
In INDIA the scene is still bleak. Gaming is still seen as a kid’s activity, at best an adolescent male pastime. The media is woefully ill-equipped and ill-informed.
But cut through the top layer and you find that international trends are slowly beginning to apply here as well. True, the proportion of women gamers is likely to be far lower then the global average, but the average age of gamers and the kind games they are looking for are slowly changing.
In all it seems there is a market of intelligent, meaningful, entertaining games-not “WOMEN’S” games or “MEN’S “ games, but “GOOD” games, those that will appeal to any serious, thinking gamer who wants value for money. For, in the words of ............………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(written by Payal Dhar , published in CHIP magazine)
(have to give credits to real author)
the article also contained these sites--
With vide games marketing geniuses tailoring thier message for a young male audience, it is no wonder that a number os serious gaming sites have spriung up to cater to the needs of the growing body of female gamers. Notable among these are-
www.womengamers.com
www.gamegirladvance.com
www.misbehaving.net/gaming/index.html
www.ladygamers.com
www.gamegirlz.com
(i skipped the last paragraph coz its a bit against men
if someone really wanna know what it is , then pm me 
)Anyway abusers stay out of here. Post only if u got to say something related to topic.
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