Xbox 360 Why are there more male gamers?

[lindbergh]

I have been addicted to video games ever since I was a kid. All of my play buddies have been guys too (well, aside from my girlfriend).* Why is it that guys are more into video games as compared to girls? Is being addicted to video games a sign of immaturity? Games are fun and exciting but why do most girls seem to have very little interest in video games? Can somebody shed some light on this?

 

[Odili]

Because most games involve brutal murders and blood shed, lol, and girls don't like that.
I'm female and I like games. But I also like martial arts, guns and poker, so I guess I'm not like most girls. I do have a girly side; I still like pretty stuff and looking nice. I think that most girls lack the stomach for those games and that boyish side, so, yeah.

I don't know why other females can't find fun in stealing cars and stealthily moving through the beautiful landscapes that some games provide.

 

[Epicfied]

Oooh, first two posts are by females...
As she said, video games are a lot more violent and aggressive that hobbies you'd see a female usually get into.
Males are the natural hunters... They are more attracted to killing things...
Females are usually the ones to take care of you, not harm.
In my opinion, it just goes back to the normal nature of the two sexes.

 

[HellMOOt]

I think its about the competitiveness of the person. Naturally guys are more competitive and we like to trash talk and sometimes down right humiliate our opponents. Girls are competitive too but they do it in a less direct way. They can be sneaky and really subtle about defeating their foes. Getting close to their enemy as a friend and then destroying them! I think thats why you see girls primarily in MMOs. They dont have to be in direct battle but they can cause alot of damage if need be.

Most games are made by guys so its safe to assume they are made mostly for guys. Times are changing though and slowly but surely more girls are entering the gaming Arena.

 

[Mia]

This is an excellent question, but I think it goes towards a lot of North America's gender roles across entertainment and culture as a whole, not just in video games. The "men hunt, women take care of others" divide has some basis in nature, but we're also highly influenced by the fact that our culture emphasizes a huge gap in "boy" entertainment versus "girl" entertainment.

HellMOOt is correct: most games are made by men. So are most films, and most television shows. Someone recently pointed out that boy nostalgia is more universal than girl nostalgia; Transformers got a multi-million dollar reboot movie, but not Jem and the Holograms. Boys get war toys, and girls don't. But I think there's also a significant cultural aspect to lindbergh's question, more than just what we prefer to play with. When the mainstream culture reinforces these gender norms, when they're so ubiquitous that they're built into our vocabulary and any deviation is pathologized, then it becomes a bit of a chicken and egg situation. But I still think that girls can enjoy video games; they're a really great way of telling an interactive, long-form story. That's what I've found the most enjoyable about the games I like; whatever the mechanism, be it car theft or first person shooting, it's the story that will drive me to increase my skill and explore the game world.

That said, there's also a big BIG problem that hasn't been addressed yet. Put simply, in many cases, the gaming world is not a very easy place to be a woman. I'd like to emphasize that I have not seen this in these forums, where everyone has been really welcoming and interesting!! So when I say the following, it doesn't apply to anyone I've met here.
Within the gamer community, there's a real sense of...defensiveness, I'd say. Not among those present, but in what I've seen in other areas and within the small circles where video games and feminist theory collide. The stereotype of gamers as lonely men and boys who can't find partners has continued even though gaming has gotten more mainstream; the assumption carries a lot of defensiveness about one's worth in society and to the opposite sex. There's anger, and a lot of it. Sexual harassment has become a norm in a lot of ways--we can speculate on all the reasons all day long, but suffice to say there are many issues that contribute. The insane backlash over Anita Sarkeesian's 'Tropes vs Women' campaign showed just how vicious the community could be; she got death threats over her proposal to just EXAMINE the gender roles in modern video games. There's a really great article about the gender imbalance in online gaming in the New York Times, though I can't post the link quite yet.

I think the industry and the community is changing, and for the better, but it's a rough world. My fellow female gamers on this forum may not have faced this harassment; I'm not saying that it happens to everyone, or that all women are victims and must be treated as porcelain. But a lot of female gamers face the assumption that they're a minority (barely!), that they're worth nothing but their body parts. That they're just trying to impress boys, instead of enjoying games for their own merit. This is a HUGE problem. It makes the community infinitely more intimidating, because you really don't know if you'll be welcomed as a comrade or told to go make a sandwich.

There's my two cents on it! There's a lot of reasons, both within the culture at large and within the gamer community specifically.

 

[ACSAPA]

On top of everything that was said, I don't think women really investigate video games or give them a chance. A woman sees her boyfriend playing a WW2 first person shooter, or a futuristic space shooter and assumes that all video games are shooters with big ,muscular guys blowing things up. Some women just see the surface and dismiss games based on that.

If they were to dig deeper, they might find puzzle games, farming sims, platformers, driving games, dating games like Catherine, party minigames, rhythm games, Japanese RPG's and romantic adventures like Prince of Persia.
I think a large chunk of women don't play games because they don't realize that there are games of every genre and there is something for everyone. They just see the boyfriend playing Call of Duty and say "This is what all video games are like. Games are not for me."

I'm one of those gender blind female gamers that doesn't see games as being for males. I've never looked at a game and said "This game is for men, not for me." All games are potentially games for me to play.

 

[LadyBast]

I have been addicted to video games ever since I was a kid. All of my play buddies have been guys too (well, aside from my girlfriend).* Why is it that guys are more into video games as compared to girls? Is being addicted to video games a sign of immaturity? Games are fun and exciting but why do most girls seem to have very little interest in video games? Can somebody shed some light on this?

Well, let me ask you a question: when was the last time you asked a female friend (other than the girlfriend) if she wanted to play a game with you?

As someone who grew up with a group of male friends, I know from experience that many guys will just assume that girls don't want to play a game with them. I've seen guys just entirely skip over the women in the room when asking who wants to play, without even thinking we might want to. I have gotten in to many an argument over this with people, and I doubt it will change any time soon.

Besides the shooting/violence aspect, there's also the fact that a lot of guys play Fifa, and I'm sorry, but I don't know a single woman - myself included - that enjoys that game. I'm sure there are some who do, but I just don't know any. I don't find it interesting at all - would much rather be shooting things.
Similarly, if you take a bunch of "girly" girls, and give them a game that involves singing & dancing along, I'm fairly sure they will partake, but the guys in the group might not.

It's just down to preference & finding a good balance.

 

[Mia]

I'm one of those gender blind female gamers that doesn't see games as being for males. I've never looked at a game and said "This game is for men, not for me." All games are potentially games for me to play.

If I could respond with that GIF of Charles Foster Kane applauding, I would do just that!!

 

[Mia]

Similarly, if you take a bunch of "girly" girls, and give them a game that involves singing & dancing along, I'm fairly sure they will partake, but the guys in the group might not. It's just down to preference & finding a good balance.

Balance is key, but I also think that there's a lot that needs to be changed about how the gaming community looks at gender, and just how polarized it can be sometimes.

I've always preferred games with just a good story, and I think a lot of other girl gamers I know feel the same way. I LOVED Bioshock because of the atmosphere; I'm a huge fan of apocalyptic narratives and I'm also hopelessly old-fashioned, so exploring Rapture was a pleasure and a delight. I played Myst and Riven as a kid, again to explore and invest in the story. The singing and dancing games are great when you're drunk with friends, but I'm more inclined to go for something adventurous and well-written when playing solo or competitively.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that female gamers don't necessarily need games with "girly" themes, like singing and dancing. It might be more helpful to consider it a matter of modifying the social construct itself, rather than catering to each separate side more. I'd love to see companies make good games and the entire gamer subculture address the casual misogyny that occurs in some gamer circles so that EVERYONE feels welcome to the community, regardless of where they go to pee.

 

[ACSAPA]

Balance is key, but I also think that there's a lot that needs to be changed about how the gaming community looks at gender, and just how polarized it can be sometimes.

I've always preferred games with just a good story, and I think a lot of other girl gamers I know feel the same way. I LOVED Bioshock because of the atmosphere; I'm a huge fan of apocalyptic narratives and I'm also hopelessly old-fashioned, so exploring Rapture was a pleasure and a delight. I played Myst and Riven as a kid, again to explore and invest in the story. The singing and dancing games are great when you're drunk with friends, but I'm more inclined to go for something adventurous and well-written when playing solo or competitively.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that female gamers don't necessarily need games with "girly" themes, like singing and dancing. It might be more helpful to consider it a matter of modifying the social construct itself, rather than catering to each separate side more. I'd love to see companies make good games and the entire gamer subculture address the casual misogyny that occurs in some gamer circles so that EVERYONE feels welcome to the community, regardless of where they go to pee.

I agree. Why does everyone assume that female gamers need girly games? I only own a handful of dancing games, most of my games were bought because I love a good story.

I love the epic space opera of Mass Effect, the big open world of the Elder Scrolls games, the quirky camp for misfit kids with psychic powers in Psychonauts. I don't want Barbie Horse Adventure or Bejeweled, I want to save the galaxy, I want to rescue innocent lives and blast my way through hordes of zombies. I want to rampage through San Andreas and Liberty City and try to get my wanted rating as high as it can go while outrunning the cops and the army.

The media isn't helping the image of female gamers. I've seen a commercial with Beyonce playing Rhythm Heaven and one with Katy Perry playing The Sims. Those ads reinforce the idea that women only play cute games.

I'm waiting for the day when we see a commercial with Katy Perry playing Fallout 4 or Grand Theft Auto 5.

 

[lindbergh]

Thanks for shedding some light on this ladies.

Usually, when I think of games for girls, I think of barbie and other cutesie stuff. Lol. What I failed to see is that not all girl gamers are like that. But still, as some of you pointed out, games tend to cater more to male tastes which may be enough reason why there are more guy gamers as compared to girls.

 

[Mia]

I want to save the galaxy, I want to rescue innocent lives and blast my way through hordes of zombies. I want to rampage through San Andreas and Liberty City and try to get my wanted rating as high as it can go while outrunning the cops and the army.

I'm waiting for the day when we see a commercial with Katy Perry playing Fallout 4 or Grand Theft Auto 5.

AMEN SISTER! I've met some truly rad people involved in the indie gaming scene in Vancouver (sadly courtesy of my ex, and the less said about him the better) but they're all very much in the business of making amazing stories, for everyone.

I think there needs to be a major shift in mainstream gaming culture, so that women are not automatically considered the "other". That would help IMMENSELY towards legitimizing everyone to play games.

 

[Mia]

Thanks for shedding some light on this ladies.

Usually, when I think of games for girls, I think of barbie and other cutesie stuff. Lol. What I failed to see is that not all girl gamers are like that. But still, as some of you pointed out, games tend to cater more to male tastes which may be enough reason why there are more guy gamers as compared to girls.

Thanks for listening to our points!

Like I said, I've been involved in many conversations at the points where feminist theory and gaming culture collide, and it's often gotten heated. There's a real problem with women in some gaming circles; they're sluts, they're "fake", they are regarded with immediate suspicion. I don't think I can post links just yet, but look up Anita Sarkeesian and and her Tropes vs Women in Video Games kickstarter. She proposed getting funding to do a video series which would examine--not rip apart, not degrade, not mock, just examine--the gender roles in video games and how women (and men) are portrayed. She was met with horrendous backlash from male gamers who launched DDoS attacks on her website, hacked her wikipedia page, and sent rape and death threats. This was all because they perceived her to be an intruder, and wanted to silence her voice.

I'm not saying that all male gamers are like this--not at all! But it's a rather dramatic example of what has happened when women try to immerse themselves in the culture. If you were a girl with an XBox Live subscription, starting out in the world of FPS multiplayer, and you knew that the community had done this to another woman who wanted to study video games from a female perspective, it's scary to think that you might receive even a fraction of the same kind of treatment.

So it's not just that games are made to cater to men; we girls are happy to shoot at things, save the world, and go on wild adventures too. It's also that the culture has a lot of built-in assumptions about who can "seriously" play video games, and who is "intruding" or "fake" about it. The cutsie girly games are, in part, a symptom of this male-oriented idea. It says a lot about what they assume women might play, instead of considering that they could be interested in exactly the same games as men.

 

[ACSAPA]

But still, as some of you pointed out, games tend to cater more to male tastes which may be enough reason why there are more guy gamers as compared to girls.

Video games are basically interactive movies, so I don't see them as gender specific. No one looks at The Dark Knight Rises and says, "Only men will come to the theater to watch this movie." so why do they say that about the game Arkham Asylum? I know some women, myself included, that loved Arkham Asylum.

Anyone that enjoys a good movie is capable of enjoying a game with a great story. Good entertainment is universal. The battle between good and evil is universal.

I don't want developers to make games specifically for women. Some of us enjoy the same games as men. I just want the gaming community to accept women and not treat us as outsiders.

There are actually women involved in some games. The interface for Dead Space 2 was designed by a woman. One of the executives at Sony SCEA is a black woman. The Managing Director of Ubisoft Toronto is a lady named Jade Raymond. The OUYA console was created by a woman. Women are not outsiders, some of them are part of the games you play, and not just as "booth babes".

I also think the bimbos who try to be sexy by calling themselves games when all they do is button mash on their pink Xbox controller need to educate themselves because they make the rest of us look bad.
Those posers are part of the reason why men are suspicious of female gamers.

You know those crazy Youtube videos of an irrational girlfriend smashing her boyfriend's Xbox 360 because he was spending too much time playing games? My daughter and I sympathized with him and we yelled at the video in horror as crazy girlfriend smashed that poor 360. Trust me, I've gotten hooked on a game and spent a little too much time playing it before. I would be pissed if someone did that to me. There are more mature ways she could have resolved that without making women look like crazy bitches that hate video games.

PS: Here's an interview with Genevieve Picard, the woman who was one of the two lead designers for the Dead Space 2 User Interface (UI).

[video=youtube_share;9wkUu5dN0LU]http://youtu.be/9wkUu5dN0LU[/video]

 

[Spartan]

I just haven't seen as many girls interested in playing video games. I'm not sure if many of the games seem to be male dominated, or if girls/women just prefer to do more domesticated stuff. I know that sounds like a real chauvinistic thing to say, but I have friends whose wives would much rather bake, knit, sew or just pain old relax as opposed to play video games. Now, I personally have no interest to knit,sew, do domestic stuff, etc. So I play video games. I enjoy them. I think social roles in subcultures play a part in the fact that you see more boys/men playing video games. Girls...Don't kill me!

 

[LadyBast]

You know those crazy Youtube videos of an irrational girlfriend smashing her boyfriend's Xbox 360 because he was spending too much time playing games? My daughter and I sympathized with him and we yelled at the video in horror as crazy girlfriend smashed that poor 360. Trust me, I've gotten hooked on a game and spent a little too much time playing it before. I would be pissed if someone did that to me. There are more mature ways she could have resolved that without making women look like crazy bitches that hate video games.

I could never, ever forgive someone if they did that to me! What's the point!? You want more attention, so you think the way to go about it is to break his stuff - are you mental!?

My partner and I have numerous different interests, and our taste in games is one - I like most games, but prefer simulation & adventure type games (Zelda/Skyrim/Fallout), and he prefers shooters and occasionally sports. That doesn't mean that I don't play shooting games with him - I actually love doing so, and take pride in the fact I can kick his butt in some! He, in return, takes an interest in the games I play and, whilst he can't physically play them with me as they're usually one-player, he will watch, question what's happening, and comment on things.

It's no different to any other interest as far as being in a relationship is concerned. Even if you don't enjoy it, if your partner does, surely you should respect that & try to take an interest in it? I think this is a major issue with the whole "why aren't there more female gamers" issue. Having previously been in a relationship with someone who used to immerse himself in Fifa (blah), and be extremely condescending when I would try to be involved, play or even ask how the campaign option worked, I can assure you it's not all just down to women, or the types of games, or even the fact there's gender stereotypes ingrained.

Sometimes it is, quite simply, because guys (not all, but some), can't be bothered to explain the workings of a game to a girl. Just like some guys hate it when you pick up a game, have them explain it, and then beat them at it

 

[Mia]

Video games are basically interactive movies, so I don't see them as gender specific. No one looks at The Dark Knight Rises and says, "Only men will come to the theater to watch this movie." so why do they say that about the game Arkham Asylum? I know some women, myself included, that loved Arkham Asylum.
Anyone that enjoys a good movie is capable of enjoying a game with a great story. Good entertainment is universal. The battle between good and evil is universal.

I LOVED Arkham Asylum too. And I think you've hit the nail on the head here, ACSAPA. The love of story is universal; the response to story transcends gender. What a wonderful and clear point!

I think that a lot has happened since the advent of focus groups and marketing ploys. The idea that one must cater to a demographic of males aged 18-34, or women aged 23-49, results in a lot of strict gender constructs that are incredibly problematic in the long run, and it starts so so early in life and is tough to break out of!

 

[Mia]

I just haven't seen as many girls interested in playing video games. I'm not sure if many of the games seem to be male dominated, or if girls/women just prefer to do more domesticated stuff. I know that sounds like a real chauvinistic thing to say, but I have friends whose wives would much rather bake, knit, sew or just pain old relax as opposed to play video games. Now, I personally have no interest to knit,sew, do domestic stuff, etc. So I play video games. I enjoy them. I think social roles in subcultures play a part in the fact that you see more boys/men playing video games. Girls...Don't kill me!

That's been your observation, and fair enough! Some people just aren't interested in video games, and some aren't interested in knitting. I happen to love both I don't think this is a chauvinistic statement you've made; it would be problematic if you thought that all women should only be interested in baking and sewing, or that women being interested in video games was an inherent intrusion. The difference in assumption is key. If you're willing to listen to what we have to say, as women who play video games, and are willing to acknowledge that we have come across issues in our own experiences, then I'd say you're an ally to the cause.

I hope that makes sense to you! I've spent time in circles with a lot of discussion of feminist issues, so I tend to go to that vocabulary during discussions because I find it helpful when addressing social issues like these.

 

[iGreek]

It isn't a male or female thing. It's just an individual thing. I have as many female friends as I do male friends that game. Okay, maybe not as much, but quite a good amount. Males tend to be more aggresive, which most popular video games tend to offer, so that's my guess.

 

[ACSAPA]

Because most games involve brutal murders and blood shed, lol, and girls don't like that.
I'm female and I like games. But I also like martial arts, guns and poker, so I guess I'm not like most girls. I do have a girly side; I still like pretty stuff and looking nice. I think that most girls lack the stomach for those games and that boyish side, so, yeah.

I don't know why other females can't find fun in stealing cars and stealthily moving through the beautiful landscapes that some games provide.

Brutality and bloodshed are part of the fun of video games, like those finishing moves in Mortal Kombat.

Kill Bill vol 1. and Battle Royale are some of my favorite movies, and interestingly enough, the most dangerous characters in Kill Bill are women. Women can be strong, aggressive and violent. I've seen women beat the hell out of each other in real life, not all women are dainty flowers.

I don't know martial arts or how to shoot a gun, so I have to be a badass vicariously through video games.
Stealing cars in the Grand Theft Auto series is deliciously evil fun, so is going on a rampage and having all the cops chasing you.

Women are expected to be sweet all the time. Sometimes being bad feels good.