Why do so few women play video and/or computer games?

Question

I've noticed in my two decades of playing video and/or computer games that gamers are predominately male, though there is a strong minority of female gamers, but why so few?

If you are a female gamer, what genres do you enjoy? If not, what do you think the game industry needs to attract more female players?

Answer 1

I never liked games that were violent and involved fighting or power struggles. And back when I was first getting into owning a computer, that's all that was available. Whenever I went game shopping, the young salesboys would look at me like I was nuts when I asked for a game that was, say, about solving a mystery. But other women would always come up to me to tell me that I was right.

Nowadays it doesn't matter.

Answer 2

no clue..ive been playing video games since atari...

but i didnt really get into games a whole lot till my teens when i got really hooked on resident evil and such games.

and yes i have played almost every RE game.
i do happen to like the RPG horror genre alot...but i also like the fantasy genre.

i am more into RPGs than anything...but i can get down with some puzzle games sometimes too...

games i dont really care for though are the ones where the character only jumps only 1 foot across...and the gap is 2 feet across...such as the newer mario games..

i love old school mario games though..and mario 2 was always my fave..

i am actually very much into the more violent games such as RE and i have the game parasite eve also and have played that a good amount of times.hmm lesse...i also have Devil May cry 1 2 and 3 and some others.

im not much on sports or racing games though...they do tend to bore me.

sometimes though i do take a break from the violent games and i like to play games that are positive...such as Harvest moon..from Natsume or the "Tales of" series games from Namco.

but im not sure what the game industry needs to do to other than perhaps promote more game genres to attract female players.
for the most part the more violent a game..the more promotion it seems to get..while games that are more friendly do not.
all i can say is...is that if anyone of either gender wants to know more about gaming and games is to go to a local store and check the games out...

television isnt always a good way of finding things out..

ya gotta go look for urself.

oh and gaming can become a profession...some gamers can make up 40 thousand in a yr and the perks are nothing to laugh at either.

Answer 3

I used to be an avid video game player when I was a child, but when I hit my teen years I became disinterested. I don't know exactly why. Perhaps because it was not necessarily socially acceptable for a teen girl who was just trying to fit it to be all about video games. I am in my early 20s now, and I am kind of getting back into them, however I do feel a lot of pressure, and quite intimidated by male gamers who have been playing such games for years. The last thing I want to be is that token female player that everyone shoots at, or whatever, because they know she's an easy target.

Answer 4

One possiblity is that more boys grew up playing video games than girls, since it is seen as more of a "boy toy." As for me, I've been playing video games pretty consistently since I was about 3 or 4, so I'm probably not as bewildered by them as the average female. As such, I can pick them up a video game and enjoy it more easily, where a woman who didn't grow up playing games has a pretty steep learning curve.

I would also agree that many games are designed to be very male friendly (fan service, gratuitous violence) and so many women don't find much to be interested in.

I like RPGs, strategy, puzzle games, and action/platform type games for the most part. I don't like straight FPSs, but I have been known to enjoy spending a couple of hours playing Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid. Some of my favorite games of all time are Star Control II, the Zelda games, the Sims, Frequency, the Civilization games, and Black and White. I also love finding emulators for classic games.

Answer 5

Well I'm a guy but my girlfriend plays video games. She likes series like Ratchet & Clank, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, among others. My nearest guess is that many games are usually geared towards and marketed to guys. Take the popularity of the first person shooter for example. That's a game that's mostly marketed to guys (however I have known some females that do play these). I think games need to lighten their tone a little bit (sometimes they take themselves a little too seriously). Also, it seems that the Wii has been getting pretty popular amongst the non-conventional gamer. It seems like Nintendo has the right idea.

Answer 6

No I would not date you. Reasons; you lie to your parents about being broke, you have not had a job in 2 years even though you are physically fit and a young man, you do not live within your means you have a Mercedes even though you are unemployed, get your hair done and drink and smoke even though you are unemployed. You are interested in threesomes - big turn off (seriously would you sleep with 1 girl and another guy friend of yours - no? Didn't think so!) Gambling and dating are not hobbies! You have a major double standard in trying to be fit and healthy and yet drinking and smoking so much. Plan of action. Get a job asap. Spend what you can afford, you do not quit a job because you have savings. You have savings because you have a job and want to have a secure future. Get your hair cut, not "done" Self improvement should focus on inside and outside ratio being 60-40 maybe for you to start with. Therefore, instead on focusing on your body only maybe read a few books (classics and intellectual ones) Try going to church once a week. Maybe volunteer somewhere once a week or join a charity related hobby. Main thing, stop lying to your parents. They have raised you and taken care of you when you were sick. You are a man of 27! It is now time to look after them and treat them the odd time. Lying to them and persuading them to give you money is the biggest turn off of all and quite upsetting.

Answer 7

You need to ask my daughters why they are such avid video game players. Not only do they have Gameboys but also a Playstation 2 game console and now the older daughter wants an X Box. This is in addition to a Nintendo 64 game console. Believe me, these games definitely get played. My younger daughter is a better Guitar Hero player than most boys she's seen.

Answer 8

I don't know why so few women play video/computer games.
Maybe they don't have enough free time?

I love PC adventure games like Myst. I also played Army Ops (shooter), World of Warcraft (MMORPG), and Neverwinter Nights. Also Sims2. Back in the day I used to play Leisure Suit Larry when nobody was looking.

I love games!!

I wish the game people would make more adventure games like Syberia, Darkfall, Lights Out, and Dreamfall, though. Those are my favorite.

I'm thinking about getting Vampire Bloodlines, that one looks kind of cool.

Answer 9

I've been playing games for close to 20 years myself.
I can't speak for all women, but the genres I most enjoy are RPGs, strategy, puzzles, and sim games.

I'll give anything a try if it looks good, but I'm not a big FPS fan. Running around shooting things bores me pretty quickly if the game doesn't have a good plot.

Answer 10

I play, I started out with atari, worked up to nintendo, SNES, sega, N64, playstation, P2.

Got tired of buying the new systems, now I stick to comp games, usually online games like dominoes or pool, sometimes RPG's, and I used to play the sims alot, but the expansion crap gets old after a while too.