I was reflecting on a previous post that I had written about video game history from a Woman's point of view and I realised that I had brought forward a few issues with the way the industry targets the female gamer.
When thinking about it in more detail I realised the problems I had written about where only the tip of the iceberg.
Out of interest I was browsing some online articles and I found an article of particular interest
After reading it, it dawned on me. This is not a repeat of the "us girls don't want pink games" from the last post, or a "your so sexist towards us". Its more of a "it is so obvious what you've done wrong, it makes me laugh".
It inspired me so much that I simply had to write about it or I would burst.
The reason this article was so interesting is because it claimed that the industry had met the needs of the female market and it had facts and figures to back this up.
In this article I intend to address
- why what they claim they have achieved is wrong
- what they have really achieved
- exactly where they are going wrong
- why the video game industry find it so hard to make games that appeal to an exclusively female audience.
- how they can do it
The games industry has released games recently that they claim have reached the female market.
They claim that certain dance games have increased the amount of females playing games, This is true, but they have not met this target market directly.
Its not because all women like dancing, far from it. I asked myself “What do these games have in common” The simple answer is they are multi player games. The industry has succeeded in meeting the needs of families that women are part of, not women as individuals.
By introducing these games that allow different family members to play together, compete and compare scores, they have merely sparked a females increased ability to bond or connect with others, and that is the psychology of a Woman's mind and also a scientific fact. They have also sparked the competition that is natural for any organisms living in the same environment.
From my own experience as a mother, and from observing the women I know, I have seen it with my own eyes. I've done the family video game thing with my family, as have my sisters, female friends and even women I know who have never even touched a console previously have done it. I am talking about women who hate the thought of video games.
This is not a bad thing. Knowing this, it may be easy to think “ the industry is on the right track, they are half way there” maybe... but ultimately that is WRONG.
There are several far greater reasons why the industrys attempts at targeting a female audience dont work, and I'm going to explain why.
The Psychology behind it all
A few years ago when constantly assessing my own thoughts and my frustrations with my own constant indecision on everything, I conducted some research into the psychology of the female mind, I only discovered what I already knew but was too much of a “girl” too admit too.
A Woman's brain is filled with contradictions on a day to day basis constantly assessing everything, all of the time. A typical male may say "A women is never satisfied by anything," and he would be absolutely correct, we are not.
That is how we are "wired". Maybe the diagram of a woman's brain below will be easier to comprehend.
above sourced from http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2006/11/ever_wonder_how_a_wo.html
The point I am trying to make is that naturally we look for the bigger and better deal so nothing is good enough for long, and that counts for everything in our lives including video games. Think about the women you know.
The biggest mistake of all
Probably the worst mistake that the industry has made when assessing exactly what us women want when conducting research for games is to target us in groups, let me explain.
To really know what women love you also have to be aware of a Woman's greatest fear. Because Women are naturally social animals as I have previously addressed, there greatest fear is social awkwardness, yes really.
The real issue is, is that no woman will admit that social awkwardness is there biggest fear, without feeling socially awkward. I think that's called a catch 22 situation.
When targeting women in groups of course there going to say what they think there companions will say so as not to feel awkward socially. This is based on there own pre conception of what they should want not what they really want, else all the market research would have worked.
Blame the media, I certainly do. In reality the media that should be the biggest influence on what games women buy is also the biggest downfall. They cancel each other out.
Blame the media, I certainly do. In reality the media that should be the biggest influence on what games women buy is also the biggest downfall. They cancel each other out.
“Do video game execs even do market research? If so, who are the ladies they are choosing for their research? Malibu Barbies?”
Apart from the family and fitness games the most popular game amongst females is Farmville and that is a FACT. Guess what? its on a SOCIAL- NETWORKING SITE. In short if other women do it then so will I. It is the socially done thing.
It is also relevant to say that it is no coincidence that the popularity of social networking sites such as facebook coincides with the rise of casual games.
Below is a quote from a single female, but her thoughts are mirrored by many.
“Nancy Chu, a 26-year-old software engineer in Mountain View, Calif., doesn't consider herself a game player but likes "Guitar Hero" because of the game's social aspect.”
There is an exception, Wii fit is probably the biggest “success story” and its sucess is down to all of the points I have made, be it social or psychological. Think about it, the media brainwash's us with ideas such as Women should want to keep trim and slim - hence the success of Wii fit. Wii fit worked so why hasnt the industry done it again? Its laughable because I dont think the industry is aware of exactly why it worked.
In conclusion the answers are there right in front of the industry's eyes. They will never be able to create a game that directly appeals to all women. The best they can hope to do is con us into thinking that playing these games is the social norm. Tap into our natural programming. Only then will they capture that female market.
quick note
Without going to much off topic, this is not a new idea, it has been done in history, through the use of propaganda. To convince women to work in the factorys. Its the same concept, they convince women its the social norm, so they did it, it works. This is no different from the way products are advertised today, in my opinion. Its effectiveley brainwashing in some sense .
In conclusion the answers are there right in front of the industry's eyes. They will never be able to create a game that directly appeals to all women. The best they can hope to do is con us into thinking that playing these games is the social norm. Tap into our natural programming. Only then will they capture that female market.
quick note
Without going to much off topic, this is not a new idea, it has been done in history, through the use of propaganda. To convince women to work in the factorys. Its the same concept, they convince women its the social norm, so they did it, it works. This is no different from the way products are advertised today, in my opinion. Its effectiveley brainwashing in some sense .
Victoria Cichocki 07/11/2011
