Are you a video-game-playing kind of girl? Well, you're about to be rewarded for your coolness in the mostly male-centered world of gaming: EA Sports plans to unleash a series of women-focused fitness and training games for the Nintendo Wii very soon. The first offering, EA Sports Active, will debut in the spring and includes workouts for the upper and lower body.
The gaming industry has woken up to the female demographic in recent years-- and it's about time. These days, nearly 40 percent of gamers are female, and women over the age of 18 (33 percent) outnumber boys age 17 or younger who are playing, according to the Entertainment Software Association. And the industry is also doing more to get women behind the screen in creating the games: Earlier this year, Sony developed a scholarship to draw women to careers in game development.
Not to whine, but we're kinda wondering why the emphasis has to be on self-improvement, and not plain old pleasure, in the new female-focused EA Sports games. Some women like to tear through the streets shooting people and chasing bad guys, just like the boys.
Tell us: What would your ideal video game look like?
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Tuesday 18 November
By ashley
my ideal video game would be like the game grand theft auto but a kind of girly version haha i think i could evnoy playing it and maybe my hubby can play with me?! =]
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Tuesday 18 November
By CJ Arabia
My favorite video game of all time is Halo - I completed it from beginning to end all by myself with no "man" help. I also LOVE Guitar Hero and Wii Fit.
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Tuesday 18 November
By michelec18
My ideal video game would have onscreen (not over internet) co-op. Resistance, Lego Star Wars, Balder's Gate, PixelJunk Monsters, and Rock Band were all huge hits at my house because two people can play at once, working together toward a common goal. Also very important: camera control 100% of the time (not 98% of the time--I'm looking at YOU, Ratchet!) and ability to change the setting to invert camera control on both axes. In general, no sudden death situations--if I miss a jump and fall and lose a little health, that's okay, but I hate it when one tiny mis-aim on a jump means you fall to your death and lose minutes of progress. Although sudden death would be more acceptable if the game had very frequent checkpoints (or at-will quick save a la Portal) so if I die I don't have to repeat a lot to get back to the same point.
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Monday 01 December
By Nina
some of my favorite games are sims 2 and harvest moon (i wish they had that 4 wii) and also adventure games. yay!
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Wednesday 03 December
By Maria
There are 4 advent game players at home so playing a game with multiple players is always a plus. We loved Tales of Symphonia .
I personally love RPG games and wish that Wii would come out with MARIO RPG!!!!!! and when it comes to small mis-haps, I agree with michelec18.
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Friday 05 December
By Nicky
I LOVE games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken!!!
They are so much fun! You get to beat up your friends, learn cool moves, and customize your character! :D
However, I do not like the fact that all of the female characters in them are dressed like hookers. A girl can still be sexy and kick-ass without having all of her business on display ya know! Perfect example-- laura croft.
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Saturday 13 December
By moshingshawtie
I think it's great that the industry is waking up to the fact that there are so many of us girl gamers. However, why give is such dumb girl games. We're already gamers, for a reason. We like to play the boy's games. Sure, maybe tailor them a little so they're not as sexist: ie make some boys dress in less, or make some girls usable that aren't total sluts. But put out games that are supposedly "for" us? Why do they assume that just because we're female, our idea of games is cooking, cleaning, working out, etc.? Lame.
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