Natasha D'Souza

Computer games have come a long way since Pong however the users are still very much male dominated. Trying to increase market share companies are now trying to market their games towards girls. Thus the introduction of Imagine , they have games targeted towards girls 6-14. This allows girls to explore their favorite interests and hobbies. Curious I took a further look, their games are figure skater, fashion designer, animal doctor, babyz and master chef!!!! Hmm yet another company that just does not get it.

So why are gaming companies not successful at reaching girls is it because that girls are just not interested in computer games or is it that they don’t have games that are of interest to them. Somehow I think it’s the latter.

Reality is that all facets of games from game production, management and programming are very much male dominated. Therefore when management makes a decision to expand into the “girl” market we end up with more products like this, Dress up who .The long term solution to this problem is to get more women involved in the process which means getting girls interested in technology at a very young age.

All hope is not lost just yet, Gamers in Real-Life aka G.I.R.L. is a Game Design Competition sponsored by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). This program has been created to positively impact the way females are depicted in video games and create content that is appealing to women.

Girls Don’t Game is Blog written about women about gaming. Gamer girls unite is a gaming community on the web with game reviews written by female gamers for female gamers.

Women in Games is another attempt at resolving this problem.