5 Stereotypes About Female Gamers (That Need to Change)

If marketing statistics are to be believed, anywhere from 25-45% of devoted gamers are female (and if we can’t believe focus testing marketing statistics, what is there?) Regardless of where on that range you choose to believe (probably the low end since this site has had 1 female writer for the 4 of us “Junkies”), this still means that there is a very serious female gamer population out there. Since these rare women move among a stereotypically socially awkward slice of the population (irony right in the intro), they can be victims of stereotypes themselves. The problem with these assumptions is  they lead people to being patronizing and even offensive (e.g. not all people sleeping in the streets want a dollar, some people are just that tired). So, let’s try to move on to a more realistic and down to earth age of gaming after we consider these 5 Stereotypes Surrounding Female Gamers (that need to change).

5. Female Gamers Only Play DS

I put this one first to point out a sad truth about stereotypes: that they’re often based in truth. In fact, statistics show that at least half of all DS owners are female (52% according to this article).

However, the problem with stereotypes comes when you let a fact like that statistic lead you to painting a broad exclusionary picture. Yes, black people like fried chicken, but EVERYONE does (and should), so just like that information shouldn’t change how you interact, don’t let this statistic (unless you want to use a DS with Nintendogs to try to pick up chicks).

I guess there may be a chauvanist subtext to this that female gamers simply can’t handle hardcore games which makes the meat heads think-

4. Girls in Games Need Saving

This is just the result of video game upbringing. We all started our formative years rescuing the damned princess, so, with that and natural masculine instinct, we all think that the girl on our team is talking to us because she needs our help.

If a girl is on the mic during an online gaming session, she’s talking to you for the same reason you’re talking to the other guys you play XBL with: to communicate strategy and enemy positions while you play (although if you’re the kind of guy who really needs the advice not to ask her what kind of underwear she’s wearing, I doubt you’ve read this far because of the lack of boobies).

Conversely, there’s always an aggressive targeting of the girl when she’s an adversary which is the result of an interesting mental acrobatic within the male mind “I want her to like me, but I don’t want her to think I suck or am letting her win, so I have to try extra hard to beat her so she doesn’t think I’m taking it easy on her.”

Believe me, I’ve seen it happen, and we need to realize: the nature of a video game is that we’re all playing as equal avatars, so she doesn’t need saving anymore than she needs you to play differently to prove anything. This also applies to the stereotypical “white knight” who will defend the girl from immature guys making fun of her, and then use this as his “in,” because after all-

3. Girls Only Play Games to Get Hit On

Another a priori based conception: we’ve all seen that girl who shows up at a party, and starts trying to play Madden because the guys are. I guarantee you, that was a one night thing, and that girl only did it because she was hitting on one of the guys who were also playing.

I’m talking about devoted girl gamers (not well endowed whores), who play video games on their own time because they legitimately enjoy it. Sorry guys, there aren’t too many girls out there with nerd gamer fetishes, so even if she were looking for a guy, she wouldn’t be looking for one over a romantic game of Call of Duty (the game of love). If a girl’s playing games online with you, she’s looking to pwn some n00bs just like you.

However this is not to say that-

2. Girl Gamers Don’t Exist as Dateable Women

Funny how the stereotypes go both ways, right? A girl shows up in your game of Halo, and suddenly, it’s open season. However, talk to the average male gamer about women, and the idea of meeting a girl face to face who he doesn’t have to hide his gaming habits from, or end them for seems like an impossible dream. Fact is, this one confronts a negative stereotype about gamers in general: you have to be social. Beyond just playing Social Slayer with your mic on, go out and meet some people in person, and compare interests.

Girl Gamers get out, so odds are if you do too, you could meet one and, here’s the tip: since you’d share that interest, making a game-date night is a perfectly acceptable option. Dinner ‘n’ gaming is a wonderful formula. Let her see your setup (after you’ve tidied up) and give her a selection of games. Don’t patronize just because you think-

1. Girls Can’t Play “Hardcore” Games

Yes, Girls play Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, etc. so do a lot of guys. Girls also play Halo, Guitar Hero, and yes, they play Call of Duty. They actually play them, as in, they’ll cap five head shots off your so fast after you respawn that you’ll think the game is FUBAR.

Even if they’re not as much of a nerd as you are, they can still share the interest a bit. Game Scoop and Podcast Beyond are quality humorous podcasts, and I’m sure you can have a laugh over a site like this one. In the meantime though, try not to be too much of a condescending ass to the girl gamers you do encounter. It’s 2009 people, leave that shit on the elementary school playground.

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Video Game Reviews 101

Back in the day when I was a fat grade schooler, I used to relish the third friday of every month. For some reason, that was the friday where a) I’d always manage to have $25 in my pocket, and b) Toys ‘R’ Us would release it’s budget game deals of the month. What these were, were games for the SNES and Genesis that were sold for 20 dollars. Back then, paying anything more than $30 for a game seemed criminal to me. What’s great is, I still played some of the best games for the SNES on this budget: Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, F-Zero, Mega Man X, Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island, Mario Kart, etc.

Nowadays, I generally walk away from game aisles cursing myself for being stupid enough to think twenty dollars can get me anything even remotely worth playing. Games are crazy expensive. No, I’m not questioning production costs and all that, but still, games aren’t cheap. at $59.99 a pop (plus tax depending on where you live), you’ve got to pick your games carefully, unless you’re one of those kids who can buy everything that comes out, in which case I hate you. Please stop reading my site now if you are.

If you’re not though, then you’re like me. You try to pick a select few games to be excited about before their release, then you try to be careful in your following through on that excitement. Which is to say, you check reviews and plan your purchase based on what trusted sources (hey, like me!) have to say about a game. How do you know you’re reading a trustworthy review? What telltale signs can you count on that you should take as a sign to cancel your Amazon preorder? Well there are a couple points you should keep in mind that have served me well.

Developer history is always key. There are very few developers that are brand new working on major console games these days, even if individuals retire or move on, the team in general is experienced and brings that experience to their future projects. That said, take a look down the developer’s history: have they had a line of duds? Developers sometimes try new things, which don’t always turn out well. FPS shooter developer Infinity Ward testing their mettle as a platformer developer for the Spider-Man movie game? Not such a good fare. When they moved onto the Call of Duty series? Great times were had in Modern Warfare.

Previews will always talk up games, it’s the assumed role of every previewer (even though journalistic ethics doesn’t dictate such) that they feel the need to trump up every game they preview as the next best thing. I’ve found the simplest way to test the true feelings is generally in the conclusion. Is the previewer saying something to the effect of “we’ll have to wait and see how it comes out” or are they already willing to just out and say “I can’t wait.” Search for doubts akin to the former and those’ll point a game that’s shaping up to be just decent, if not mediocre. Previewers know that if they come out and call a game the next best thing in a preview without some kind of caveat, the game had better look like it, and if it doesn’t, they’ll cover there asses with a few choice phrases.

The best indicator I’ve had for a flop is probably the most last minute of them all. How soon before a game is released do reviews start cropping up? http://www.gamerankings.com is the best for this I find since it’ll compile all and any reviews from major sources for any given game automatically. A good game will generally have reviews up earlier rather than later. Killzone 2, in spite of not being released for a month, already has several; and they cry that the game is spectacular. The most recent “bad” game I can think of is Haze, which didn’t have reviews post up until the day of its release, and the same for the Hulk movie-based game.

Why am I so sure of this method? Simple, developers can’t work the way I do on an essay for my journalism class: they don’t finish a game the night before release date. A finished build of the game has to be ready weeks before the shelf date so they can be produced and sent to the stores. Thus, if developers have a finished build, and are confident it’ll be reviewed highly, they will often send finished copies to major media sources (like IGN and OPSM) to get some legitimate good press and publicity for their games (since reviews are a final judgment in favor of, or against a game). Whereas a developer who isn’t so sure of their final product will withold it from review as long as possible (until release date in most cases) so the reviewers won’t dissuade their consumers from buying their product. Let’s face it, there aren’t too many developers who would argue a shitty product they made is awesome against consumers other than that tool who made Too Human.

I’m fairly confident in these methods, if your previews are harping on the hotness of the lead character and patiently waiting for “kinks to iron out” and to “see how it comes together” then the game may not be a blockbuster (Golden Axe: Beast Rider is the example in mind). If reviews for a given game aren’t popping up before the release date (I’m very bracing myself for the Afro Samurai game at this point, it releases on 1.27 and no reviews have gone up yet for it as I write on 1.26), and if the developer’s resume doesn’t favor a game of a given genre or if their track record is simply in making bad games, these are things to watch for so you don’t waste your money. Or maybe you thought Haze was worth $60? Well, my last proof is this: Haze is now $28.99 on Amazon, and it definitely isn’t being sold as a Greatest Hit.