Video games for girls: trite and stereotypical?

Published: October 4, 2007, 8:02 am

Tags: gamers, games, gaming, marketing to girls, marketing to kids, video games, videogames

Filed under: Video Games, Marketing to kidsEvery time I talk to a video game designer, they tell me that the single biggest revolution in gaming isn't the newest platform, or the latest online role-playing world, or whatever, but rather that girls are gamers -- just as much, if not more so, than guys. Subsequently, game companies are trying to cash in. Like Ubisoft, which is about to come out with "Imagine," an entire series of games targeted at young girls. This sounds exciting, but instead it's incredibly dissapointing. Ubisoft seems intent on relying almost completely on ancient female stereotypes "research," which suggests that girls only like shopping, animals and babies. As noted by Alice Taylor, who's done extensive research on gaming and runs the blog, Wonderland: "If young girls only like shopping, fashion and babies, then they wouldn't like Ratchet and Clank. Or Mario Kart. Or Dance Dance Revolution. Or Wii Sports. Or Pokemon ... It's a bit ironic that the series

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