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A girl gamer is a female who:

  • Works in the game development industry, or
  • Regularly engages in the practice of playing video games, role-playing games, or other games (colloquially referred to as "gaming"). This can be from the most casual interest to the most serious professional gaming, where female players often draw extra attention due to their rarity.

The role of women in the games industry -- as professionals and as consumers -- has received extensive academic and business attention because women represent approximately half the population but buy a small share of all video games. Finding the reasons for (and potentially changing) this demographic drives most of the research and professional initiatives in this field.

The great majority of the people who work on game development teams are men, particularly in the technical fields such as programming. Various reasons for this have been debated (see external references below), but some companies have made a concerted effort to recruit more women to create more balanced teams. The motivation behind these efforts is sometimes ethical, sometimes culture-based, and sometimes based on the desire to create games that will appeal more broadly to both men and women.

The average age of game buyers has moved from the late teens to the late twenties from 1995 to 2005 and household penetration of game systems has grown dramatically. Along with these changes has also come a rise in female consumers. All of these factors have increased the financial stakes in video game sales, and focused even more attention on the remaining untapped female gaming market.

In recognition of the importance of this issue, the IGDA (an association of companies and individuals in the games industry) has formed a SIG on Women in Game Development (link below).

This is a very active field of discussion and the topic of dedicated conferences. A browser search on the words women games conference will produce a list of recent and upcoming events.

According to a study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association in 2005, women now comprise 43% of all gamers. Despite this large and growing number, many gaming companies and also many gamers fail to accept and acknowledge females as gamers and as consumers or employees in the gaming industry.

Notable female gamers

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Morgan Webb, a celebrity and co-host of X-play. She is one of the most prominently featured female gamers, having had several centerfolds and articles written by and about her in FHM and Maxim magazines.

Sheri Graner Ray, a game designer for the last 16 years, a veteran of Sony Online Entertainment and the Cartoon Network, and a keynote speaker at the Sex in Video Games conference. An article on her can be found here: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/applications/0,39020384,39274581,00.htm

Amber Dalton, PMS Clan: "As one of the most known female faces of professional gaming, Amber Dalton (a/k/a Athena Twin PMS) has helped create a decidedly female mark in the traditional male-dominated gaming arena. (from Women's Game Conference - press relase .) Besides being featured in major media like Entertainment Weekly, MTV, and AOL, she is also one of NEXT Generation's 100 Inflential Women in Gaming Industy , as well as Electronic Gaming Monthly's (October 2006) #1 most feared gamer in the world.

External references

  • Bryce, J. and J. Ruttner, "The Gendering of Computer Gaming: Experience and Space", in S. Fleming & I. Jones, Leisure Cultures: Investigations in Sport, Media and Technology, Leisure Studies Association, 2003, pp. 3-22.
  • Bryce, J. and J. Rutter, ‘Killing Like a Girl: Gendered Gaming and Girl Gamers’Visibility’, in F. Mayra (ed.) Computer Games and Digital Cultures Conference Proceedings, pp. 243–55. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 2002.

External links

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