From the get go of videogames, the world of virtual this or that has largely been perceived as a guys only domain. Am I right? Sure I am. Videogames are frowned upon for most women early on, but then I’m sure your saying to yourself where is my basis and/or fact for such a statement? Well, I don’t need any fact or empirical evidence, because the answer to that question can be seen all around us everyday. Care to prove me wrong when games catered to women are often about cooking, cleaning up after others, or pretending to raise a baby?

What caused this was this Cnet article. It often pays to see what others who jump to conclusions continue to think as they are more then likely the same boneheads that are calling all of the shots with their wallets at lots of the game publishers. This isn’t to say all executives at videogame publishers are boneheads, but when I can parallel this with the movie Office Space and a “fictitious” game of “jump to conclusion’s” there is most certainly something fowl in the air. Case in point, quote #1:

They got an Xbox party pack of freebies that included microwaveable popcorn, Xbox trivia game “Scene It? Box Office Smash,” an Xbox universal media remote control, a three-month subscription to Xbox Live, and 1,600 Xbox Live points (used for game, movie and TV show purchases).

I do think this is a great marketing strategy but as with all Microsoft marketing efforts it feels a bit off. Women have proven to be huge consumers of casual games, and heavily interested in the Wii (Nintendo has been advertising heavily to the ladies for quite a while) but the Xbox feels like a stretch. And, there aren’t a ton of Xbox games that are appealing to women–at least not from my informal survey (I asked my wife and a woman in the hotel lobby.)

Something is a bit off, huh? It seems to me that the only thing off is the amount of precognitive malarkey already built up before this was ever a thought, much less written. “Women have proven to be huge consumers of casual games, and heavily interested in the Wii (Nintendo has been advertising heavily to the ladies for quite a while) but the Xbox feels like a stretch.” So, why quote that again? Well, it bares to let that sink in again. Obviously all women only like what are largely considered casual games and any interest in Xbox is a stretch, because of Nintendo’s heavy marketing. There aren’t a ton of Xbox games that appeal to women, mind you I’m sure Mr. Dan Rosenberg (writer in question) has never bothered to mention either of the Viva Pinata games, Banjo Kazzoie: Nuts and Bolts, any of the music rhythm games, or the myriad of RPG’s that aren’t Fallout 3 nor Fable 2 prior to his informal survey. But of course, this is assuming its a foregone conclusion it is known exactly what qualifies as a casual game. Funny how the entirety of  Xbox Live Arcade isn’t mentioned once. There mustn’t be anything “casual” to be had there? Or is it that Dave doesn’t know there is an Xbox Live Arcade.? Should we bet on the ladder? Hence forth quote #2:

Good for Microsoft on this attempt and good for the women who want get involved with playing video games.

Of course, the main thing that comes to mind for me with this program is a free episode I downloaded of The Real Housewives of Orange County, where all the snake-skinned ladies got together for a cocktail and lingerie party. Somehow, I just can’t see that crew getting together for a rousing game of Fallout 3 or Grand Theft Auto. Maybe if there was a Botox game or something where you drink until you irreparably insult your husband and isolate your children? (Zing!)

Baring any of this permitting, how are we as a medium to move forward when people like Dave Rosenberg have already convinced themselves that the only thing women are interested in playing has to be tailored specifically for and marketed to them? The amount of women I myself have on my Xbox Live friends list alone contradicts the entire argument in question with ease. The extreme examples I’ve brought up aren’t necessarily extremes anymore and it’s about time those that fall in line with all woman and young girls wanting to “Imagine Babyz” wake up and get their heads out of their asses for a change. It’s far to easy to ignore a minority of which you assume doesn’t exist. The perception of the videogame medium as a man’s world needs not exist anymore and it’s about time you realized something beyond what the Matrix you’ve created has pulled over your eye’s. Can it be that some ( dare I say most with my own informal survey?) women like to play the same things as their male counterparts? No way!

-William “thewilleffect” Bell-