51% of HD-gen games feature female characters
- — 27 August, 2010 08:18
Despite recent insinuations that female protagonists may negatively impact game sales, a recent study held by the EEDAR (Electronic Entertainment Design and Research) shows that this current generation boasts more playable female characters than ever before.
As noted by the EEDAR's studies, a whopping 51% of HD-gen games feature playable female characters -- a massive contrast to the male-dominated 90%, but a number that shows undeniable progress on behalf of the video game industry's efforts to appeal to ever-expanding demographics.
Also noted was the seemingly insignificant difference in the review scores of games with gender-specific protagonists. Culling the review averages of over 910 "core" releases, the EEDAR noted an unsubstantial difference in aggregate scores between games with male or female leads. In an interesting discovery, however, it was noted that games starring characters of indiscernible gender actually reviewed worse than games with male or female leads -- possibly due to a lack of player-character identifiability.
The study goes on to cite that, yes, while the Marios, Madden NFLs, FIFAs, and Call of Duties of the world will continue to rocket to the top of the sales charts, it's not in any part due to their lack of female characters -- they're simply iconic titles that, in their own unique contexts, wouldn't be served necessarily well be playable female characters due to the subject matter and legacies at hand.
What do you guys think? Are you happy to see this continuing trend of playable female protagonists? Would you like to see it taken to the next level? What about the possibility of a female Call of Duty protagonist, or a console Mario game starring Princess Peach or Daisy?
SOURCE: 51% of Games This Gen Feature Playable Female Characters [IndustryGamer]
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