Games for Girls?

I was reading a blog over at the Frag Dolls site and I was interested in what they had to say about games made specifically for girls. Having done marketing for games - which is no picnic but worth it - I've not found much difference in the games girls like to play. They seem to want everything that a guy wants from a game, they just want better representation.

Which is all fine and good, but very few are willing to fight for that kind of equality. We barely have a reasonable representation in the companies that make the games, let alone the testing groups. Working on my first PC title at the beginning of the year, I put a call out to the general public for testers. I do believe only one girl answered the call up and there were Tim-Tams on offer! How can any woman turn THAT down?

While I was pushing for an alternative female protagonist in-game, the boys eventually over-rode my decision, but it never sat quite right with me. Being the voice of progression is never easy, even more so when you are lost under a cacophony of other voices. I was lucky - I had a champion in the design team who took my side and fought with me for some of my game mechanics and characterisations. But nevertheless, it's my belief that the guys who want to tap into this demographic need to pull their fingers out of their ears and listen to the shrill whining of the girls who feel misrepresented.

Maybe if they do that, those girls will buy their games.