DS success prompts the Girl's Guide to Gaming
by Candace Savino 
{ Oct 30th 2007 at 10:42PM }
The video game industry may be dominated by males, but that isn't stopping British publisher Black Dog Media from releasing the first Girl's Guide to Gaming. This strategy guide is marketed specifically to those of the female persuasion, and focuses its coverage on DS games that appeal to many girl consumers.According to Black Dog publisher James Gale, Nintendo has helped pull the video game industry away from a "boy's only" mentality. Gale recently told MCV "By marketing the Nintendo DS as a console for the entire family whilst Sony pushed the PSP as the latest new cool 'boy toy,' the battle between the two was over before it could begin. Nintendo didn't want to fight over the same demographic as Sony, so they created a complete [sic] new one, a market in which it wasn't only boys that played games."
We're glad to see girls getting more notice as gamers, even though this guide won't appeal to the more hardcore crowd. At the very least, the Girl's Guide isn't as insulting as some marketing schemes we've seen. Even so, it's clear that Nintendo has brought many girl gamers into the mix, which is definitely a good thing.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kam @ Oct 31st 2007 1:42AM
I think that is horribly bad taste! Girls need a GUIDE to dating?? I mean, sure, that's great that girls are actually being realized as a demographic, but it's not like we never existed in the world of gaming. ugh.
Kam @ Oct 31st 2007 1:43AM
WHOOPS! I didn't mean to type dating, I meant gaming. A slip on my part!
Sabine @ Oct 31st 2007 4:21AM
Ugh. Excuse me, I need to go kill a zombie now.
RupeeClock @ Oct 31st 2007 4:46AM
Okay, what the FUCK happened to androgynous gaming?
Yes, Nintendo has drawn away from the male only gaming somewhat, but this female only thing is pretty bullshit.
Heart Monster @ Oct 31st 2007 8:46AM
"Even so, it's clear that Nintendo has brought many girl gamers into the mix, which is definitely a good thing."
I disagree with your wording--Nintendo hasn't brought girl "gamers," it's brought "girls who now occasionally will pick up a game whereas they used to scorn at the very idea." It's a start, but as a hardcore girl gamer myself with friends who suddenly have an interest in Wii Sports, I can tell you that these new girls aren't gamers.
P.S. I'm going to go play Guitar Hero III, or Beautiful Katamari, or Bioshock, or God or War II...
Deuz Augustine @ Nov 1st 2007 2:35AM
Heart Monster, we're all very impressed by how hardcore you are. :)
Matdredalia @ Nov 1st 2007 6:39PM
Okay, a few things..
#1 - This is just insulting. What the hell is with the bubblegum pink cover? Why do I specifically need a gaming guide marketed at me when I can go pick up any strategy guide for any game on the market that I play? What, exactly, does my sex have to do with my strategy guides? Seriously people, WTF?
#2 - Games that are "interesting to girls". So, let me get this straight....I now need this book to tell me what kind of games I'll like playing? I can't just, ya' know, go to GameSpot and see what's new in the genre's I like for the system's I play? Oh, and um...yeah, unless this book has Halo 3 & Command and Conquer 3 in it, we're going to have a problem.
#3 - I'm sorry, but these new "gamer girls" aren't gamers. They're girls who happen to pick up a few video games once in awhile. Being lumped in with them makes me feel sick.
>.> They act like being a gamer girl is some new trend that has suddenly just happened. I hate to tell these morons this, because I think it might just be too much for their little brains, but there are many of us with XX chromosome's who've been gaming for, oh, about twenty to thirty years. (My mom grew up on the Atari & Commador 64 for crying out loud!)
(P.S. Candance, please don't think I'm ranting at you. You're just reporting the news, and I don't believe in shooting the messenger.)