Content Counts
Women want to engage their minds, so they look to games with "a strong story line, strong character development, lots of humor, and environments [that] are extremely beautiful and rich," says Gaiser. They don't necessarily want high-voltage action or violence, although Gaiser found that girls don't necessarily mind violence as long as there's a reason for it, such as saving a kidnapped victim.
While recent classics, such as Laura Croft (Eidos), Resident Evil (Sony), and Final Fantasy (Square Enix), provide female heroines, some are still depicted more sexually than female gamers prefer.
"I've become so jaded. I've come to a point where I don't complain about breasts in games. I just want to see better quality, more interesting games on the market," says Goad, whose readers differ in opinions, with regular gamers typically complaining of too many sexy females, and casual gamers noting the violence.
Fulfilling common female preferences, such as customizable characters, strong story lines, and online access where they can interact with other players, have proven popular with both men and women alike, which shows that games can be designed with both genders in mind.