Blizzard's FPS Overwatch, which has numerous female player character options, is twice as popular with female gamers than other FPSes
QuanticFoundry, a top game industry analytics firm, just published some interesting survey data on the importance of female protagonists in games. Unsurprisingly, female gamers put a high value on having a female character option; perhaps surprisingly, a majority of male gamers put value on the option as well, with 1 in 3 surveyed saying a female character option is “very” or “extremely” important to them, and another 1 in 3 saying it’s “somewhat” important. (See chart below.)
This report should encourage game developers to add a female player option, even though doing so costs additional development time and money. As QuanticFoundry co-founder Nick Yee puts it, “In terms of cost benefit, there's a higher payoff if the game already emphasizes fantasy and story and if female participation is traditionally lower in the genre (in terms of new player acquisition).”
In other words, Nick is suggesting that game genres which don't typically appeal to females have an even greater motivation to add female protagonists. So not, for example, casual match 3 and puzzle games which already have a large female player base, but male-dominated games like tactical/FPS shooters and MOBAs:
Comment of the Week: No, Linden Lab Hadn't Stopped Updating Second Life Before Yesterday's Big Announcement
Interesting reader response to Linden Lab's announcement yesterday of major updates to SL coming soon, redolent with the snarky skepticism or outright cynicism that make longtime SLers so lovable. (I mean that!) Some readers suggest that Second Life is only being updated because Sansar has failed to take off, and the company is desperate to keep the SL cash cow from collapsing. One sample:
Which isn't quite fair, as reader Chic Aeon (she took that lovely SL pic above) points out:
Continue reading "Comment of the Week: No, Linden Lab Hadn't Stopped Updating Second Life Before Yesterday's Big Announcement" »
Posted on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 06:48 PM in Comment of the Week, Sansar | Permalink | Comments (14)
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