Okay, okay...I give you the fact that there are a lot more men gamers out there. However, I am a girl and I love console games. I also have two other female friends who are in a gamers club at college and some girls I don't know so well are also gamers.

You just have to look for us. I also grew up with NES, so I had a upbringing. I'm currently on N64, and waiting for my 21st birthday as I get my xBox 360. I also have Guitar Hero III and I play Rock Band whenever I see my boyfriend who is an avid gamer along with his friends (those two girls I mentioned and some guys).

I've only ever met 1 female in my entire life who plays video-games as a regular hobby.

Most girls/women in my experience tend to only play/enjoy Guitar Hero, Wii Sports, Sims, Mario 3, etc.

But to be fair, I don't know a whole lot of guys who play games as a regular hobby, like I do. Sure, many men enjoy Halo 3 and own consoles, but they are rarely as 'into' games as I am. But those who are into games definitely outnumber the girls.

I've had a PC for as long as I can remember. Playing games was always a part of my life, be it on a games console (used to borrow my brother and my counsin's when they weren't looking) or on the PC.

I remember my dad bringing home Doom. I loved it! I also remember my grandad shaking his head and complaining loudly that I shouldn't be exposed to that sort of thing and questioning my dad's reasoning that I should be allowed to play games in the first place.

Now I'm all grown up and can spend my hard earned cash on whatever I want, I play games. As soon as I get home from work and all my waking hours at weekends. I tend to play mmorpgs and the like, but I can hand on heart say I have NEVER played sims lol.

And yes, I am a girl. People find it strange that I choose to spend my free time in front of my pc instead of [insert girly rubbish here] but this is what I do.

We are out there boys, it's just a shame you don't think we exist when you meet us! :)

My first impression of this thread that really prompted me to sign up (although I do LOVE ZP) - I must say, there's quite a bit of you men who seemed to be awfully misogynistic and/or just don't know enough women to know that we ought not to be generalized from YOUR realm of how many people YOU know.

Girl gamers' hardly made from social. I game (with 4 different platforms) - none of my brothers do. Nor do I sacrifice RL interaction with people to do it.

I think the question should be - Why does guys game MORE than girls:

Read here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/story?id=4243573&page=1

As a girl gamer, I'd pretty much reiterate what Fullmetal X said: Society says that women must be dainty damsels or they will never get a man and men must be big though and grunting to get a women.

Luckily, I have awesome parents who bought me a Gameboy and N64 when I was the tender age of 8 or 9. I played Ocarina of Time and Smash Bros do death. Me and my sister enjoyed beating the living crap out of each other's characters; my parents even played with us when we were young. As I got older it's never occurred to me that I shouldn't be gaming, I enjoyed it, why would I ever stop?

I don't think it's a question as being hardwired from birth so much, more that is a question of what type of environment you're brought up in.

The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

BigNiceJohn:
The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

I can only partially agree with you, mainly because I tend to applaud girl gamers for their willingness to play and even enjoy games most people designate as "men's games". I know girls who have played and enjoyed Counter-Strike and Halo so it's not difficult for me to imagine that there are girls out there who like Gears of War. However, the female gaming market is really underdeveloped and should expand more, if only to serve as a gateway into the gaming world. Games like Gears of War, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, etc. can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of gender. The main problem is intimidation. You wouldn't tell someone who's new to the gaming scene to play Devil May Cry 3...it would utterly destroy them. Since there isn't much of a window for female gamers to begin with, it's understandable that they're hard to find. And that's not to say there aren't many. Some of them are actually embarrassed to admit they play games because many still believe it's for nerdy, geeky men who play chess and D&D.

BigNiceJohn:
The female market for video games is undeveloped, for the most part. My fiancee, and several of my female friends are into games, and while they'll play the good games (Mass Effect, Portal, etc) they have no interested in the average ones where the simple goal is to shoot things (I don't know any women that actually admitted to playing Gears of War, let alone liking it).

Men and women have very different ways of thinking, let alone gaming, and I don't think there's been a real attempt to get into the female mindset. I don't think it's about competitiveness, although a certain stigma may still exist, but with the explosion in the tools available to developers, it's only a matter of time before we see games that really capture the hearts and minds of women on an equal scale of their male gaming counter-parts.

The problem is that men still make up a much larger part of the gaming comunity. Women need to get more interested in male targeted games before any women targeted games will be created. But I have played some girls on Gears of War but I think your more likely to find some girl gamers on CS, Rainbow Six or CoD4. More sensible games seem to have more female gamers playing.

(I know that non of you know that I have a girlfreind and that no one knows her email address. But if you somehow get a hold of it please don't repeat what I am about to say to her)

Don't you think that Lelah form the Ctrl+alt+del comic (If she were real) would be a kick ass girlfreind?

I think the lack of girl gamers descends from 2 factors: the social stigma related with gaming ( the whole girly-girl and macho guy thing), and the pricks who don't help new-comers get into the 'mind set' or whatever you'd call it (basically those people who go "0MGZ, girlz.show uz pic").

My belief is that in the arena of gaming, everyone is fair game. The only deciding factor is skill. So, I don't go easy on anyone, unless I'm trying to teach them how to play (which hasn't happened yet), but I don't go after those who I perceive to be women.

Just my 2 cents.

MaraN88:
Not to be too prejudice but most girls i've met who are into games(or anime) are really wierd. Dunno why though...

I second that notion. it's the same where I live too.
Not saying that's bad because many people around me find me to be "Unusual"

If I hadn't worked the late shift, I would never have played a video game. Generally, the breakroom/gameroom was full of guys killing each other and giving each other shit, and I did not want to plop my n00b ass down in the middle of that. I already felt conspicuous enough as a woman, and I felt like my lack of skill would be written off as a natural result of my gender, which pissed me off. "It's not cuz I'm a girl, it's because I've never played before, dickweed!" Also, whenever anyone tried to learn, there was always some jackass behind them, huffing and sighing because some little scrub was keeping them from getting their frag on.

I don't have a problem with killing virtual people, I have a problem looking like a fool in front of other people when I am already uncomfortably out-of-place in an environment to begin with.

Luckily, I worked later than most and so got to learn with the help of a friend and without the help of the peanut gallery. I started playing 3-4 hours after work every shift and finally bought a console of my own. I still don't play online though, because I'm not confident enough of my skills to do it, and I really don't take public embarrassment well at all when I am trying to learn.

I first met the woman who became my fiancee through some mutual friends she went to high school with. Then it turned out she was a member of the community over at Red vs Blue, as I was (and still am).

I really dig the fact that there are these elite groups of gamer girls who routinely kick ass. If there is to be an upswing in female gaming, it's only going to start by having some women at the top.

I also think one huge thing that is not conducive to female gamers is the whole online experience. I wish there was an option, either in game or on xbl where you could actually choose an age group to play with.

I also wonder if there's a pickiness factor. Most of the women I have known who play have zero tolerance for crappy combat systems, crappy level design, and grindingly repetitive objectives. On the other hand, it seems that guys are more likely to finish a game more or less just because they started it. If 90% of everything is crap, then I'm not surprised that women get through 80% and conclude it's just not worth the try.

If pickiness is a factor, then it's no wonder women would pick casual games, which can be played for 5 minutes if that's what you feel like. 5 minutes of mediocrity as opposed to 50 hours of mediocrity? I know which one I would pick.

Also, is this culturally specific I wonder, like comics? In the U.S., comics are a guy thing, while in Japan, comics are read equally by both sexes. Could it be the same way with games?

I really dig the fact that there are these elite groups of gamer girls who routinely kick ass.

To be honest, that's a bit like having a clan that restricts entry based on the colour of your skin. I know they decided to take a more PC approach, but to me PMS will always stand for "Psychotic Man Slayerz". Hardly the nicest clan name to have, is it? I once suggested, on another forum, making a clan called "Female Genital Mutilation" and seeing how much hatemail I'd get (This was when I'd just learned about them - PMS, that is).

Many guys say "I love women who can kick my arse", and I can understand the desire to know someone who can challenge you (And whom you can challenge), so that you can both develop your mad skillz, but it shouldn't *matter* what gender they are.

If there is to be an upswing in female gaming, it's only going to start by having some women at the top.

The good thing is, any gamer- regardless of age, gender or whatever- has to earn their place at the top. They have to work towards it. You can't just get a free ride from "positive" discrimination until you get to the top in gaming, or from anything, for that matter.

Then we'll get another of the usual "Move over boys, the gamer grrls are destroying your OLD BOYS CLUB" articles written by the usual hacks who have no real news to report. A normal article, sure, I'll take it seriously. And by that I mean I'll show it the same lack of regard I show most other things. It's the best way to be fair, I've found.

Give nobody special treatment, and then you can easily shoot down the ones who expect it.

I haven't met a girl to this day that constantly plays video games. I've met some that play it every now and then but are just not into it.

Urgh, I have the annoying compelling need to reply to this thred and dump my thoughts on the subject. Normally I just ignore this kinda stuff and think, who cares if girls are into games or not.

(Complete brain dump warning - little structure to this post)

Anyhoo...
Essentially I think people are looking at it wrong. We seem to be saying why aren't girls playing games? The answer is that most games are targeted at the 'core gamer' i.e. the men, so basically there just aren't enough games for girls. We seem to use this question in a way that assumes we want girls to play the kind of games guys play, but if we look at film, books tv etc we can see this shouldn't be the case. In the other entertainment industries there are things aimed speciffically for women and others specifically for men. For example desperate housewives, ugly betty, romatic comedies (bridget jones etc) these are aimed at girls (Note I say aimed - it doesn't mean there aren't some guys that like them). And obviously therefore there are tv programmes and films (I guess horror and action mainly) aimed at guys (but noting there are girls that like these).
Fortunately we are now seeing games aimed at girls like sims, cooking mamma or whatever. And this is a good thing as it will get consoles into the hands of the type of girls that wouldn't normally play games and then maybe they can explore more games that are for both genders.
Party games also seem to be a good way to get girls into games. I think the main issue is that girls are more likely to want to spend time in a social setting then guys. THey like to talk and do things together. I know alot of girls that have bought playstations purely for DDR and singstar.
In terms of social conditioning, yep it's probably true that most aged 20+ girls grew up with games being a boys toy, but now it is much more acceptable for little girls to have a DS (usually pink ones :] ) So this in the future will lead to girls being more used to having games about as a form of entertainment as much as any other. I have a niece who owns a ds, a whole bunch of girls games and games like mario etc and her and her friends are allways playing them. So the future of girls and games is there I think, a revolution is starting! ha ha. Also at the other end of the spectrum my Grandma has a DS and thouroughly enjoyed playing the wii at christmas.

So generally I think we are in the time where girls are being introduced to games (mainly thanks to nintendo) and we will see a change in this problem(if you think it is one) in the next 10yrs or so.

In response to the original post I think if you want to get girls to play games, get a wii, get some party games, get some alcohol, invite them round and play for fun. If they like it it could become a regular thing.

Also in response to some other posts, not all girl games are wierd, not all girls think about shoes all day and some girls do just like games and aren't in it because they want to be different! Also there are girls who like to play GTA, FPSs and torture their sims!

I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

Spinwhiz:
I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

I don't really think the depth is the issue. If I'm not mistaken 50% of the people who play The Sims, which has to be seen as fairly complex, are women. And a large percentage of WoW-players are women as well. If anything, MMOs is something women seem drawn to as compared to simple FPS-games. :)

I have a friend who plays Halo and is ridiculously good even when drunk. If she wasn't already engaged I would have asked her to marry me years ago.

I'm surprised that gaming is a mostly male dominated field. I love gaming. Even the shoot outs of zombies like resident evil, odd most girls find them disturbing.

How many guys do you know who watch soap operas? There are men who do, and they like it. Some do it because their wife/significant other does (like me). Some soaps are equally appealing to both sexes (though granted not the daytime ones which are targeted at the "core" audience). I'm sure it's not just a U.S. thing.

Other than that, a lot of girls I meet who "don't game" are casual gamers. Almost every girl I know up here plays WoW. And they're still girly girls. They're willing to try games that appeal to them, just like me. I don't play Madden or Fifa or what have you because, well, they don't appeal to me. And I'm bad at them because of it and have no intention to get better.

BTW, I'm a guy.

So, in closing, this topic needs to be put in a burlap sack, kicked for flavor and buried next to Hoffa wherever he may be.

I'm a female computer gamer. I know very few women or girls who play video/computer games, especially in my age group (middle-aged). Most female gamers that I know prefer non-violent games like The Sims or Tetris or (to a lesser extent) point-click adventures. I started out playing Sim City and Myst with my kids, and very gradually worked my way into FPS games (because I love the first-person immersiveness, not because I particularly like killing things). I suppose I'm also a little "weird" if geeky is weird. I'm a software engineer, and like the great majority of female engineers I've known, I've always been a bit of a tomboy.

Many of my daughter's girl friends liked computer games, but none of them had the kind of gaming obsessiveness you often see in boys. Only one of those girls likes action/horror games. But all of them (including the one that likes FPS) loved playing adventure games TOGETHER, working cooperatively to solve puzzles. I know it's a cliche that girls prefer cooperative play to competitive play, but my observations certainly support that. Do boys ever play computer games that way?

I'm not here to tell you some long, convoluted 'well my friend's brother's friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend played a game... once' story.
I'm telling you straight - I'm a female and I play vidya games.
I'd like to think I'm somewhat well rounded and don't just stick to one game. Well, I stick to one title until I either beat it, get to a level I'm proud of in it, or until I figure out 'I don't want to play this game', sell it, and buy a new one.
Honestly, I don't think I'm much different than any of you men when it comes to my experiences with gaming - I go for it for the story, for the challenge, and only seldomly for the instant action.
I always flipped the media the bird when it tries to tell me what I'm supposed to like and dislike because I'm a girl, so it's never been a big problem for me. Sure, I grew up playing with Barbies and the like, but as soon as I saw the commercial for Kingdom Hearts and faffed about on my cousin's PS2 while playng Harvest Moon, I was hooked. Then I just spread out into different fields.
@nekorion: I don't know about other female gamers, but I play games because I fucking enjoy myself. I wouldn't do something I don't like just because I want to 'stick it to the man' or some dumb shit like that. I do it because I like it. Don't you?

Dectilon:

Spinwhiz:
I find many of the problems for women that don't play games is just that they weren't around them growing up. Now that there are 12? buttons on a controller and some pretty in depth MMO's, most just figure there is other stuff they would rather be doing. *shrug* I have found that younger women are more apt to play and be accepting of gaming in general.

On the same note, I have found women that are extremely imaginative like gaming (video games, RPing, whatever) are more open to the experience. Don't know why, I should ask my PhD psychiatrist friends.

I don't really think the depth is the issue. If I'm not mistaken 50% of the people who play The Sims, which has to be seen as fairly complex, are women. And a large percentage of WoW-players are women as well. If anything, MMOs is something women seem drawn to as compared to simple FPS-games. :)

I have found some older data that suggests that 16% of the game is female, which is closer to what I've heard (and if you have played any type of MMO (EQ2, City of Heroes, WoW, etc, you damn well know half of the people playing are not women). I think you may be confusing the guys that play female characters. You can check it out here: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001369.php

Again, even though this data is from 2005, statically, over any given period of time, the base of percentages remains the same. Basically, this means that even though WoW (in this example) has grown in subscription from 1 million users to 10 million users, the ratio from male to female generally will remain close to the same. That is not only in video games, but a formula used for research when brand launching in consumer goods in general.

Now, back to my term "depth" was not to say that women can't grasp the story, but that other things may fill that time consuming void. :)

I was watching some Zero punctuation reviews, and this caught my eye, so I had to sign up and get involved in the discussion.

I never considered myself a "female gamer", because I really hate that term, even "gamer" bugs me. I play games, plain and simple. I love FPS and some RTS games(mostly RTT's). I will also admit to liking the Sims franchise, however I detest MMORPGS. I started gaming on super Nintendo, then PCs, and I've stuck with PC gaming ever since. I do have a wii, but I play more PC than wii games.

I do have to say, amongst girls in my age and social group, I am the odd one out. I like different movies, music and entertainment than the others, and they see my hobbies as odd and nerdy. Even my parents think it's just a phase that I'll "grow out of" (I'm 24). But I like my gaming hobby. I am also a computer tech, which seems to be a bit more acceptable than playing games, only because it provides a source of income for me.

FPS relieve a lot of stress for me. They can create some anxiety, and someone had mentioned earlier how girls may want a game to relax by, and I think this is partly true. On occasion, if I ever get stuck on a mission, I do relax with The Sims, or even chess, just to clear my mind. But I will always play FPS's.

At the same time, when playing CS, CoD or TF2 online, I never mention that I'm a girl, because of the "OMGz Ur A gIrL, pix Plz" responses I get, or when guys get mad that I'm killing them. I'm not super crazy awesome or anything, I'll never claim to be. I'm fairly average. I have good game days and bad ones so I really don't understand why they get pissed. I kill you, you kill me, that's how these games work!!! Which is why I never indicate my gender when I start a game. But I don't make it a secret either. I have to use the mic sometimes!

So I think it's all boils down to personal preference. Add a hint of resistance to female gamers from both guys and girls, and you'll get the reason why we're so few and far in between.

Is it wrong that I don't care about this at all?

Another one of these threads, well, If I guess right it has something to do with girls do exist in games, and they need to be treated fairly and respected and what not. Not saying this is bad, the thread that is, but truth is that girls play games to. They are humans just like you but they have breasts (usually).

EDIT: Okay, so I went back and actually read the thread. Maybe girls don't like gaming as much because...the sky is blue, how the hell should we know, we aren't a bunch of scientist inside some kind of volcano lab with the best minds in the world. We can't figure this out unless girls who don't play games were to actually tell us.

Larenxis:
Is it wrong that I don't care about this at all?

rofl (plain and simple)

Larenxis:
Is it wrong that I don't care about this at all?

Whatever floats thy boat.

At the same time, when playing CS, CoD or TF2 online, I never mention that I'm a girl, because of the "OMGz Ur A gIrL, pix Plz" responses I get, or when guys get mad that I'm killing them. I'm not super crazy awesome or anything, I'll never claim to be. I'm fairly average. I have good game days and bad ones so I really don't understand why they get pissed. I kill you, you kill me, that's how these games work!!! Which is why I never indicate my gender when I start a game. But I don't make it a secret either. I have to use the mic sometimes!

One of the people I regularly play TF2 with is female, although I cant say Ive ever heard someone say "OMGz Ur A gIrL, pix Plz" to her. I think American guys are worse for that sort of thing though, us Brits are a bit more.. mature? Well, maybe, I think its more to do with servers you play in and players you play regularly with. There are, obviously, dicks who often give out some stick, but she just laughs and gets on with the game. I think you ladies should either ignore them or make fun of their manhood, if you're feeling mean. The mute button works well too.

I guess this kind of argument is a moot point. What is socially acceptable changes over time, and gaming isn't exempt. Think of what life was like 10, 50, 100 years ago. Hell, in 100 years it could be that women play more games than men (most of the men being killed off by ravenous weasels and wor.) And then the same debate will go on then, except vice versa. Well, maybe. Who knows. Ive put in my 2 pennies.

The Reverend:

One of the people I regularly play TF2 with is female, although I cant say Ive ever heard someone say "OMGz Ur A gIrL, pix Plz" to her. I think American guys are worse for that sort of thing though, us Brits are a bit more.. mature? Well, maybe, I think its more to do with servers you play in and players you play regularly with. There are, obviously, dicks who often give out some stick, but she just laughs and gets on with the game. I think you ladies should either ignore them or make fun of their manhood, if you're feeling mean. The mute button works well too.

I think you're right, in that the crowds vary (and that the UK crowd's a little more mature ;) )I have played TF2 in some UK servers, and I have to say, I've enjoyed that crowd more overall than others I played in. However, I never said that the taunts prevented me from enjoying or playing the game. And I do dig into the others a bit. But I could see where a sensitive girl would find that behavior annoying and avoid it altogether. But, it'll never stop me from playing.

[quote=JessicaSarahS
I think you're right, in that the crowds vary (and that the UK crowd's a little more mature ;) )I have played TF2 in some UK servers, and I have to say, I've enjoyed that crowd more overall than others I played in. However, I never said that the taunts prevented me from enjoying or playing the game. And I do dig into the others a bit. But I could see where a sensitive girl would find that behavior annoying and avoid it altogether. But, it'll never stop me from playing.[/quote]

I find the Aussie comunity is better then UK because the brits have poor dental hypine. Joking, settle down.

Anyway in my game travels I have seen some girls being "hit on" by guys. Its sad really. Really sad. By past experiences in online game I can think of 4 broad types of guys.

1)The your a chick and I don't care, your the same as any other player.

2)The your a chick and I fell like I need to help you because your not as good other players because your a female.

3)The your a chick and I think your gods gift to me. I will bombared you with friend invites and try to do anything to go outwith you.

4)The your a chick and I hate you. You are the worse sort of scum on the face of the planet and i will insult you untill you are forced to leave.

Most guys fit into number 1 but still there are some immature pricks that fit into number 2,3 and 4.

My views might be a little bit biased but whenever I seem to end up in a game with a girl then there is usually a jerk to piss her off. These people, the Rasicts and the idiots are holding back online gaming.So I don't find it very suprising that you wont find many girls in online FPS games as you would find men.

Count_de_Monet:
I have a friend who plays Halo and is ridiculously good even when drunk. If she wasn't already engaged I would have asked her to marry me years ago.

She's Engaged for years?

Ah, anyway:
People of the female sex do tend to game less then Men. just by the way the where raised i think. The girls in my environment think gaming is stupid, makes you stupid and is not fun. oh how wrong they are.

This is the 30000 topic about this. Think of something else pls.
Now.....

I think that we can all agree - Men and Women = DIFFERENT! OK?
Men in general like simple FPS games, women like SIMS type games and whatever the hell you people just said. So, there should be games aimed at boys and games aimed at girls. DO YOU PEOPLE AGREE? YES? OK!!!

Now make another thread that I haven't seen already, sheesh.

To find the root cause of a perceived lack of female involvement in gaming, you have to trace the beginnings of video gaming and computing in general.

You see, when it all kicked off, fiddling with computers and electronics was considered a very technical thing and of course, women couldn't do anything technical, because they were too busy in the kitchen making the men pies.

Then when the first games came out the whole thing was considered a hobby, but still very technical, and therefore still out of the reach of those dumb...dumb washing machine attachments we call women. As games evolved into more of a business than a hobby, developers had to make games to suit their audience, which was vastly male.

So we had fantasy games where the nerds could escape their reality, and RTS and shooter to validate the player's manliness.

Skip forward a few years and developers start to realize that they've been cutting off 50% of their potential market, and so they start to make games that break the mould. Couple this with technology becoming more accessible to those uninitiated in gaming culture, combined with women realizing that the attitudes that said they couldn't understand the technology of gaming were complete bullshit.

Skip to present day and games that break the mould of male affirmation like The Sims turn out to be quite popular amongst women. As women start to discover what they've been missing out on, they come to gaming in record numbers.

Women will only be a bigger presence in gaming in the future, but those root ideologies of gaming still exist when it comes to manly games such as Battlefield 2, Counter Strike and Halo. So when a woman comes online to experience some adrenaline, of course it's going to draw snide remarks from the male population of these games.

Give it time, and these attitudes will slowly erode, and males won't batter an eyelid when a girl comes online for some good clean fraggin'.