Strange Agency Reveals the Secrets of the 'Games Women Play'
New STAR Report Surveys Women Hardcore Gamers' Preferences
For Immediate Release 23rd August 2006
Middlesbrough based Strange Agency, one of the world's leading developers of game analysis software, has published a report that analyses what women gamers look for in a computer or video game.
'Women hardcore gamers are a potentially huge and yet virtually untapped market. Advanced research using Strange Agency's unique game content analysis technology has established a recipe for the kinds of games these women would like to play,' states Strange Agency's Managing Director Clive Fencott.
Yet, Electronic Arts' COO David Gardner, says the games industry is "failing women." 'According to EA's figures, only 40% of teenage girls play computer games, compared to 90% of teenage boys,' states Jo Clay, Strange Agency's Technical Director.
This market sector should be of great interest to publishers and developers alike because it uses familiar PC and console technology and does not require learning new delivery platforms or gameplays such as for the mobile and casual markets.
'We gathered information regarding the gaming preferences of 76 female hardcore gamers, resulting in a representative sample of 232 games and game franchises. The results show that, contrary to commonly held stereotypes, female gamers can be catered for by established publishers and developers using their existing knowledge and skill bases, instead of needing to develop a whole new range of games for unfamiliar platforms,' confirms Jo Clay.
'Our research shows that, far from traditional male oriented games being unsuitable for a female audience, a large number of the games already on offer would also be attractive to female hardcore gamers if publishers' marketing strategies were suitably adapted. This is contrary to what the industry has believed for some time,' she adds.
This latest Strange Agency STAR report serves several main purposes:
It identifies games women like to play in terms of underlying gameplay preferences It provides game design and marketing guidelines for this hidden sector It shows how to better exploit established console and PC game production methods It shows how to attract a huge new audience of women hardcore gamers who would normally be non-gamers or casual gamers It demonstrates that games for women can be equally attractive to a large section of the male audience'Games Women Play is an invaluable resource that will allow publishers and developers to develop games for this large and growing market sector. We used Strange Agency's advanced content analysis technology, Strange Analyst, to identify a set of common principles - in effect a 'perfect recipe' - to which these games adhered,' adds Clive Fencott.
'Future STAR topics tackled by Strange Agency will include The Anatomy of Franchises. Ultimately, we envisage STARs as an essential component in our brand development strategy. We plan to increase the number of STARs issued annually to six by the year 2008,' concludes Fencott.
STAR 3 'Games Women Play' is available now. More details are available by visiting www.strangeagency.com.
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Editor's Notes: -
Images, interview opportunities and more information on Strange Agency and STARs are available on request from Pink Elephant PR.
Press Information: -
Chris Shaw
Pink Elephant PR
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