Oh, my, I can think of some prime alternate titles for this one. Not least after the recent ruling against Bobby Kotick (Activision boss, and everyone’s favourite punching bag) over legal fees owed concerning a 2007 sexual harassment suit. But we’ll stay well away from libelous accusations here, okay?
Seriously, though, this makes for moderately depressing reading. Gamasutra report several sources closely connected to Activision whom they’ve spoken to paint a picture of a company where surprise, surprise, everything’s ruthlessly marketed according to whatever the hottest trend is at any given point in time, and those trends… typically don’t include women.
It’s important to note that Gamasutra acknowledge that, strictly speaking, Activision are using perfectly sound business practices to make sure their games sell a lot of copies. Which is, after all, what they’re in the business to do.
But the article’s sources are basically saying Activision push these methods way too far, like skewing the results of focus groups if one of the board has something to prove (‘Wet didn’t sell! Bayonetta didn’t sell! You’ll never sell any action game with a woman in the lead! Obviously what these people meant to say was…’ etc., etc.).
Obviously lots of people simply enjoy kicking Activision in the ribs for the hell of it, and couldn’t care less how unethical they are. But articles like this do the publisher no favours at all, suggesting that the idea of Kotick as a heartless tycoon with no time for anything but his profit margins is really not particularly far from the truth, no matter what damage control Activision PR comes out with.
Source: Gamasutra
TIGA: UK game developers could move to Ireland
Kotick Confirms New Blizzard MMO is a New IP
Starcraft II Cost Around $100 Million to Make
Why it's make-or-break time for EA
Tony Hawk has a new game?
Star Wars: The Old Republic to steal 4 million WoW players?
Everyone (almost) hate Kotick but sameday they run to him with all their money. So who looks stupid? Kotick or customers?
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Robert (August 4th, 2010)
I actually didn’t buy Modern Warfare 2. A friend of mine has it, but I’ve never even asked to have a go. Just saying.
But I don’t hate Bobby Kotick or Activision. I just wish they could see the games industry as about more than just their shareholders’ returns.
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Matthew Lee (August 4th, 2010)
Ya know it takes real skill to annoy as many people as he does with such ease…
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Danny Moore (August 4th, 2010)
I’m more likely to buy a game first hand, play it loads and pay for DLC if…
*drum roll please*
I can play as a woman/girl.
So, my post played games? All the Pokémon games you can choose to be a girl; Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 (I do understand that those last 3, you can choose gender in most of their series, but this marks the point in their respective series that I’ve been playing them); the Mass Effect series and Dragon Age Origins; Bayonetta; Borderlands; the Left 4 Dead series…
There’s many other titles, but I think I make my point. Hell, even in Guitar Hero I’ll play as a female character, and that is an Activision title.
Gender choices sell, and in many cases allow for far more varied storytelling.
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Emily King (August 5th, 2010)
I had this conversation with a friend yesterday evening, and, well, the only one you’ve mentioned which has a female lead who isn’t basically an avatar first and foremost is Bayonetta. Which flopped, pretty much. Name a game where you can play as a female lead who’s been used to push the name practically all by herself. Other than Tomb Raider.
Which doesn’t mean female leads can’t sell games, obviously! Which doesn’t make Activision or any other publisher or developer right. But looking at the games on my shelves or my Steam library, I’m struggling to provide counter-examples. Faith? Possibly, though Mirror’s Edge wasn’t that successful, was it? Jade? Not even sure she was the focus of Beyond Good and Evil until after the fact, and it’s certainly a ‘cult’ favourite more than anything else.
Other than that, it’s pretty much just Lara, and I firmly maintain anyone who thinks Tomb Raider didn’t sell in large part on sex (not entirely, but in large part) is kidding themselves. I don’t know if you could ever prove it one way or the other, but I haven’t seen much to suggest I’m wrong.
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Matthew Lee (August 5th, 2010)
Alex in Eternal Darkness.
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Emily King (August 6th, 2010)
Good call on someone I probably should have remembered (I’ve owned that game at least twice)… although she wasn’t really used to sell the game, or certainly not as much as some. I don’t remember her being on any cover art.
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Matthew Lee (August 6th, 2010)
She wasn’t on the cover art, but then a lot of male protagonists don’t appear on the cover art of the games they lead.
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Emily King (August 6th, 2010)
Also, Joanna Dark from the original Perfect Dark.
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Emily King (August 10th, 2010)
Samus Aran sir metroid is all bout the female bounty hunter and is classic
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Joseph K (August 31st, 2010)
Yep – I agree with you. I like there at least being an option and if the lead character is a kick butt female – well I’m all for it.
There was an article not too long ago – maybe a few months back about how the percentage of female gamers is going up. Most females (or a lot) would like to see more female lead characters in games. If games don’t to well in sales it’s highly doubtful that it’s because the lead character is a female and everything to do with poor marketing and possibly not a very well put together game.
As much as everyone said it was an aweful game – I bought/played x-blades all because the character was female.
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Tren (August 6th, 2010)
Here’s an odd piece of anecdotal non-evidence:
I am a man. I play almost exclusively as female characters. This is because female characters, in games with full voice acting, almost always sound less preposterously rubbish than their male counterparts.
Also because of bums, but sssh.
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Lewis Denby (August 5th, 2010)
Me too, when I have the option. I get to be a man every day in real life– why not try something different in the fantasy land of games?
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Saul Alexander (November 12th, 2010)
Samus from metroid has always been a woman!
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Riccardo Bolzan (August 10th, 2010)
Yep. And she’s just become more kick ass as the series progressed.
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Emily King (August 10th, 2010)