Gamer News - Activision not finding Female Leads to be Profitable

Activision recently admitted they believe games with female protagonists do not sell, referencing a number of male fronted top selling games in previous years. As a result, Activision and other companies avoid using female leads in games directed toward the general gaming population, only showing female leads in licensed games such as Barbie and Dora. Furthermore, according to Gamasutra reports, companies like Luxoflux have even attempted to create titles with female protagonists but changed their concepts based on Activision's narrow-minded focus on current high sales of male driven games. Sadly, since little chance has been given for female fronted games to prosper, it looks like this trend will continue. This derives from a lack of faith in a potentially outstanding product, based solely on gender rather than quality itself.

Luxoflux started to take a step in the right direction with their original notion for what is now True Crime: Hong Kong. Originally, the game was conceived as Black Lotus, headed by a tough, Lucy Liu inspired female assassin. Nevertheless, after 2007's top 3 sellers included Madden NFL, Assassin's Creed, and Modern Warfare, Activision pulled the plug on Black Lotus and specifically directed Luxoflux to "lose the chick,"Â according to a former employee.
What's sad is the fact that female characters can sell, such as with Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Mirror Edge's Faith, and Metroid's Samus. Squaresoft's Final Fantasy X-2 and XIII ranked just as high in sales. However, the vast majority of female characters in video games generally follow the same stereotypes, alienating potential players and consumers. From reading feedback in gaming forums, it seems pretty clear that women would prefer to buy games with strong, capable female leads instead of ones with gravity-defying breasts. Games may be fantasy, but not all realism needs to be lost. However, most games seem strictly marketed toward a male fan base, completely overlooking the desires of female players which, if marketed to correctly, could create an outstandingly positive impact on sales in the industry. But perhaps the consumers most likely to buy female fronted games just aren't going for them because of the current quality of female leads. Today, at Best Buy, I personally noticed an entire section devoted to games for women, which included games about weight loss, the Jonas Brothers, "Petz"Â, and even yes, not a joke jewelry making. Does it really seem that strange that a female fronted game about jewelry making isn't selling that well?

Maybe if Activision would give a tough as nails, sexy but realistic chick a chance they could really make a profit on the basis of innovative breakthrough under the condition that the game play would be held at the standards of a game with a male lead. Even a Call of Duty with a female protagonist would still sell, based on its quality, not main character. But for now, seeing as Activision has yet to make profit on the matter, (because they have yet to try), it seems this is truly a concept of virtual reality.

Lara Croft not profitable enough?