“Gaming companies set sights on women”

July 17, 2007 in advertising, wo/tech by marisa | 2 comments

Nicole Kidman, dressed as a stepford wife, playing a video game? I know this is supposed to be a story about women going digital, but somehow this quick little story on targeting video games to women makes it seem quite the opposite.

There’s a lot of puppies and pink and poor Nicole Kidman, stuttering “rock…paper…scis..” at a Nintendo DS: something about this one doesn’t sit well with me. What is it?

  1. Lindsay Totty’s avatar

    Lindsay Totty on August 11, 2007 at 9:48 am

    There’s definitely a widespread assumption that most video games, being violent, occasionally sports-oriented, don’t appeal to women, but statistically, female gamers are on the rise, even while the percentage of “innovative” games (of the Brain Age and Nintendogs variety) is not.

    When I first saw video of the WiiFit being shown off by Shigeru Miyamoto at this year’s E3, he didn’t say anything to imply that the device was targeted to women, but that it would be another example of the Wii as the “video game system that the whole family can enjoy.” Of course, one could easily argue that making a system more mainstream is just code for making it appeal to women.

    And, of course, another reason for your distaste might be the fact that Kidman is looking at her DS screen as though everything on it is in Japanese. Looks like Nintendo is assuming that appealing to women means introducing them to the video game technology, rather than showing them that the technology that they are already familiar with can be applied to (allegedly) more “feminine” ends.

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  2. mehass’s avatar

    mehass on August 17, 2007 at 7:47 pm

    Agreed. This little feature seems to suggest that most women hear the term “video game” and think, “what’s that?” and, therefore, the only things that could possibly attract our interest and talent are either simple games like Rock Paper Scissors or yet more high-tech ways to monitor our weight and fitness . . . and, honestly, cute little Nicole Kidman doesn’t quite give me the sense that buying a nintendo is going to empower me.

    Then again, maybe I’m not the target. It occurs to me that much of Wii marketing/mainstreaming, with its popular “fun for the whole family” message, also targets an older demographic than one would expect from most consoles or games. Or, to build on Lindsay’s observation, maybe making a system more mainstream is just code for making it appeal to wives and mothers. In that case, Ms. Stepford Wife herself may be perfect for the campaign . . . that is, of course, only if women really relate to that image of femininity.

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