Lady Geek

There are now more self-help books in print than cookbooks. The majority of self-help books are bought and read by women in their millions. Rightly or wrongly, all promise the same thing – to make you happier; improve your marriage, your parenting, your homemaking skills, your finances, your figure, your attitude etc.. This inspired me to think about what motivates women and what games manufacturers could learn from this. I am a casual gamer just getting into gaming. I am reflective of a group of women in their late twenties or early thirties haven’t necessarily grown up with gaming but are openly interested in what gaming has to offer. Brain Training has sold more than four million copies worldwide and tapped into 2 key insights. Firstly that women want games they can ‘snack’ on in between putting the kids to bed, doing the shopping online etc. But most importantly, women’s need to self improve and explore new areas in order to ‘better themselves.’ This appeases their guilt of self indulging. Men and women are wired differently. For men, the games that appeal are ones that are competitive, with stats and clear objectives. For women, its much more about learning new skills and socialization.

Each night I am on my DS lite trying new games and whilst they intrigue me on the ‘cutability’ factor (MySims, Amimal Crossing, Wii play), none of them really make me feel rewarded in that way of ‘I’ve achieved something.’ If you are asking working women with children to give up their time, time that could be devoted to getting the shopping, making the dinner…, you need to make them feel they are improving themselves and not give them a reason to feel guilty. A great example is when a new game “Beginners Wine DS” offering advice on wine tasting and learning a new skill with this year’s Beaujolais. Unfortunately its only available in Japan but this feels like an a step in the right direction. Games that can make me feel rewarded. Games that make me feel I have learnt something. Games that intrigue and engage me and make me want to keep going back for more…