Women (for the most part) Dislike Vector Arcade Games

[VectorGamer]

I did a video on Space Fury where I jokingly said "Space Fury is a man's game" and asked "when was the last time you saw a broad play Space Fury?"

 

I've read and heard how games like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Centipede got women into the arcades. They don't mention vector games like Asteroids, Space Fury and Rip Off.

 

I know of a woman who loves Star Wars Arcade Game though.

 

So what do you think? Is there some truth about women not gravitating towards vector arcade games?

[privateers69]

That's a very broad statement to make.

[jaybird3rd]

It's a difficult assertion to test because most women seem to react to old video games (with a few notable exceptions, such as Dr. Mario) in the same way that Superman reacts to Kryptonite—at least, that's been my experience. You'd first have to find a group of women who actually like classic games, and then find out if this same group likes vector games, to establish a causal connection. Unfortunately, such women are about as rare as unicorns.

[Flojomojo]

What a ridiculous, sexist question. Most PEOPLE don't like wireframe graphics. Outside of a few specific, technical environments (CAD, CGI), they look unfinished and dated. I don't see how having a penis or vagina would make a difference in the aesthetic appreciation of old style games.

 

Here's how you determine if a classic video game is for men or women:

 

Question 1: Do you control it with your genitals?

 

If the answer is yes, it's not a classic arcade game. Moot point.

If the answer is no, then the sex of the player is irrelevant.

 

"I'm such a girl! I like Centipede!"

Ugh.

[VectorGamer]

Do you disagree that games like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Centipede were responsible for getting women into the arcades? This was Walter Day's opinion, not mine but I wouldn't disagree with that.

 

That's like saying I'm racist because I make the observation that blacks (for the most part) prefer playing basketball over ice hockey.

[Nebulon]

Hmmm.... Interesting question.

 

I know at least two girls that went bonkers (in a good way) over TRON the arcade game.

 

However, I can't think on any girls that actually commented on vector games.

 

This requires further research...

[Flojomojo]

I didn't say you're a sexist or a racist. I said that those are stupid, sexist questions and I don't think they're interesting or relevant to anything.

 

http://colorofhockey.com/2014/10/22/can-we-just-stop-the-madness-already-black-people-like-hockey-we-really-do/

 

It's been a very long time since anyone worried about "getting women into the arcades." Do Asian people like disco music? I don't remember seeing many of them in Saturday Night Fever.

[VectorGamer]

It's a stupid question because it's an observation I have made over the years and I want to know if others share that opinion?

 

Alrighty then...

[Nebulon]

Looks like you're getting a bit of heat on this one.

 

Perhaps it would be better to see if there's a correlation between the love of vectors and left-brain hemisphere dominance.

[Flojomojo]

I think I made my opinion clear.

 

I voted "no" in the poll.

[racerx]

[+thegoldenband]

IIRC my female relatives like Asteroids just fine. And my wife thinks the Vectrex is absolutely gorgeous -- once she saw Vector Pilot in action, she fully endorsed my decision to spend $$$ on it. Heck, she was the one that bought me my Vectrex in the first place. There's nothing like the crystalline look of projectiles in a true vector game.

 

That said, sure, casual female gamers in my experience will go for Centipede and (Ms.) Pac-Man over, say, Battlezone. In general I haven't found that the women I know gravitate towards shooters or shmups, but Asteroids is an exception -- which makes the premise of this thread kind of odd, since Asteroids is one of the few shooters that my female friends and relatives do like. (Space Invaders is another one.)

[50TBRD]

Dislikf is a strong word. I was told that my mom liked to Galaxian when she was pregnant with me.

[BillyHW]

I'm curious, has any research been done into what types of games women prefer vs. those that men prefer? Is there any significant difference in preferences?

[Tickled_Pink]

I'm curious, has any research been done into what types of games women prefer vs. those that men prefer? Is there any significant difference in preferences?

 

There has been research, albeit quite limited. And these questions are continually being asked within the industry. It's just market research. Always helps to know who you're developing games for.

 

Women do tend to prefer more casual games than those typically available on consoles. To me, though, it seems that much of that depends on whether they grew up with games and the type of games they grew up with. Games have been heavily dominated by male players pretty much since inception, despite the cosy family-oriented adverts of the 80s. My 13 year old does prefer more casual games but not the typical casual games you find on Facebook. She prefers gentler games but is a whiz at Super Mario on the DS. She grew up as a Nintendo kid. And Nintendo are THE experts at creating family friendly games. She never plays the more hardcore games.

 

18 year old, on the other hand, plays multiplayer COD and GTA. Although she had a DS when she was 8, she never really played it that much so never got into the Nintendo way like her sister. And despite what Anita likes to think, she's NEVER had issues with abuse from male players.

[+save2600]

Maybe if there were pink overlays or the Vectrex was a little larger! Sorry, it's all I got.

[Keatah]

Some hottie was all over me when I was jamming Tempest this summer at 257.

 

If I take the wife out on a comparison outing I can see what games she goes after..

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I think most women would go for this one!

 

[+save2600]

Have to admit, never gave this subject any or much thought! We've had several different vector games throughout the years, but seems to me they were received about as well by women as one might expect... Not because of the wire frame graphics or lack of color sometimes, but because of the style of game, which are largely shooters.

Maybe a better question to ask would Centipede or Pac-Man be as popular with women, had they been vector based? Something tells me no, but then I'm reminded of the differences between generations. Seems to me, older women like older games and that includes 'some' of the shooters of the time. While younger women and girls, do gravitate to colorful raster based games, cutesy platformers, etc.

Always going to be aberrations to anything however. My GF (and she's 2 years older than I), absolutely loves Gyruss, Juno First and Missile Command, but can't say I see her playing Centipede much or as often. Dig Dug and Lady Bug are two others I see her playing on the 60-in-1. When I had an Asteroids upright, she'd play it with me, but got the impression she kind of just tolerated it more than anything.

Come to think of it (and I've had this conversation with her), she much prefers sitting down and playing cocktail arcade games. When I had an Asteroids sit-down, never seemed to mind playing with me then! And whenever I get or talk about cocktail games (doesn't matter the genre either), she gets all excited.

Bottom line: some variables and preferences to consider, but based on my experiences and observations, I'm comfortable with saying that for the most part and generally speaking, wire-frame vector based games are not as popular with women as they are with men (partly/mostly due to the genre of game and assuming they're into older games in the first place). Always the exception though.

[Flojomojo]

I'm curious, has any research been done into what types of games women prefer vs. those that men prefer? Is there any significant difference in preferences?

I'm reasonably certain that the marketing department of any major game developer has a clue about such things, especially when "prefer" equates to "spends money, time, attention."

[+save2600]

What a ridiculous, sexist question... I said that those are stupid, sexist questions and I don't think they're interesting or relevant to anything.

 

 

Considering the context in which an observation like this would be brought up, I'd say it's important to have an awareness of such differences. Especially for people like us that maintain real arcade games in our homes. Can't speak for everybody, but I like to keep them around for friends and family to enjoy and have something different than the norm to do when they come over. Our homes are considered destinations that way and we truly enjoy entertaining. If I had a low awareness level of my (and they're quite a diverse bunch) and my GF's friends' likes/dislikes and tastes, I would behave as most selfish and inconsiderate people do and could care less or be clueless about the entire scenario. These are not the attributes of good hosts and entertainers.

 

I personally don't know a single person that is into arcade games that doesn't try to cater to everybody someway or somehow. Especially our friends' wives, girlfriends, etc. It's why the MAME cabs and multi-cades are so popular. We *want* our machines to be played and enjoyed and by a diverse range of people so that everybody has something to do or talk about when they visit. Or hell, outside of company, simply have a reason to visit at all! Besides, only a dim SOB doesn't know you gotta keep the women happy if you ever want to see your p-whipped "friends" anymore in these muffin-making times.

 

So there you have it... interesting, relevant and compelling reasons to take notice of the differences in people.

 

 

Oh and Flojomojo... you're also mistaken about "people" not caring about getting women into the arcades. In fact, the entire industry has bent over backwards and "evolved" to cater to you AND young children alike. Women, mothers in particular are the sole reason arcades today are brightly lit, clean, picked up, made safer, etc. I'm talking about the real money making arcades you find inside waterparks and other destinations. Hell, even so called Barcades with nice seating, family friendly redemption games, all the food and fruity drinks. Totally geared to attract women, mom's especially! Just like how it is at home, everyone and anyone in such a business (retail of course too) knows you take care of the woman FIRST and foremost. It's who holds the purse strings/checkbook/wallet anymore.

[MrMaddog]

The conventional wisdom at the time (early 80's) was that women prefer games with "cutesy" graphics and mostly non-violent gameplay as oppose to the aggressive space shooters that appealed to male gamers. Vector based games just happen to fall in the latter catergory.

 

It's the same thing today with causal mobile titles vs. hardcore console shooters. But to me a game is still a game no matter what style it is or who plays it, and I'm happy to see more people play video games in general.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Asteroids was the game that got my wife into retro gaming, so I voted "False" in the poll, but I'm also in the camp of "whether you have a penis or vagina has nothing to do with your preference in video games". The number of times the misses has completely wiped the floor with me in Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II is beyond my ability to count.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Poll is unnecessary IMO. Vector games have a distinct feel and niche, seeing as how they were quickly overtaken by rastor based games. Aside from a few classics like Tempest and Asteroids, a lot of the vector games are forgettable or could easily have been made using rastors. I am not saying that vectors aren't cool (I would love to own a Vex someday) but arguing that women would be attracted to them more or less than men would be folley. Sure cutesy platformers and casual puzzlers were always aimed at women, but anyone can have fun with them. I see more women playing smartphone games or simple PC games and more men playing console games or complex PC games. My 70+ mom loves Bejeweled on the minimac but would totally fail at games that make you grind against the clock like Tetris Attack or Columbs. But those type games get my adrenaline flowing, not to mention platformers and especially whacky Japanese SHMUPs. But if a woman wants to play street fighter or modern FPS and a dude wants to play smart phone games, who am I to judge? Men are more left-brain dominant while women are more right-brained. This has been documented many times over. So naturally men gravitate towards activities that target analytical thinking as well as adrenaline pumping, while women tend to gravitate towards social activities or those that invoke an emotional response. Hense the stereotype of men craving "core" games and women craving "casual" games. But it is really all about personal preference. Everyone is different and should play the things they like. Just like we have male nurses and female engineers, not everyone fits into any stereotype and it would be folly to push them to accept said roles, especially as children. But statistically, more males than females will gravitate towards gaming / collecting games whereas more females than males will gravitate towards art and craft type hobbies. True men and women both collect stuff but they tend to be different things. But like I said, everyone is different. I enjoy art/craft style hobbies as well and have even fabricated some of my own fanart to decorate with. Hell I have a collection of video game themed plushies! So a woman games or a man knits. Let them enjoy it but by all means don't make a scene out of it. Female gamers want to be accepted as equals by their brethren, not treated like rare unicorns.

[Syzygy1]

Well I like the Star Wars game too.

And I liked the TRON game too.

 

This is all just a bias.