1507 réponses à ce sujet

[tpryan01]

One problem I had with the marketing of DAO and ME and ME2 was that until I was forwarded an article by a male (months after the game came out)  I didn't know about the rich interactivity or the ability to play as a female. 

I understand that it is mentioned in articles about the game, but in all marketing materials the featured character is male as it has been in ME, ME2, DA:O and DA:O-A.

To be clear this thread is not about what  female Hawke will look like. 
For that please go here 

I am only concerned in how more NEW female gamers can be brought into the game.

This is a thread about marketing, not accusations of offense.

Have you tried showing any of the DA2 marketing materials to female gamers not familiar with DA:O?

What was their response?

UPDATE 8/26/2010: This article came out in GameSpy today. The question of this thread is supposed to be "does the campaign appeal to new female players" not "should the campaign appeal to new female players" but since a lot of the posts are straying towards "should" I thought it might be a good idea to note this:

Study: Playable Character Gender Does Not Impact Sales
http://www.gamespy.c.../1116228p1.html

Note that the company that did this study boasts EA as a client
http://www.eedar.com...ut/Default.aspx

Modifié par tpryan01, 27 août 2010 - 09:19 .

[Arttis]

The game is still over half a year away from release.

PLenty of time for them to do it.

[tpryan01]

Except they failed to do so with ME2, ME, DA:O or DA:O-A though I think the trailer for TOR is amazing for appealing to females.

[Inquisitor Recon]

Ha ha. Women playing computer games? What a jolly good ruse lads.

[Apollo Starflare]

Actually DAO was much more open about the ability to play as a woman than the ME series has been. It wasn't perfect, but they had special character art based on the Origins that featured female versions of the Warden amongst other things. DAO never had the 'Sheploo effect' like Mass Effect did, where the marketing was focused so completely on the one image of Shepard that they restricted all the stuff about the female Shepard.



Looking back at Jade Empire it seems Bioware have marketed with both genders before, I'm hoping that having seen some of the huge support for more equal representation in the marketing on these boards and elsewhere Bioware might be rethinking their strategy (I have the feeling ME3 will remain mostly Sheploo though). I'm optimistic at the moment as they have already announced that they will be revealing Lady Hawke to the public "very soon" and that she has had much more care taken in order to make her character model unique and feminine.



The sticking point will always be the 'blur' marketing (the big CGI trailers). I don't see Bioware changing from their policy to market a game with one face, and sadly the general opinion in the industry is that a male hero sells more than a female one. It's something I'd -really- like to see challenged by a big game at some point, however those female protagonists who have found some degree of success have usually had to do so at the expense of still pandering to the male gaze (Bayonetta, Lara Croft etc.).

[Arttis]

Want a woman on the cover make it eye candy.
The only reason Final fantasy could get away with it is a large loyal fan base and 20+ years of making final fantasy.
Also It reduced their sales.
My brother a final fantasy fan refused to play it due to the main character being a female.
He said he cant relate to a female.
From a guy who bought up most console final fantasies.
7-10 and 12.

Modifié par Arttis, 23 août 2010 - 04:39 .

[tpryan01]

"Women outnumber men in online games, survey finds"



http://news.cnet.com..._3-6123172.html



you can argue the merits of this Nielsen survey, but the fact is we are far more common than marketers will acknowledge.

[BW326]

First, It looks like you have spent quite a bit of money on games Bioware hasn't marketed to you considering you have registered Mass Effect 2, DA:O and DA:O Awakening. My point being you found out about the games somehow... They may not be marketing to you directly but what they are doing is obviously working.

Second, I'm sure the Bioware marketing team has conducted focus groups providing feedback about their marketing materials long before we have ever seen any of them. It is highly unlikely that there were no females amidst the focus group members.

[Arttis]

online games and games you play on a computer/console is different.

A lot of online games *that claim that category* are very much just a chatting game.

online games is a very broad category.

[Apollo Starflare]

Arttis wrote...

Want a woman on the cover make it eye candy.
The only reason Final fantasy could get away with it is a large loyal fan base and 20+ years of making final fantasy.
Also It reduced their sales.
My brother a final fantasy fan refused to play it due to the main character being a female.
He said he cant relate to a female.
From a guy who bought up most console final fantasies.
7-10 and 12.

That's actually an interesting comparison. Lightning is a surprisingly (and refreshingly) un sexualised female protagonist afterall, yet the FF series is basically a bankable hit from the get go, perhaps it's an indicator that successful series are more likely to challenge the status quo though. Yet as you point out 13 is far from their most successful game as far as I am aware. Whether this has anything to do with her being on the box doesn't even matter really, to any major companies taking note they will factor in the possibility (and sadly, it is a likelihood that your brother was far from alone in his decision). It makes showing support of the female option in games like DA are so important, regardless of your own gender. A more equal industry can only be a good thing, it will allow more creativity from the big names for starters.

Another example of a female protagonist would be Faith from Mirror's Edge (again didn't do too well commercially I gather), it's a promising sign.

[Chris Priestly]

tpryan01 wrote...

"While male video gamers still outnumber women 2 to 1, women have the edge in online games, a survey has found."

http://news.cnet.com..._3-6123172.html

you can argue the merits of this Nielsen survey, but the fact is we are far more common than marketers will acknowledge.

I edited the title for you as you omited a key element in trying to support your arguement. While the percentage population of online gaming audence may be growing or higher, the audence for our games is still predominantly male. This does not mean the female gamer, or again, the male gamer who prefers to play a female character is less important, but it should in part explain why some marketing campaigns are targetted as they are.

As I said in another thread, BioWare always has and continues to greatly support and value our female gaming audience. I hope in the (roughly) 8 months between now and launch female gamers find materials in our marketing that they enjoy.

[Dave of Canada]

tpryan01 wrote...

"Women outnumber men in online games, survey finds"

http://news.cnet.com..._3-6123172.html

you can argue the merits of this Nielsen survey, but the fact is we are far more common than marketers will acknowledge.

Farmville is an online game, popular amongst housewives and young women. Were they included in the survey? It would skewer it heavily.

[Collider]

Will it appeal at all? Yes. It's not as if people have to know that they can play as their own gender to want to play a game.

[ErichHartmann]

"Another example of a female protagonist would be Faith from Mirror's Edge (again didn't do too well commercially I gather), it's a promising sign."



The new Metroid game is heavily marketing Samus outside of her suit in movie clips. I have no doubt it will be a big hit.

[Dave of Canada]

ErichHartmann wrote...

The new Metroid game is heavily marketing Samus outside of her suit in movie clips. I have no doubt it will be a big hit.

I still believe that Samus is a guy.

*denial*

[NonCanon]

BW326 wrote...

First, It looks like you have spent quite a bit of money on games Bioware hasn't marketed to you considering you have registered Mass Effect 2, DA:O and DA:O Awakening. My point being you found out about the games somehow... They may not be marketing to you directly but what they are doing is obviously working.

That's what I was thinking. Although it would very refreshing and nice for a femHawke to be in the advertising, I don't really care if they do. I know that I have the option to make a female character and that's all that matters to me.

[tpryan01]

except that was the actual cnet title I was quoting and now you are not longer quoting the title but changing it.



As to how I got into the game. I didn't for a long time. I had no idea I could play as a girl until this article by the amazingly talented Colleen Coover appeared in my twiter feed



http://www.comicsall...-colleen-coover



You can probably thank her for quite a number of female players.

[Riona45]

Apollo Starflare wrote...

Actually DAO was much more open about the ability to play as a woman than the ME series has been. It wasn't perfect, but they had special character art based on the Origins that featured female versions of the Warden amongst other things. DAO never had the 'Sheploo effect' like Mass Effect did, where the marketing was focused so completely on the one image of Shepard that they restricted all the stuff about the female Shepard.

Indeed, and from some of the dev posts I am getting the impression that Lady Hawke will eventually be shown to the world.

[Anarya]

BW326 wrote...

First, It looks like you have spent quite a bit of money on games Bioware hasn't marketed to you considering you have registered Mass Effect 2, DA:O and DA:O Awakening. My point being you found out about the games somehow... They may not be marketing to you directly but what they are doing is obviously working.
Second, I'm sure the Bioware marketing team has conducted focus groups providing feedback about their marketing materials long before we have ever seen any of them. It is highly unlikely that there were no females amidst the focus group members.

Well, I guess "getting the game into my house via marketing to my boyfriend" is a strategy of sorts, though I wouldn't say it's all that efficient considering I only gave Origins a shot out of sheer boredom when it happened to be lying around. There's an equally good chance I'd never have played it at all.

[tpryan01]

"It's not as if people have to know that they can play as their own gender to want to play a game."
-Collider

"My brother a final fantasy fan refused to play it due to the main character being a female. He said he cant relate to a female."
-Apollo Starflare

Modifié par tpryan01, 23 août 2010 - 04:56 .

[Riona45]

NonCanon wrote...
Although it would very refreshing and nice for a femHawke to be in the advertising, I don't really care if they do. I know that I have the option to make a female character and that's all that matters to me.

I care about it because not everyone is as "in the know" about this series as I am.  Advertising is much more powerful than people are willing to give it credit for.

[Arttis]

People play for many reasons.

Some play it so they can imagine themselves as another person *roleplaying*

Not many guys wanna do that and imagine they are a woman...unless your confused about yourself or/do not care much.

Most guy who do not care probably are not playing for that reason.

[Saibh]

tpryan01 wrote...

except that was the actual cnet title I was quoting and now you are not longer quoting the title but changing it.

As to how I got into the game. I didn't for a long time. I had no idea I could play as a girl until this article by the amazingly talented Colleen Coover appeared in my twiter feed

http://www.comicsall...-colleen-coover

You can probably thank her for quite a number of female players.

I think you're undermining the "women are a larger fanbase than you think" cause by saying that one comic book artist was able to move a portion of us over. There are plenty of pre-existing gamers and fangirls of BioWare that knew ahead of time.

Modifié par Saibh, 23 août 2010 - 04:58 .