122 réponses à ce sujet

[AutumnWitch]

I have been meaning to post this for a while but just haven’t had time. But I wanted to post a real life testimonial to how important marketing really is to certain segments of your audience.

Let me start out by saying my demographic is over 30+ year old lesbian woman. (This is important later)

I got into video games back in 2012. I was in a accident and was confined to little physical activity for many months. So I bought a PS3 to help kill time. I had no idea what games to get so I had a few relatives who played and I asked them for a suggestion. My criteria was I wanted an fantasy, RPG where I could play as female and didn’t have to run around in underwear skimpy armour. I also wanted a game with a great plot. Someone suggested DAO and so I purchased it. Mind you I never ONCE was exposed to any BW marketing as I bought the game entirely by word of mouth only.

Fast forward three months later and I think DAO is the best thing since sliced bread. And once I found out I could have a F/F romance I went bonkers. I told all my friends how great the game was, how cool plot was and how it had actual romance options. I was one happy gamer.

About three months after that I had played DAO and all its DLC many times and wanted something else to play. So of course I wanted to know if there was a sequel. And to my great surprise there was DA2.

When I went to buy DA2 I went to several places online to look at it. As it happened this time I did look at the box and the trailers. It just happened by chance that every single thing I can across had the male Hawke associated with it. Even the online reviews I found all referred to a male Hawke. So I assumed that you had to play as a male Hawke. So I didn’t buy the game. I was now a disappointed gamer.

Keep in mind, even though I loved DAO and knew from playing DAO that you could pick a gender I still assumed that this was not the case with DA2 solely based on the marketing materials I saw. Now, I feel stupid over this assumption but that is how powerful marketing can be. In this case I didn’t buy the product because I thought I was excluded from playing how I wanted to play.

As it turns out, a month or so later I googled RPG games that you can play as a woman and I got DA2 in my search results. Then I quickly looked into it and confirmed the situation and literally minutes later I had ordered DA2.

I was ecstatic and so happy and now I love DA2 as much as I do DAO. But what bothers me is that if it wasn’t by chance I would have never played it.

The bottom line is, EA/BW you need to let people who aren’t your main demographic  know that there are options for them in your marketing campaigns and not just little peripheral ways but BIG obvious way so we know. Humans are visual creatures whether we like it or not and when we actually see something we like we tend to want to have it.

Just my 2 pence.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Female Inquisitors have had more screen time than Male Inquisitors. 

[TheJiveDJ]

If you were really so obsessed with DAO I'm a little surprised the extent of your DA2 research was "the box and trailers."

 

I tend to agree. Don't get me wrong OP, this was a touching post; and sure, the marketing departments should aim beyond their main demographic for inclusiveness. But really, a two second Google search would've given you a wealth of information without even having to leave your house to look at the game box.

[AutumnWitch]

If you were really so obsessed with DAO I'm a little surprised the extent of your DA2 research was "the box and trailers."

 

I wasn't obsessed with it. I just really enjoyed it.

[chance52]

You didn't buy a game because you thought the main character had to me a man?

 

You said you were older than 30, shouldn't things like that not matter to you at this point? I mean there are a lot of good games out there where you can't play as a woman. Heck some games you can't even play as a human. If the story is good and the characters are well done shouldn't that be all that matters?

[Shinobu]

I think her point is that Bioware is missing out on sales to people who want to play as a female but who don't do research apart from reading the box. I didn't even want to pick up the box for Mass Effect because it had some white male jarhead on it and I thought I'd have to play as him. It was only after researching that I found out I could choose to be female.

 

Here is the Amazon description of Mass Effect. Nowhere on the page does it say you can play as a female.

 

On the page for the trilogy edition they actually mention Shepard can be a woman, but on the PC page for Mass Effect 3 they only say Shepard is customizable, which really isn't specific enough.

[Lady Nuggins]

I tend to agree. Don't get me wrong OP, this was a touching post; and sure, the marketing departments should aim beyond their main demographic for inclusiveness. But really, a two second Google search would've given you a wealth of information without even having to leave your house to look at the game box.

 

Why is it the job of the consumer to find these things out?  It's a failure of the marketing team if there is absolutely nothing conveying this basic information about the game.  

 

Especially because many games where you can customize your character do not allow you to change your gender.  So yes, if it does not clearly demonstrate that playing a female character is an option, it's easy to assume that it is not an option.  

[The Antagonist]

There's a huge thread in feedback subforum about this.

[AlexiaRevan]

 

 

You didn't buy a game because you thought the main character had to me a man?



You said you were older than 30, shouldn't things like that not matter to you at this point? I mean there are a lot of good games out there where you can't play as a woman. Heck some games you can't even play as a human. If the story is good and the characters are well done shouldn't that be all that matters?

Did you miss the part where she say , it was her 1st game as well ? Those who played games for years...would go look for more informations . When someone is still new to something...rarely they do . And even if they do *which she did*......it painted that it was all male . 

Her age isn't a factor you know . It was a first experience thing . If someone find out they like strawberry ice cream and want to experience straweberry ice cream . You can't go and say 'just try all the ice cream ' . thats killing one person 1st time fun . They will eventualy try all the ice cream..but that 1st experience..is what will mark them for life and what will set their personal taste . 

[Shinobu]

You didn't buy a game because you thought the main character had to me a man?

 

You said you were older than 30, shouldn't things like that not matter to you at this point? I mean there are a lot of good games out there where you can't play as a woman. Heck some games you can't even play as a human. If the story is good and the characters are well done shouldn't that be all that matters?

 

I don't buy games where I have to play as a man just because I most enjoy playing as a woman. Though I'm probably missing out on some good games, I don't really care.  My goal isn't to play as many games as possible, I just want to play a few that I really like. (I don't automatically buy games where the protagonist is female, either, BTW.)

 

What does being over 30 have to do with not caring about a protagonist's sex?  Are you implying that mature gamers shouldn't have preferences?

[The Antagonist]

Why is it the job of the consumer to find these things out? It's a failure of the marketing team if there is absolutely nothing conveying this basic information about the game.

Especially because many games where you can customize your character do not allow you to change your gender. So yes, if it does not clearly demonstrate that playing a female character is an option, it's easy to assume that it is not an option.

Are they supposed to advertise every little feature of the game?

[Lady Nuggins]

You didn't buy a game because you thought the main character had to me a man?

 

You said you were older than 30, shouldn't things like that not matter to you at this point? I mean there are a lot of good games out there where you can't play as a woman. Heck some games you can't even play as a human. If the story is good and the characters are well done shouldn't that be all that matters?

 

How many men have posted on the forums in the past few weeks that they don't feel comfortable playing a female character?  I personally enjoy branching out and role playing many different kinds of people, but that's not everybody.  And anyway, even though I do also enjoy playing male characters, I will automatically pay more attention to games that offer a female option, because they are harder to find.  The novelty of being able to play as your own gender is huge. 

 

Are they supposed to advertise every little feature of the game?

 

If it's major enough to be a deciding factor for many people in whether or not they will purchase a game, then yes.

[Shinobu]

Are they supposed to advertise every little feature of the game?

 

Yes, if the perceived absence of the feature decreases sales.

 

'd

[The Antagonist]

Since the best selling games have a set character and, most importantly, the vast majority of ME players used the default shepard I'm inclined to believe that choosing gender is not a feature people care for.

[Lady Nuggins]

Since the best selling games have a set character and, most importantly, the vast majority of ME players used the default shepard I'm inclined to believe that choosing gender is not a feature people care for.

 

You're right, Bioware should just chuck out customizable characters altogether.  All those threads about what people plan to name their Inquisitors or what race and class they'll play are a farce.  Actually why don't they just make all their games into CoD clones?  Everybody knows that's the only thing that sells.

[Neon Rising Winter]

Since the best selling games have a set character and, most importantly, the vast majority of ME players used the default shepard I'm inclined to believe that choosing gender is not a feature people care for.

See also racial selection, the rogue class, 'evil' choices and probably a couple of difficulty levels. I imagine you could suggest a sizeable number of features are not something people care for using that logic.

[chance52]

Did you miss the part where she say , it was her 1st game as well ? Those who played games for years...would go look for more informations . When someone is still new to something...rarely they do . And even if they do *which she did*......it painted that it was all male . 

Her age isn't a factor you know . It was a first experience thing . If someone find out they like strawberry ice cream and want to experience straweberry ice cream . You can't go and say 'just try all the ice cream ' . thats killing one person 1st time fun . They will eventualy try all the ice cream..but that 1st experience..is what will mark them for life and what will set their personal taste . 

 

DA:O was her first game, I did read it.  She didn't buy DA2 at first because she thought she had to play with a male character.  Also not sure your ice cream analogy is coming through like it should. But perhaps it's simply me missing something because I'm replying to 3 people at once.

 

I don't buy games where I have to play as a man just because I most enjoy playing as a woman. Though I'm probably missing out on some good games, I don't really care.  My goal isn't to play as many games as possible, I just want to play a few that I really like. (I don't automatically buy games where the protagonist is female, either, BTW.)

 

What does being over 30 have to do with not caring about a protagonist's sex?  Are you implying that mature gamers shouldn't have preferences?

 

I'm not saying people should play as many games as possible, but as a general thought I would imagine people would like to look for a game that is good vs. looking for their gender. 

 

As for the over 30 comment you both question. What I mean is at 30 or older the same things that mean so much to you when you are younger don't mean as much to an adult. I rank what gender the main character is in a piece of entertainment, movies/books/video games/whatever, mattering so much you will not touch the product if you don't see the correct gender for you up there with the things an adult shouldn't care about. Not because people can't have preferences but because with a certain amount of life experience most people discover that venturing out of their comfort zones can often lead them to new things they like.  And that having such rigid constraints on what they will expose themselves to often lead to hassles when they are inflexible. So my comment about being over 30 is about a person already having learned those lessons.

 

How many men have posted on the forums in the past few weeks that they don't feel comfortable playing a female character?  I personally enjoy branching out and role playing many different kinds of people, but that's not everybody.  And anyway, even though I do also enjoy playing male characters, I will automatically pay more attention to games that offer a female option, because they are harder to find.  The novelty of being able to play as your own gender is huge. 

 

 

If it's major enough to be a deciding factor for many people in whether or not they will purchase a game, then yes.

 

Men shouldn't care about playing a female character either in my opinion for the same reason's there are a lot of good options out there where you can't play as your own gender. (Though I am not visiting the same threads as you are because I haven't read any such comment on BSN recently)  I am not a dragon and I played a Spyro game. I'm not a dwarf or a mage or a thief or a woman and yet I played all the origins from DA:O as all of those things.  I'm not a British spy yet I liked several 007 movies, not because I imagine myself as a spy but because I liked the movies.

 

Perhaps it's my assumption that others play RPG's like I do, for the story, not to imagine themselves as the protagonist, which is leading to the fault.  I fully understand what RPG stands for and what it is for someone to role play, at the same time I value story above all else when it comes to an RPG and as such I don't care if the protagonist is an avatar of myself or not.  Though clearly others feel differently.

[Tevinter Rose]

I'm hoping or was hoping that Bioware would release a trailer highlighting each race and gender selection. I think the level of customization they have is amazing and they should get that information out there. 

[Neon Rising Winter]

Bear in mind that at over 30, I got to put up with a lot more of the 'But thou shalt play a male character' malarkey. In my middle age, presented with more choice, less time and less tolerance for that kind of irritation, I am far more likely to pass on a game that doesn't give me a choice. I'm also getting to the point where I don't bother googling to find out, at least not on anything I'm just casually interested in. If they can't be bothered to tell me, I can't be bothered to buy their game.

[pdusen]

I don't follow. You were a big fan of the first game and knew that you could play a woman in that game. When doubt first entered your mind about whether that feature was still present in DA2, it didn't occur to you to try and find out for sure (via google etc)?

 

You're correct that the male-centric marketing probably was misleading to people not already familiar with the franchise, but that doesn't really explain your story.

[Shinobu]

Since the best selling games have a set character and, most importantly, the vast majority of ME players used the default shepard I'm inclined to believe that choosing gender is not a feature people care for.

 

I'm a person and I care.

 

You're right that 80% of players played as BroShep, but I'd like you to go to the ME forum and propose that FemShep be removed from the trilogy because you're inclined to believe no people care about having her as an option. That should go well.

 

Most players also played as the soldier class, romanced Liara and didn't finish the game. Should we also infer that no people care about having the infiltrator class, Tali'Zorah or a good ending? I think not.

[Ceoldoren]

Since the best selling games have a set character and, most importantly, the vast majority of ME players used the default shepard I'm inclined to believe that choosing gender is not a feature people care for.

Well the masses probably don't, but I'm sure there's still a sizable chunk of the fanbase that likes it if these forums are any indication.

 

 

DA:O was her first game, I did read it.  She didn't buy DA2 at first because she thought she had to play with a male character.  Also not sure your ice cream analogy is coming through like it should. But perhaps it's simply me missing something because I'm replying to 3 people at once.

 

 

I'm not saying people should play as many games as possible, but as a general thought I would imagine people would like to look for a game that is good vs. looking for their gender. 

 

As for the over 30 comment you both question. What I mean is at 30 or older the same things that mean so much to you when you are younger don't mean as much to an adult. I rank what gender the main character is in a piece of entertainment, movies/books/video games/whatever, mattering so much you will not touch the product if you don't see the correct gender for you up there with the things an adult shouldn't care about. Not because people can't have preferences but because with a certain amount of life experience most people discover that venturing out of their comfort zones can often lead them to new things they like.  And that having such rigid constraints on what they will expose themselves to often lead to hassles when they are inflexible. So my comment about being over 30 is about a person already having learned those lessons.

 

 

Men shouldn't care about playing a female character either in my opinion for the same reason's there are a lot of good options out there where you can't play as your own gender. (Though I am not visiting the same threads as you are because I haven't read any such comment on BSN recently)  I am not a dragon and I played a Spyro game. I'm not a dwarf or a mage or a thief or a woman and yet I played all the origins from DA:O as all of those things.  I'm not a British spy yet I liked several 007 movies, not because I imagine myself as a spy but because I liked the movies.

 

Perhaps it's my assumption that others play RPG's like I do, for the story, not to imagine themselves as the protagonist, which is leading to the fault.  I fully understand what RPG stands for and what it is for someone to role play, at the same time I value story above all else when it comes to an RPG and as such I don't care if the protagonist is an avatar of myself or not.  Though clearly others feel differently.

How about we stop telling people what they should and shouldn't like and base their purchases on ?

[RevilFox]

 

 

As for the over 30 comment you both question. What I mean is at 30 or older the same things that mean so much to you when you are younger don't mean as much to an adult. I rank what gender the main character is in a piece of entertainment, movies/books/video games/whatever, mattering so much you will not touch the product if you don't see the correct gender for you up there with the things an adult shouldn't care about. Not because people can't have preferences but because with a certain amount of life experience most people discover that venturing out of their comfort zones can often lead them to new things they like.  And that having such rigid constraints on what they will expose themselves to often lead to hassles when they are inflexible. So my comment about being over 30 is about a person already having learned those lessons.

 

 

Men shouldn't care about playing a female character either in my opinion for the same reason's there are a lot of good options out there where you can't play as your own gender. (Though I am not visiting the same threads as you are because I haven't read any such comment on BSN recently)  I am not a dragon and I played a Spyro game. I'm not a dwarf or a mage or a thief or a woman and yet I played all the origins from DA:O as all of those things.  I'm not a British spy yet I liked several 007 movies, not because I imagine myself as a spy but because I liked the movies.

 

 

You're saying this as someone who has never had to go searching for a game where your sex was represented by the main character. The vast majority of all games made feature a male protagonist, so it's very easy to say that the sex of the main character doesn't matter to you. It's much easier to say you don't care when your sex is almost always catered to. And to be clear, I'm not saying that you're guilty of anything. That almost every protagonist is male is simply the way things have always been. But women have to actively search for games in which they are represented by the main protagonist. And because they are not catered to on a regular basis, it's much more likely to matter to them when it happens.