122 réponses à ce sujet

[Puppy Love]

Me thinks the op has underestimated the power of Google and advertising in general. Female gamers don't live under a patriarchal rock, oblivious to what's happening on the internet. They can, in fact, Google stuff just as effectively as men.

 

*mind boggled*

Can and will/won't are two different things.  Especially when shopping in some a game shop where game research usually equals pick up interesting looking box look at / read back, make decision to buy or put it back, check next interesting game, eventually leave forget all about it.  Google never enters the picture in 80% of game box checks and passes. 

 

I know I don't look up every game I perused at a game shop and put back because the game just was not marketed with my tastes in mind, once I give it a pass it leaves my mind.  Besides it is not my job to do marketing teams job for them.  It is literally their job to put this information out there in such a way it catches my attention and gets my sale.  If I need to do more than read the back of the box for such basic features, they've failed at their job as a marketing team, because there's no guarantee it will be seen anywhere else by a large number of customers who might otherwise have been interested. 

 

You massively overestimate people's pro-activity when it comes to looking for a gaming product.  Also if you tell me you look up all the details online for every game you give a once over at the store I'm calling, your and every other person who says: look it up online's, bullshit, so don't even bother trying to make that claim no one will believe it for a second.

 

Google is not an excuse for the marketing teams consistent failures in this department.

[Lady Nuggins]

Even aside from reviews, Wikipedia works well enough for things like that (as long as it's cited). Or just Google "____ gender choice" for any game and the answer should become apparent very quickly. Hardly L-level detective work required.

Ideally the official website would make it easy to find the info you're looking for where you wouldn't have to consider the reliability of the info, but sadly the "official website" for a game is often just a full page advertisement with the occasional snippet of information hidden here and there, and/or they like to get overly fancy with the layout. (see DAI's official site) Luckily a crappy official site doesn't disable Google.

Though I understand Allan's point about being new to gaming, it's not really that hard, even with "think like a general, fight like a spartan" level dumb marketing that DA2 had. (thanks for reminding me of that website) It's not like doing a little digging online is something only useful for making gaming purchases.

 

Again, though, if the company itself is giving absolutely no indication that it's even within the realm of possibility, most people will accept that it is not an option and move on without bothering to do further research.  I mean, the basic description of DA2 bothers to list what classes you can play but not what gender.  I would look at that and say "the option to choose my gender is at least as important as class, so the fact that they don't mention it probably means there isn't a choice."

 

Remember, marketing isn't really for the hardcore fans who are already checking gaming news sites and reviews regularly, and therefore already know all the important things about the games they want (and reliable places to look those things up if they don't know).  It's for the players who might have never heard of the game before, and who probably aren't seeking this information out themselves.  I find it rather elitist how people keep insisting that you shouldn't buy games if you aren't going to thoroughly research your potential purchases.  If we were talking about, say, a film, and how poor marketing had turned people away from something they actually discovered they enjoyed later, we wouldn't be wagging our fingers at those people for not researching the film better.  We'd be talking about how yet another poorly-thought-out marketing campaign had misrepresented a film to its potential consumers.  

[CENIC]

I look forward to the day where box art for games where you can choose the hero's gender has both represented, and for the day where a AAA studio can have a female protagonist in their A team game for a major franchise without that being considered "too risky."

[chance52]

I look forward to the day where box art for games where you can choose the hero's gender has both represented, and for the day where a AAA studio can have a female protagonist in their A team game for a major franchise without that being considered "too risky."

 

What? Literally been done for decades. Metroid, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Mercenaries, Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm, Borderlands. Fallout series, Elder Scroll series, Left4Dead2 and those are just off the top of my head where you can (or have to) play as a female protagonist.  There are even more examples out there I'm sure as I only buy like 3 games a year and that doesn't even include the games where you have a female team member that isn't just a walking sex symbol.

[Lady Nuggins]

I never really had a dog in this marketing fight though. I've been following bioware closely since the boxes had symbols, not iconic scruffy dudes. If you want bioware to chase after a broader audience than they've been chasing to bring in a larger number of female fans, by all means.

It's when the discussion is on an individual level with a personal story about how bioware hurt me by not including something that I could have googled that I feel it's just a little melodramatic. I get the damage on the macro level, not so much on the micro.

And I've only ever kept insisting a friendly google with regard to the professed avid DAO fan who raved about it to all of her friends. I'm sure plenty of people aren't going to bother if it doesn't superficially catch their interest, and the result is less female players on the whole, yes. The OP is no ordinary female player though. The OP is one of us. I am an inclusive elitist. 

 

I don't think I'm wanting Bioware to chase a broader audience than they've been chasing--I think they've always been trying to appeal to a broader audience than hardcore gamers, but the marketing doesn't always reflect that.  I'm saying they should advertise features that are already part of the game that happen to appeal to a wider range of people.  If they were making games that only appealed to one demographic, then it would be appropriate to market only to that demographic, but they are not.

 

I just consider these kinds of stories (and this is not at all the first one I've heard on BSN) reflective of where the marketing is failing.  So yes, this one person could have Googled it herself, but it still shows a failure on the marketing side.

 

What? Literally been done for decades. Metroid, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Mercenaries, Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm, Borderlands. Fallout series, Elder Scroll series, Left4Dead2 and those are just off the top of my head where you can (or have to) play as a female protagonist.  There are even more examples out there I'm sure as I only buy like 3 games a year and that doesn't even include the games where you have a female team member that isn't just a walking sex symbol.

 

And yet, it's still considered risky to have a female protagonist in a game--or, if there is, to feature her in the advertising in any way.  Which is why it's remarkable when the creators of The Last of Us refused to hide Ellie in the back when told she would hurt sales, or that Remember Me got made even though publishers rejected it based on the female protagonist.  In fact, even when games do get made with female characters, they tend to get 40% of the advertising budget that games with male protagonists do.  And DA2, which was released only 3 years ago by a company that has always been more inclusive than most, all but ignored Lady Hawke's existence outside the game.

[CENIC]

What? Literally been done for decades. Metroid, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Mercenaries, Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm, Borderlands. Fallout series, Elder Scroll series, Left4Dead2 and those are just off the top of my head where you can (or have to) play as a female protagonist. There are even more examples out there I'm sure as I only buy like 3 games a year and that doesn't even include the games where you have a female team member that isn't just a walking sex symbol.

I was feeling bitter about the Assassin's Creed series in particular. Two female protagonists and one is in a Vita game while the other is in a mobile game. :/

 

Here's a humorous jab at all those covers with a man walking towards the viewer with his chin down and eyes up:
 

[AutumnWitch]

Jumping into this waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay late, but OP mentioned she started gaming in 2012 and DAO was like her first game.  It could simply be that knowing where and how to dig up the information and so forth was something that she wasn't all that familiar with.

 

 

To the OP, thanks for sharing.  There has certainly been a good amount of discussion on it, and BioWare has tried to be much more diverse in the Inquisitor when showing off the games this time around (I was worried we wouldn't be, but I think response to just the snippet at E3 was really positive!).  It's an interesting balance for having recognizable imagery while showing character creation options and whatnot, but I think we've done pretty well with DAI thus far.

 

Yes, it was my very first video game and I was oblivious to where all the help/info was online.

 

And yes, I have seen a much more inclusive marketing campaign for DAI. After I posted the OP, I asked about half a dozen of my friends (30+ year olds) IRL who know NOTHING about video game to look up DAI and tell me who they think BW was aiming it at and all of them came back with pretty even keeled responses. Even the ones who said it might be more slanted one way or the other said no matter what side you are on (from a marketing perspective) all sides were well represented.

 

So much better this time IMHO.

[chance52]

I was feeling bitter about the Assassin's Creed series in particular. Two female protagonists and one is in a Vita game while the other is in a mobile game. :/

 

Here's a humorous jab at all those covers with a man walking towards the viewer with his chin down and eyes up:
 

 

I know what I'm doing for my next drivers license photo!

[robertthebard]

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.

Just my 2 pence in reply:

Have you not looked at the marketing for Inquisition? How is any of this relevant to what they're doing with this game? So your complaint is now that the Fem Inquisitor isn't shown as a lesbian? Releasing info about the sexual preferences of the companions didn't cover the bases enough for you?

After 15 seconds on Google. So you did a lot of research into DA 2, online, according to you, but missed that?

[BioticMarauder]

OP just make sure to use Google the next time you make a purchase. It literally takes just a few minutes (or a few seconds if you only want to know the protagonist's gender). I always do a lot of research before I buy a game, to see if the plot and gameplay are good and if my PC meets the recommended system requirements. No harm can come to you if you just take a bit of time to learn more about it.

 

As a customer, I personally would never buy a game based solely on advertisements. I agree there are a LOT of people out there who buy stuff without thinking twice, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be one among them.

[Shinobu]

Just my 2 pence in reply:

Have you not looked at the marketing for Inquisition? How is any of this relevant to what they're doing with this game? So your complaint is now that the Fem Inquisitor isn't shown as a lesbian? Releasing info about the sexual preferences of the companions didn't cover the bases enough for you?

After 15 seconds on Google. So you did a lot of research into DA 2, online, according to you, but missed that?

 

Just my 2 cents in reply:

 

Have you not looked at the posts in this thread? How is a random image search of DA2 relevant to what the OP is saying? So your complaint is that when image searching DA2 there are pictures that show female characters and a person should know that Isabella is not the PC but that FemHawke is? A reasonable request to put sex customization on the box is too "out there" for you?

 

After 10 seconds on Amazon. So you read the thread but missed that?

 

Do you enjoy being talked to this way? Being civil would have been better.

[robertthebard]

Just my 2 cents in reply:
 
Have you not looked at the posts in this thread? How is a random image search of DA2 relevant to what the OP is saying? So your complaint is that when image searching DA2 there are pictures that show female characters and a person should know that Isabella is not the PC but that FemHawke is? A reasonable request to put sex customization on the box is too "out there" for you?
 
After 10 seconds on Amazon. So you read the thread but missed that?
 
Do you enjoy being talked to this way? Being civil would have been better.

As a matter of fact, I do. However, that was the civil version of the 15 different attempts I made at posting: Are you kidding me with this? This topic would have been relevant, 3 years ago, hell, I'll be generous, it would have been relevant 5 or 6 months ago, but the reality is, it has absolutely no bearing on what the marketing team has been doing to date with Inquisition. Of course, I wouldn't expect the OP to know that, considering how "thorough" her search was on DA 2. I realize that Allan gave her a pass since she's new to gaming and all, as of 2012, but, since Google is used for more than searching for game information, and she claims to have done her research online, I'd say that that argument isn't holding a lot of water. One does not have to be a gamer to know about Google, nor does one have to be a gamer to use it.

So her suggestion was what, "Hey BioWare, you should do what you're doing with every game you've ever released, even though some of them are so old they won't run on modern computers."? Is there a viable suggestion in there for this game? No. Since they were taking her "advice" 6 months before she posted it. The "feedback" runs along the same vein: "Hey, I haven't looked at anything the marketing department has been doing, but you should make it known that people can play as a female, and have lesbian relationships if they want to sell games". Seems to me, based on the available information that we have, to date, that this point has already been made, so again, what was the point of this thread? It seems like the OP hasn't been following this game even as thoroughly as I have, which is, admittedly, not very well. However, instead of my coming here with posts insisting that they do what they're already doing based on my lack of knowledge, I read the forums, I follow relevant links, and then I say something, instead of coming here and firmly inserting my foot in my mouth demanding/suggesting that they do something that they are already doing.

Like I said, the original version was civil. In that version, I didn't state that the OP didn't do any research before posting, I just implied it, although I did ask if she had looked at any of the material available.

How much change do I owe you for your 2 pence? 1.9 pence for the point you almost made?

[Grieving Natashina]

This isn't just for DA:I though.  The Feedback section is also for what folks would like to see going forward.  So yeah, they are allowed to post concerns and thoughts.

 

If you think the OP didn't do enough research from something that should be on the main site, then just say so.  Being passive-aggressive leaves the impression that you're at best dismissive of the OP and mocking at worst.  If you disagree, then that's your opinion.  I'm not sure why you keep coming back, when it's apparent that you think this is a waste of time.

 

Should they have to google just to find out if they can play a gender?  You say it's no longer meaningful to ask for this kind of promotion.  To which I say: That's crap.  

 

Sad to say, this is still relevant, more so now than ever.  Does a guy have to do a bunch of research on google to find out if he can play a male character?  No, because the advertising shows it at every opportunity.  So, how exactly is it fair to ask women to do the same?  It's a double standard to the highest degree.  As it is, games with female leads currently get 40% less of an advertising budget.  Why is that right to exclude about half of the player base from advertising?  If you say, "Women don't play as many AAA games," then I'd kindly suggest you do some research into it.  That's been proven to be untrue as well.

 

Not everyone goes and scarfs up every little bit of information just because they post on the forums.  It's apparent to the OP (and to me as well) that most games, including BioWare games in the past, rarely make the female PC the focus of marketing.  Yes, BioWare has done much better with DA:I.  Why?  Because of folks like the OP giving their feedback and know that their opinion is considered valid in the eyes of the company.  I see no harm in asking for more equal representation, since women are half of the general gamer fan base at this point in time.

 

Oh and within the past year, UbiSoft tried to claim that women were "too hard to animate" and had to get called out by one of their former devs to change it; Last of Us had to be really shopped around because they "dared" have a female protagonist.  Or another game, where they didn't want men to "feel uncomfortable" because their female PC kisses her love interest.  That isn't even touching the death/rape threats and other threats of violence that still happens to women reviewers, and women that dare reveal that they are a woman when they talk on Xbox Live.

 

The lack of marketing for women characters that don't look like Triss from TW is very shameful, and should always be talked about.  If you disagree, that's fine, but don't belittle someone for not being like you or me; folks that follow every link.

 

PS: Two years ago, ME3 came out.  I never knew about the femShep due to lack of advertising for her, as well as presenting the game as more of a shooter.  I was left with the impression that BioWare had finally caved and done a Halo/CoD clone.  I don't feel like I should have to go digging just to find out there are gender options.

 

 

To the OP: You haven't heard this much, but welcome to the world of gaming!  It's a truly great place, though it can be rough.  If you ever want recommendations for some good games, hit me up.  I can't say I'm any sort of expert, but I'm happy to tell you about the games I've loved over the years.

[Shinobu]

As a matter of fact, I do. However, that was the civil version of the 15 different attempts I made at posting: Are you kidding me with this? This topic would have been relevant, 3 years ago, hell, I'll be generous, it would have been relevant 5 or 6 months ago, but the reality is, it has absolutely no bearing on what the marketing team has been doing to date with Inquisition. Of course, I wouldn't expect the OP to know that, considering how "thorough" her search was on DA 2. I realize that Allan gave her a pass since she's new to gaming and all, as of 2012, but, since Google is used for more than searching for game information, and she claims to have done her research online, I'd say that that argument isn't holding a lot of water. One does not have to be a gamer to know about Google, nor does one have to be a gamer to use it.

So her suggestion was what, "Hey BioWare, you should do what you're doing with every game you've ever released, even though some of them are so old they won't run on modern computers."? Is there a viable suggestion in there for this game? No. Since they were taking her "advice" 6 months before she posted it. The "feedback" runs along the same vein: "Hey, I haven't looked at anything the marketing department has been doing, but you should make it known that people can play as a female, and have lesbian relationships if they want to sell games". Seems to me, based on the available information that we have, to date, that this point has already been made, so again, what was the point of this thread? It seems like the OP hasn't been following this game even as thoroughly as I have, which is, admittedly, not very well. However, instead of my coming here with posts insisting that they do what they're already doing based on my lack of knowledge, I read the forums, I follow relevant links, and then I say something, instead of coming here and firmly inserting my foot in my mouth demanding/suggesting that they do something that they are already doing.

Like I said, the original version was civil. In that version, I didn't state that the OP didn't do any research before posting, I just implied it, although I did ask if she had looked at any of the material available.

How much change do I owe you for your 2 pence? 1.9 pence for the point you almost made?

 

Apparently you haven't read the thread. Please come back when you have.

[Allan Schumacher]

Robertthebard,

 

What's your stake in this thread?

 

 

I realize that Allan gave her a pass since she's new to gaming and all

 

I didn't give her a pass.  I was telling others to calm down.

[aTigerslunch]

I don't read reviews hardly at all, I cant base my interest in a game on someone else's interest in a game.  I found two games I played just recently that a lot of people said yay on, I say nay on. I also seen one where there are tons of nay's but unable to play due to certain issues and cant say yay or nay to right now.

 

Also, just this year, couple months ago did a friend find out about DA due to me, she wasn't aware beforehand. The games didn't portray to her liking in advertisement. The issue with DAI is different than what is still going on though, but I did mention that trailers are better received than gameplay videos. Trailers are a little better about not spoiling versus gameplay videos. Which means, there is a need for at least one more female trailer. If it doesn't happen, then at least make sure the box cover says "Can play as male or female."   I know that isn't enough for certain other people but it would help in most cases.

 

Actually, customize gender might be even better to say, but could be misleading to a few.

 

Also, Metroid (think that is right), is a fail to suggest non-sexualized, finding out was a female by making her wear a bikini actually was the wrong way to say, Your playing a female character, there was better ways to say it.

[Tayah]

I don't read reviews hardly at all, I cant base my interest in a game on someone else's interest in a game.  I found two games I played just recently that a lot of people said yay on, I say nay on. I also seen one where there are tons of nay's but unable to play due to certain issues and cant say yay or nay to right now.

 

Also, just this year, couple months ago did a friend find out about DA due to me, she wasn't aware beforehand. The games didn't portray to her liking in advertisement. The issue with DAI is different than what is still going on though, but I did mention that trailers are better received than gameplay videos. Trailers are a little better about not spoiling versus gameplay videos. Which means, there is a need for at least one more female trailer. If it doesn't happen, then at least make sure the box cover says "Can play as male or female."   I know that isn't enough for certain other people but it would help in most cases.

 

Actually, customize gender might be even better to say, but could be misleading to a few.

 

Also, Metroid (think that is right), is a fail to suggest non-sexualized, finding out was a female by making her wear a bikini actually was the wrong way to say, Your playing a female character, there was better ways to say it.

I agree with this especially the bolded. I'm following this game because I like the dragon age series but if I weren't following a series I wouldn't necessarily know what my choices are unless I happen over a trailer, (and the novelty of an internet connection good enough to actually watch trailers without waiting half an hour for every few seconds hasn't worn off yet... it's so new I forget I can watch them now half the time  ) so a simple line on the box that says pick your gender, race and class in games that give you these options would be really helpful. Whether it's a 1st or 3rd person game or both would be nice to know as well... while we're at it.

 

@Natashina, that was brilliantly said thank you and I totally agree.

 

Also I got into mass effect just before 2 came out I think after first giving it a miss for the same reasons you did, no indication you could play a female and I thought it was a shooter aimed at the COD crowd too. I hate having to dig to find gender options and if it's a game I see on the shelf and think I might like I still need to go home to find out what my options are. If it was on the box I wouldn't have to do that... and I'd probably actually buy more games that let you know that on the spot instead of forgetting about them again by the time I've gotten home.

 

Yes the advertising for DAI has been great at showing both genders though I agree with Tiger that trailers are more likely to be seen than gameplay demos by people not closely following a game so another female inquisitor trailer that actually puts the female inquisitor front and centre and deep in the action would be nice too. I do think the demos have been fantastic and I'm really glad that we've had them and I'm pretty thrilled with them too.

 

Oh and at OP, echoing what Natashina said, welcome and I hope you continue to enjoy gaming for many years to come. 

 

TL:DR My suggestion since this is a thread in the feedback and suggestions forum... please put a line on the box indicating you can pick your gender/race/class when you have those options in the game. Who knows maybe it'll even catch on. 

[SardaukarElite]

So her suggestion was what, "Hey BioWare, you should do what you're doing with every game you've ever released, even though some of them are so old they won't run on modern computers."? Is there a viable suggestion in there for this game? No.

 

This is a feedback thread. Saying "Yo BioWare, if you make it clear on your boxes I can be woman it would make it easier for me to buy your game." is feedback. If they're doing it great that's something they know is working for someone, if not great that's something they can work on.

 

But suppose you're right, it's a pointless suggestion, what's the problem? This is an entirely separate thread so it isn't jamming anything. Do you need to come in and start a little battle over something you don't see the point in?

[aTigerslunch]

For a game company, it would boost sales for those that are looking for that specific element, why not add it? Companies should do this, so they don't miss out on first time sales.

 

Currently, there are sales from some still going on to this day that could of been caught at the beginning with higher revenue for them if it had stated the mention at the beginning instead of 3 years later. It doesn't hurt, it helps.

[robertthebard]

Robertthebard,
 
What's your stake in this thread?
 
 
 
 
 
I didn't give her a pass.  I was telling others to calm down.

My "stake", I suppose, is that the entire thread has no bearing on the current situation with Inquisition? I mean, I did comment on that, to the point of asking the OP if she'd even read the marketing material that's been made available. It's like the people asking me if I think people should Google for information. I couldn't care less, but when they outright state that they researched something online, as the OP does, you'd think that no matter what search engine one used, images of FemHawke would come up. I mean, I linked the first image page that come up in my Google search, and what do ya' know, an image of the character selector from DA 2. I guess my issue is, when someone says they researched something online, I expect that that's what they meant, not "Well, I went to one site and no FemHawke, so I got all passive aggressive and quit looking". In that context, along with the complaints about what wasn't done with DA 2, but is being done with Inquisition, I asked if Marketing were going to have to market the female Inquisitor as a lesbian, since, reading through her entire post, that's the only thing that would meet the criteria of her post that isn't already being done.

To your second comment here: My brother, at 50, only learned how to turn on a computer about 2 years ago, and through helping his daughter and his new smart phone, he knows how to find things online if he wants to look them up. He can even post to Facebook now. So when someone says they researched something online, a lot of us think of Google first, since in order to research something, you actually have to look it up. This is why I said what I said about your argument not holding water. There are a lot of games that I would never have looked at if all I saw about them was the blurb on Amazon. However, I also wouldn't claim that I did any kind of online research about said games if that's all I read, and I sure wouldn't try to hold that blurb over a game company's head as proof that their marketing team isn't doing a very good job.

[Tayah]

Personally when I look something up I rarely look with an images tab and unless in context images of females in a game just tell me there are female characters in game... I've long since learned that doesn't mean I can play a female. In a search with the name I get websites about a game and I've learned that wikipedia is often the most likely to tell me if I can actually play a female character or not. I used to go to a game's website first but most won't tell you even if you go through every bit of information they list about the game... this is true of both games that do and don't offer gender choice. 

 

If you're not used to researching games and you get a few websites rather than images (and images without further information can be confusing) it can be very hard to find out much about a game especially if you already have prejudices against wikipedia. Note: I don't use google so in a general search I don't get images or they appear with three images and a "did you want images?" type thing. I did follow the image link earlier and did my own image search and then realised there's a problem with the results we get... they're what's available now, not what was available when the OP did her search a couple of years ago before the game was actually released. I'm leaving my search in because I still think what I noticed may be relevant.

 

In doing a search on DA2 images in the top line was one image that showed female Hawke, after that you have to scroll a long way to find another of her and that's now after the game's been out a long time. When it was first released most images and all the trailers were of male Hawke. What a search at the time of release and just before would have shown is very different to what's available now and I think that's worth remembering too. It wasn't until just before DA2 was released that we even saw an image of female Hawke on the forums to the best of my memory. As has been said/implied earlier if gender choice matters to a player you only have to research it extensively if you're looking to play a female character and that's disappointing.

 

My real point is that while the marketing to fans already curious about the game is great and anyone researching DAI now would find gender choices going through the main site and hopefully most other places is that people who walk into a store and decide there whether a game is worth further research might not know about it if that matters to them and if all the marketing in store is geared around male inquisitors might still assume from that DAI is another male PC game and go no further and that would be sad. The solution to me is to put a line on the box/seller's listing that says you can customise your inquisitor's gender, race and class so right up front people don't have to research something so basic. (1st, 3rd and isometric views would be nice to see on boxes and in seller's blurbs too and it need not take up much room).

 

Sorry if this got confusing a few thoughts struck me while writing it and took me in a few directions all at once.

[Allan Schumacher]

I'm closing this thread as the discussion is duplicated in the other thread about Female Inquisitor in marketing.