Electronic Arts COO David Gardner recently said at a conference in Edinburgh that the video game business has done a poor job of reaching out to women. If his company could solve that issue, he believes the potential revenue "could add a billion dollars to sales," according to a BBC article.
EAis research has discovered that 90% of teenage boys play video games, versus 40% of teenage girls, most of whom lose interest within a year. Mr. Gardner noted that The Sims, which is available for the Mac and is the best-selling computer game ever, has a female-dominated fan base, with 70% of the players women under the age of 25.
"The Sims is really a game about relationships - and thatis what girls want - they want relationships, they want to be able to chat," he said.
He added that his industry needs "mega hits in the girl space," and to get there, it will need to add more women to creative teams. "Itis going to be new people and experiments," he said. "Four of our 11 studios around the world are run by women. Thatis an important start."
Thanks to Inside Mac Games for the heads-up.