engaging girls with computers through software games

42 January 2000/Vol. 43, No. 1 COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM

EngagingGirlsComputersSOFTWAREGAMES

WITH

THROUGH �

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Arecent report from the ACM Commit-tee on Women in Computing (ACM-W)noted the alarming decrease of womengraduating with computer science bachelor

degrees. Indeed, the research showed a distressing24% drop in women pursuing CS degrees over thelast decade [1; www.acm.org/women/].

Today, a growing concern is that girls are losinginterest in computers, and thus, computer science,

very early in the pipeline. The reasons behind thisfact are quite complex and are due to the contribu-tions of many societal factors. Here, we focus oncomputer games because for most girls their firstcomputer experiences are solely through playingsoftware-based games. Unfortunately, the majorityof today’s games are aimed at a male market and inaddition are not of particular interest to girls, asshown in Figure 1. Thus, in many cases a girl’s first

The market is ripe, the time is now, for tapping into the potentialgold mine that surrounds computer games for girls.

COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM January 2000/Vol. 43, No. 1 43

experience with a computer is a negative one and canturn her off of computing right from the start.

Creating software games of interest to girls has thepotential to bring more girls into computing at earlyages, thus increasing the numbers throughout thepipeline. In addition to this positive effect, the gamemarket for girls has tremendous business potential.In fact, the 25 million girls between the ages of 6 and18 constitute one of the largest untapped consumerelectronics markets in the U.S.

The realization of the prospects from this huge,untapped market came in November 1996, whenMattel Media, Inc. (El Segundo, Calif.), released“Barbie Fashion Designer,” a CD-ROM game forgirls five years and older that allows them to designclothes for their Barbie dolls and then print themout on a light fabric with any laser printer. The gamewas the sixth best-selling CD-ROM game in 1996

and 1997. Mattel sold more than 200,000 unitswithin the first month of its release. In the last twomonths of 1996, retailers sold $11.5 million worth.

With the success of Mattel’s “Barbie FashionDesigner,” game software developers realized thepotential of this large and relatively unexplored mar-ket. Hoping for similar success, other game develop-ers have scrambled to provide games for the girlmarket segment. Game companies released a num-ber of titles they felt reflected girls’ interests and playpatterns in the second half of 1997 and early 1998.

The interactive entertainment software industrygenerated approximately $5 billion in retail sales inNorth America in 1997, including games for dedi-cated video-game consoles and for personal comput-ers (PCs), as well as online games. As shown in Table1, the entertainment software industry is continuingto grow rapidly.

CECILIA M. GORRIZ AND CLAUDIA MEDINA

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As the marketplace for computer-based entertain-ment changes, and as software developers designmore content for girls, analysts expect females tospend more money on computers, games, onlineaccess, and other technology tools that have tradi-tionally targeted male consumers. Indeed, SRI Con-

sulting analysts estimate that if software gamedevelopers provide compelling and interesting gamecontent, the girls’ game market could, at a mini-mum, account for more than 20% by 2001 of theCD-ROM game market, excluding console com-puter and online games.

In general, the entertainment software marketfocused on males is divided into three ages groups:over 35, 18–35, and under 18, as shown in Figure 2.On the other hand, the female computer game mar-ket can be broken into: the adult female market (18and older), the teen market (girls between the agesof 13 and 17), and the preteen market (girls between

the ages of 8 and 12). The primary female gamemarkets are the teen and preteen age groups.

The teen market especially seems to have poten-tial. A survey by Her Interactive, a division of Amer-ica Laser Games Inc., found that 10- to 15-year-oldgirls contribute some $50 billion per year to theU.S. economy, not only by spending on such itemsas clothes, jewelry, and makeup, but also on soft-ware. Nonetheless, research shows that women areas comfortable with information technology as menand use it as often as men do, but not necessarily forentertainment. However, this may be due to the factthat games have addressed only male interests andplay patterns. For example, males gravitate to gamesthat incorporate scoring and fighting, whereasfemales of all ages typically enjoy a subtler level ofcompetition. Women and girls tend to prefer adven-ture and games with a narrative. Consequently,consumer research shows that female buyers pur-chase only 12% of multimedia games despite thefact that females account for more than half the U.S.population.

Computer-based (including online or Internet)entertainment options for girls between the ages of

13 and 17—when gender differ-ences become much more pro-nounced—are also lacking.Ironically, the online mediumplays well to the interests andbehavior patterns of youngwomen, who favor chat, collab-oration, communication, andcompetition (although less overtcompetition than boys favor).The major game developersessentially ignored this marketin the early 1990s, illustrated inTable 2. We expect and hopethis will change in the next cen-tury.

Tapping into the Girls’ Games MarketHow can software providers penetrate the girls’ gamesmarket and in the process interest more girls in com-puting? Designers must first address issues in under-standing girls’ low participation in the computer-gamemarket in order to create compelling content while atthe same time understanding the context of use andsocietal attitudes of computer usage.

Before the success of Mattel’s “Barbie FashionDesigner,” software game developers and publishershad attempted and failed to tap into the female con-sumer market. This led some of them to believe thatgirls and young women have no interest in using


Figure 1. Entertainment software marketby gender for 1998.

Source: Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), IDC/Link, and NPD Group.

Console

Perc

ent

Media

69

31

62

38

PC0

20

40

60

80Male

Female

* Predicted revenuesSource: Veronis, Suhler and Associates; SRI Consulting, Menlo Park, Calif.

Table 1. Game market revenue (billions of dollars).

Game Format

CD-ROM

Video-game console software

Online games

Total

1997

1.86

2.80

0.05

4.71

1996

1.82

2.40

0.04

4.26

1998

1.95

3.19

0.08

5.21

1999*

2.01

3.48

0.09

5.58

2000*

2.10

3.69

0.11

5.90

2001*

2.21

3.84

0.13

6.18

2002*

2.42

4.00

0.13

6.54

computers for entertainment. However, the Mattelexperience seems to indicate the low participation ofgirls with computers and computer games does notreflect a lack of interest but rather a lack of engagingand compelling content for girls.

Indeed, most computer games on the market—which, again, target boys and young men—arehighly competitive and have rigid rules. Most gamesfit into the categories of action, strategy, adventure,simulation, and sports (see Figure 3). The mainobjective of these games is to win by obtaining the

highest score or accomplishing a task in the fastesttime. In contrast, girls do not play games only towin, and they are bored by repetitive games thatrequire a player to start over again each time he orshe loses or “dies.” In general, girls are more inter-ested in creating than destroying. One study illus-trated that girls preferred games that require thoughtand puzzle-solving skills, and they find the repetitivemusic and sound effects of typical male-orientedgames monotonous. [2]. In addition, boys in NorthAmerica were found to prefer loud games thatinvolve quick reflexes rather than puzzle solving, andgames that involve substantial amounts of fightingor killing.

On the other hand, the use of computers andonline services among young children is consistentwith their share of the overall population. Accordingto Jupiter Communications, a market research firm,girls will account for nearly 49% of the online chil-dren between 2 to 12 by 2000, a ratio that is consis-tent with the overall number of girls in the U.S.Girls in this age group show no fear or lack of inter-est in technology. However, online use by girlsbetween 13 and 17 drops significantly in relation totheir overall population representation. In 1996,girls in this age group represented only 37% of theonline population, whereas they account for 48.7%of the U.S. teenage population.

The decrease at these older ages does not reflectdeclining interest but rather alack of compelling entertainmentand other online content forteenage girls. In the age group 2to 12 years, gender-neutral con-tent online has successfullyreached both boys and girls.America Online reports the useof its Kids Only Channel isalmost even among boys andgirls: 57% of boys and 51% ofgirls on the Internet, and Nick-elodeon’s birthday database is53% female. This argues for thedevelopment of games that


Figure 2. Entertainment software marketby age group in 1998.


Perc

ent

18-35 Under 18

Age Group

35+0

10

20

3634

44

30 30

39

30

40

50

60Console

PC

* Predicted revenuesSource: SRI Consulting, Menlo Park, Calif.

Market

CD-ROM games for girls(millions of dollars)

Total CD-ROM market(billions of dollars)

Percent of total market

1997

90

1.86

5

1996

75

1.82

4

1998

180

1.95

9

1999*

300

2.01

15

2000*

390

2.10

19

2001*

450

2.21

20

Table 2. Market potential of games for girls.

A SURVEY FOUND THAT 10- TO 15-YEAR-OLD GIRLS

contribute some $50 billion per year to the

U.S. economy, not only by spending on such items as

clothes, jewelry, and makeup, but also on software.


Preteen

Preteen and teen

Preteen

Teen

Teen

TeenTeen

Preteen and teen

Preteenand teen

Preteen

Preteen

Preteen

Preteen

Preteen

Teens

Teens

Teens and preteens

Preteens

Girls and boys

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

Online

Online

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

Online

Online

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

CD-ROM

Creativity and productivity tools

Communication channel, tool for community building and creativity

Entertainment

Traditional game for girls and boys; a role-playing social adventure game

Educational gamesEntertainment

Informational product, tool for boosting self-esteem

Communication channel and community building

Creativity tool

Educational

Educational andrecreational

Educational

Educational

Communication channel and community building

Educational

Entertainment

Entertainment and educational

Educational

Design unique fashions for Barbie by choosing styles, patterns, and colors onscreen; make clotheswith special paper-backed fabric that prints on an inkjet or laser printer; use color markers, fabric paint, and other materials to enhance designs.

Photo-editing program, and electronic scrapbook

Create the narrative, and determine what events and issues will drive the plot.

Sports for girls

Interact with friends, focusing on shopping, boys, and makeovers.

Solve problem, puzzles and brainteasers using inter-active mysteries based on the classic book.Build on a popular book series for girls.

Encourage teenage girls’ self-exploration by posing questions about friends, family, school, and boyfriends and presenting biographies of role-model characters.

Encourage girls to meet other girls online and communicate by email

Off-line and Online subscription to the private section of the PlanetGirl.com site. Provides a private place on-line with chats, pen pals, software downloads and so on.

Write and direct plays.

Calendar, journal and stationary kit. Encourage preteens to manage personal information

Encourage girls to learn French and Spanish while exploring magical adventures

Encourage girls to play educational games and solve puzzles

Conduct four adventures with a French girl on a train trip across Europe, building up French and Spanish vocabulary; do skill-building games.

Helps girls with emotional issues

Offers lessons and information about girls development

Adventures by Sabrina the TV show

Encourage girls to learn about history and culture through costumes.

Chase Carmen Sandiego and her gang aound the world, through history and into space, learning about geography and cultures. The new additions reinforce the students’ knowledge of grammar and mathematics.

Table 3. Overview of games.

Barbie Fashion Designer and accessories, including Barbie Storymaker, Barbie Fashion Designer/Print/ Story Bundle, Barbie Fashion Magic Fairy Tales, Barbie Print ‘n Play, Media’s Barbie Cool, Adventures with Barbie: Ocean Discovery

Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera and CD-ROM

Rockett’s New School

Secret Paths in the Forest

Starfire Soccer Challenge

McKenzie & Co.

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill

Vampire Diaries

Let’s Talk About Me

www.PlanetGirl.com/

The Tiara Club Lounge

The American Girls Premiere

The Baby Sitters Club Series “Clubhouse Activity Center”

Zero Zero

Smarty

Madeline Series

Web site

Web site

Sabrina: The Teenage Witch: Spellbound

Crayola’s Paint ‘n Play Pony and First Ladies

Carmen Sandiego series, in-cluding Where in the World; Where in the USA; Where in America’s Past; Where in Space; Where in Time, Carmen San-diego Math Detective, Carmen Sandiego Word Detective.

Mattel Mediawww.mattelmedia.com/barbie/index.html

Purple Moonwww.purple-moon.com/ (bought by Mattel, March 1999)

Her Interactivewww.herinteractive.com/

Girl Games, Inc.www.girlgames.com/

The Learning Company www.learningco.com/(bought by Mattel, December 1998)

Rhinestone Publishing

Creative Wonderswww.creativewonders.com/(a division of The Learning Company)

LIZZYs

Girls Tech

Simon and Schuster

IBM

Broderbund www.broderbund.com/(previously bought by The Learning Company, now part of Mattel)

Company Game ConceptMarket

Segment Platform Market Focus

Source: SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.

include puzzle solving without a focus on fightingand killing.

The Need for Compelling Content To design and develop compelling games for thefemale preteen (8 to 12 years old) and teen (13 to 17years old) markets, several companies have con-ducted research into the playing patterns of girls.These companies include Purple Moon (Palo Alto,

Calif.; recently bought by Mattel) which conductedextensive research for over four years; Girl GamesInc. (Austin, Tex.) which conducted research withRice University to determine what features girls likeand dislike in games; Her Interactive (Kirkland,Wash.) which interviewed 2,000 girls before devel-oping its interactive game product; and ElectronicArts (San Mateo, Calif.).

Purple Moon, in particular, interviewed some2,000 U.S. girls between the ages of 8 and 12 as wellas 500 parents to determine what appeals to girls inthe preteen and teen years. The company examinedplay interaction among boys and girls and studiedhow girls play, what activities they enjoy, and whattopics are interesting to them. In addition, the com-pany consulted experts in the field of children’s playand consulted the research literature, includingmaterial on play theory, brain-based sex differences,and social behavior. Their research revealed the fol-lowing play patterns:

• Girls prefer collaboration to competition. Girlsprefer working together to accomplish a task thantrying to outdo someone else.

• Girls enjoy nonclosure and exploration. Girlsdon’t put a large emphasis on whether they’vecompleted a stage before moving on as today’scomputer games typically do. Rather, they movefreely in the game, without necessarily finishingor winning a stage.

• Girls prefer to use puzzle-solving skills rather thantest their eye-hand reflexes.

• Girls like complex social interaction. They are fas-cinated by relationships between characters andother game players.

• Girls often identify with characters in videogames and mimic the main character. They liketo act out other lives but prefer to do so in famil-iar surroundings with characters that behave likepeople they know.

• Girls rate virtual reality (VR) applications as thetype of software they think they would enjoyusing most. Among the specific VR applicationsthat appeal to them are bungee jumping, shop-ping, conference calls, travel, and talk-show host-ing.

• Girls are fond of transmedia: things that make amagical transformation from one medium to thenext or things that can appear in more than oneform.

• Girls like rich texture, such as good audio quality.• Older girls prefer educational titles, where

younger girls prefer stories.

These findings suggest the success of the Barbiegame series is due to their representation of charac-ters. Girls enjoy identifying with real-life characters(as in the case of Carmen Sandiego), and like to actout characters, as if they were in a story (as in someof the Barbie games). Mattel exploits its success byexpanding its line of products to include othergames that offer well-developed characters such asthe Madeline series (before a Creative Wondersproduct), and the Rockett series (before a PurpleMoon product).

Other research has found similar results. TheElectronic Games for Education and Math and Sci-ences (E-GEMS) is studying what makes games


Sports

Figure 3. Top five categories in theentertainment software market (in percent).

Simulation

Adventure/Role

Playing

Strategy

Action

0 20 40 60 80

ConsolePC


GIRLS ARE MORE INTERESTED

in creating than destroying.

interesting to girls and boys. They found that girlsare particularly interested in a game when given thechance to socially interact with others and preferplaying on computers over video game systems [3].However, while violent games are currently popularamong boys, boys also prefer games that challengethem mentally [4]. This provides encouraging evi-dence that nonviolent games may appeal to bothgenders.

Since the early 1990s, several companies haveattempted to market a line of software gamesspecifically for girls. Companies such as Broder-bund and Creative Wonders have marketed girlgames that were designed to appeal to boys as well.Table 3 outlines key attributes of these games. Thegames from several of these companies include ele-ments rare in the interactive entertainment world:teenage girl protagonists and story lines in whichproblem solving, investigation, and communica-tion with onscreen characters are the keys to pro-gressing though the game. Many of the start-upcompanies hope to tap into the potential of thegirls’ games market and to encourage girls toexplore cutting-edge technology through theirproducts. These companies provide girls with funand meaningful computer experiences that willencourage them to prepare for the demands of atechnologically advanced future, as well as to buytheir products.

Business ImplicationsFinding ways to overcome problems of context ofuse of computers and the associated societal atti-tudes is difficult. Here are some suggestions:

Marketing strategies. Gamedesigners cannot afford to over-look the strong evidence thatgirls 8 to 12 and 13 to 17 repre-sent a different market segmentfrom that of boys and youngmen. Understanding and lever-aging those differences can cre-ate a competitive advantage andbe a requisite for success. Toovercome societal attitudes andbarriers, companies have toadopt innovative marketingstrategies.

Companies like Purple Moonand Girl Games pursued newmarketing and retail strategies inan effort to reach their targetmarket. In the Fall 1996, thegame “Let’s Talk About Me”

went on sale at Contempo Casuals, a national cloth-ing retailer that targets teenage girls. To encouragegirls to frequent the store, Contempo equipped itsstores with lounges offering videos, music, maga-zines, and comfortable chairs. Software demos wereanother attraction.

Looking for ways to launch its premier titles—“Rockett’s New School” and “Secret Paths in theForest”—Purple Moon formed a strategic alliancewith a veteran clothing label, and allocated a portionof its $4.5 million advertising and marketing budgetto a partnership with Jonathan Martin Girls. PurpleMoon launched its back-to-school campaign at soft-ware retailers like Best Buy, where purchases of Pur-ple Moon software entitled girls to a “friendshipadventures” backpack that contained a limited-edi-tion Jonathan Martin Girls T-shirt. Hang tags onJonathan Martin Girls apparel and footwear instores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Robinson’s/May,and Dillard’s also promoted the program.

Purple Moon also linked its CD-ROM gameswith its online Web site. The company’s Web sitedoes not provide information about the companybut rather introduces the characters, stories, andenvironments of the game, allows girls to interactand chat with other girls, and allows girls to designtheir own Web pages.

Mattel successfully marketed game products byappealing to girls’ interest in playing with dolls.Capitalizing on Barbie’s appeal, Mattel titles domi-nate the five top-selling girls games.

New tools for personalization. Personalization ofcomputers is becoming increasingly feasible andwould likely appeal to girls, encouraging more girls


to use computers. A wide variety of products nowattempt to take advantage of people’s desire to cus-tomize their computer systems. Current toolsinclude voice recognition, text-to-speech programs,intelligent agents, and graphics. Many companieshave given a voice to computers and to particularsoftware programs. These voices range in age, gen-der, tonal quality, and attitude/personality. Themore human computers become, the more individ-ual they become. Thus, companies need to considerthe implications of giving a gendered voice to com-puters. Research shows that users stereotype speak-ing computers along traditional gender lines [6].

According to Debra Lieberman, a media researchconsultant at Stanford University, personalization ofgames that involve learning is a key ingredient forsuccess among children and teenagers. Liebermanextensively researched health-care education videogames and interactive media for children and adoles-cents. Her research shows that video games can pro-mote health care by offering unlimited opportunitiesfor repetition and rehearsal and by individualizingmessages to players in keeping with their perfor-mance in the game [5]. To engage children in health-related behaviors while they play video games canprovide appealing role-model characters, providescenarios for making health decisions and carryingout self-care skills, and depict realistic consequencesof players’ decisions and actions. Game formatscould offer opportunities for practice, requiringplayers to make hypothetical decisions about electivesurgery or first aid, or to decide whether a medicalproblem is serious enough to merit an appointmentwith a doctor. Games could offer hints and pointersfor finding essential information and teach playershow to navigate in each online medical resource. Asthis example domain area illustrates, online gamescan become powerful learning resources becausethey combine information access and connection toother people.

Although personalization is possible in stand-alone applications, greater opportunities exist to per-sonalize online software. Lieberman researched andcollaborated in the design of games in which playerscan select a language, adjust the character’s therapy,and play a single-player or two-player version of thegame. According to Lieberman, personalizations arepossible online because storage capacity is moreextensive in networks and because developers canchange the games more frequently. For instance,developers can add new installments of an educationvideo game so that it grows and changes over time.Such updates could encourage players to come backperiodically to see what is new. In addition, presen-

tations of questions about interesting topics couldchange dynamically throughout a game in responseto players’ success or failure in answering a set ofquestions, thus tailoring the system to the user.

Future GenerationsGrowing up learning and playing with computersmay enable girls to be at ease with software productsand become familiar with computers and their use.Moreover, playing computer games may encouragegirls to pursue computer courses at early stages, andentice them to regard computer science as an attrac-tive career choice. To succeed in this enterprise ofengaging girls to play with computer games, compa-nies are focusing on those activities that girls like themost. Research and already successful games showthat girls may enjoy computer games if they providecompelling content and appropriate software design.Furthermore, the girls’ market could represent abeachhead toward a home software market for a newgeneration of females. Women who do not work inbusiness or computer-related jobs represent a diffi-cult market to enter. Future generations of femaleswill become savvy users and buyers of hardware andsoftware.

References1. Camp, T. The incredible shrinking pipeline. Commun. ACM 40, 10

(Oct. 1997), 103–110. 2. Department of Education, University of Maryland County. Girls’ Pref-

erences in Software Design: Insights from a Focus Group. IPCT, Inter-personal Computing and Technology: An Electronic Journal for the 21stCentury. 4, 2 (April, 1996), 27–36.

3. Inkpen, K., Upitis, R., Klawe, M., Lawry, J., Anderson, A.., Ndunda,M., Sedighian, K., Leroux, S., and Hsu, D. We have never-forgetfulflowers in our garden: Girls’ responses to electronic games. TechnicalReport 93-47, Dept. of Computer Science, University of British Colum-bia (1994).

4. Lawry, J., Upitis, R., Klawe, M., Anderson, A., Inkpen, K., Ndunda, M.,Hsu, D., Leroux, S., and Sedighian, K. Exploring common conceptionsabout boys and electronic games. Technical Report 94-1, Dept. of Com-puter Science, University of British Columbia (1994).

5. Lieberman, D.A. Interactive video games for health promotion: Effectson knowledge, self-efficacy, social support, and health. Mahwah, HeathPromotion and Interactive Technology: Theoretical Applications and FutureDirections. Lawrence Erlbaum, Englewood, NJ, 1997.

6. Reeves, B. and Nass, C. The Media Equation: How People Treat Com-puters, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge, UK, 1996.

Cecilia M. Gorriz ([email protected]) is a consultant for SRIConsulting, Menlo Park, Calif.Claudia Medina ([email protected]) is a curriculum developer at Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, Calif.

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