What Happened to all the ‘Girl’ Games?
Did they disappear or did we grow?
As gaming began to grow in popularity through the 90s and 2000s, companies started marketing games in different ways. If a TV show or movie was popular enough, you’d see a video game based on it not long after.
They also started to target a female audience. Games for IPs popular with girls like Barbie and Bratz. You’d even get whole websites full of glass games that appealed to girls like GirlsGoGames.
But this isn’t something you see much anymore. Whether or not you think this is a bad thing depends on who you ask.
While there are series that historically have a large female fanbase, like The Sims and Animal Crossing, games are not limited by gender. As gaming has become more welcoming and widespread, perhaps this strategy faded out of existence because it was no longer needed.
One of the most popular Roblox games of last year was Dress to Impress. 15 to 20 years ago this would be a game people thought only appealed to women and girls. Yet regardless of what genre of games they prefer, men and women alike obsessed over the fun fashion competition DTI offered.
Nowadays it makes more sense to be open to all when you’re making a video game. That’s not to say that games don’t have target audiences. It’s like how children’s shows can end up with adult fandoms, you never know who your creation will catch on with. Maybe it's best for games to lead marketing with their features instead of who they may appeal to.
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