Fighting words: Criticism of video games and gamers

The video game industry is still talking about the violent threats made against Anita Sarkeesian, a video game critic, who alerted the police last week and went into hiding, according to her Twitter posts.

In a column, I wrote about the questions Sarkeesian raises in her critiques such as how do video game makers treat female characters at a time when women are playing games more than ever.

Trying to explain the death threats my family is receiving because of my work. Police: 'What do you do?' Me: 'I talk about video games.'

- Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) September 1, 2014

Some may be puzzled why Sarkeesian's critique caused such a stir, as she refers to in her tweet Monday (above) when talking with the police. Sarkeesian received vitriol, and not just from the person who threatened her, for pointing out the obvious, The New Statesman writes.

I'm not a gamer, but I have kids who play. There seems to be an insider culture of mostly young male players who want to keep their game world safe from both female players and any criticism that might diminish their enjoyment.

In reporting the column, I was surprised by accounts of women who feel they have to hide their gender while playing social games or face abuse. Or, if they play as female, they are called on to prove their abilities, something male players do not face.

Sarkeesian connects the content of video games to the behavior of video gamers:

Game designers need to start seriously considering the messages their games send to players about appropriate ways to deal with conflict.

- Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) September 1, 2014

So what will it take to change the video game industry, the games and the gamers? After all, the gaming audience is broadening and becoming more diverse, with women in particular gravitating to mobile games. Shouldn't video game companies want to appeal to this audience?

James McQuivey, an industry analyst at Forrester, told me that it may take awhile for the gaming industry to change:

The best way to break this habit is to promote alternative ecosystems of game development, which is exactly what mobile gaming is and we do see more diversity in mobile gaming. But so far the industries haven't collided sufficiently that the more expansive culture of mobile gaming has helped the console gaming business rethink itself.

Above: Customers play a video game at a GameStop store. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Michelle Quinn ( 131 Posts)

Michelle Quinn is a Business Columnist at the San Jose Mercury News. Prior to her current role, she was the Silicon Valley correspondent at Politico covering tech policy and politics. She has also covered the tech industry at the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She was a blogger for the New York Times.