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[The Technomancer]

I've asked this before (in another thread) but didn't get any replies. All I remember reading when it first happened and a couple of months later.

Court proceedings?

Just what happened with the whole Zoe Quinn story? So it turns out none of it was true? Did she cheat on her ex with 5 different guys or was that a lie too?

To the best of my knowledge Quinn did manage to get her ex into court for something like defamation, and managed to get an order against him to keep him from talking about her online (which he has violated numerous times). Her cheating on him with a game journalist to get good coverage was never true, and was obviously never true from the very beginning because said coverage didn't exist. Did she cheat on him in general? Eh, I dunno. I haven't looked into it because I frankly don't care that much. Maybe she was a shitty girlfriend to him. Its ultimately irrelevant to how I feel about this larger mess

(although I find it very unlikely that she cheated on him with "five guys")

 

[ScatheZombie]

I'm glad GamerGate has turned women away from the industry.

Because the faster and harder we get into a 'white men only' cycle, the same one comics fell into and landed them in relative obscurity for over a decade, the sooner the industry crashes and we can hit a reset button on all this bullshit. The sooner the same group of people control more of the industry than they already do. The sooner games are made for only a small subset of the market, by only a small subset of individuals. The sooner we alienate everyone but the 16-34 male demographic - the sooner everything comes crashing down and we can realistically, and forcibly, address all the bullshit that goes on in the games industry and in gaming culture.

Because until a crash happens, and GamerGate certainly seems to be providing the fuel for one, nothing is going to get fixed. The machine works too well, is too complex, is too profitable for anyone, or everyone, to make the necessary changes to improve or fix the problems we have in regards to hiring and treatment of diverse employees, marketing and producing for diverse consumer groups, and being a culture that doesn't completely implode on itself whenever a woman, or any perceived outsider, gives it criticism.

And I'm glad more women, and really just everyone in general, are being shown the darker side of being in the games industry. As a developer, in any aspect of the company, or as part of the media - if you aren't following the status quo, if you aren't pandering to your predominating angry white male audience, if you aren't saying and doing the things that group wants you to say or do - you will get harassed. Non-stop. This isn't limited to just females. I got threats all the time. I would get players emailing my boss, demanding I be fired on a near daily basis. I would get players posting on message boards, calling me out by my real name, telling people the world would be a better place if someone murdered me. This happened every single day, multiple times a day and for what? Because I changed a value on their character for balancing purposes? Really? No, imagine that, compounded about 50x and having nothing to do with anything other than your gender. That's what some of my female colleagues deal with. And many times, not just from players or random internet tough guys ... but from other employees within the company. It's an absolute shit environment to be in. And it takes an immensely thick-skinned, level-headed, and dedicated person to withstand the bullshit we put up with. To imply, ever, that we just need to grow a thicker-skin or ignore the vile bullshit spewed at us, or that if we choose to give up and say fuck this that we aren't 'dedicated enough to dreams' is beyond insulting.

So I say good. I'm glad GamerGate is spiraling so totally out of control that even the most defensive, pretentious, dismissive and ignorant of us are having a hard time defending, dismissing, or ignoring just how bad things behind the curtain have been for years. It's a good thing this is now in the public eye and people get to see the level of bullshit that goes on all the time and can't just dismiss it out of hand as being "a small minority". Because it isn't. It's a real, major, dangerous problem that almost everyone was happy enough to sweep under the rug until it finally blew up in their face.

 

[RadarScope1]

So everyone knows that trolling misogynist mouth breathers are worthy of scorn and derision, but can we address something maybe not as popular to acknowledge? If some internet kerfuffle is enough to make someone give up their supposed "dream", maybe they weren't especially committed to begin with. You fight for your dreams if you really believe in them.

I'm not so much referring to 12 year olds, but the wider swath of women referenced by the author. Not that it's fair that people have to face adversity through no fault of their own, but isn't that kind of, you know, life? So you persevere and become stronger for it. If the response to GamerGate is to be a victim and a shrinking violet, because of the incoherent ramblings of some transparently immature and purposely inflammatory shit stirrers, isn't that a vindication and reinforcement of the gender stereotypes? Adversity is something that can be overcome. Encountering it doesn't obviate a person of their responsibility for their own choices.

There's no better way to get one over on the creeps and naysayers than proving them wrong and becoming exactly what you want. I hope for every woman writing these letters of defeat there are two more catalyzed into action by the absurdity of overbearing manchildren.

You don't "respond" to bullying and terrorism by "being" a victim. If you are bullied and harassed you ARE a victim. Yes, you can muster the will to rise above and push back against the bullying, but guess what that gets you? A bigger target on your back and worse bullying, just like Anita and Brianna experience. This isn't some teacher saying you don't have the grades to make it in college or some coach saying you'll never make the team. It's a campaign of online terrorism and character assassination. GG is not a "kerfluffle." Get some perspective and empathy. Listen to what these women are saying.

 

[Dynomutt]

So when do we start improving access for urban youth to programming and computer hardware. I know a lot of young black kids including young girls who would love to get into game development as well.

 

[Briarios]

I've asked this before (in another thread) but didn't get any replies. All I remember reading when it first happened and a couple of months later.

Court proceedings?

Just what happened with the whole Zoe Quinn story? So it turns out none of it was true? Did she cheat on her ex with 5 different guys or was that a lie too?

Holy crap, dude .. Don't you get it? It doesn't matter if she's a virgin or slept with the entire Dallas Cowboys team -- it's irrelevant to anything and none of our business. Slut shaming has to stop. This idea that we have a right to know the private affairs about everyone has to stop. It's part of the problem. You don't see anyone asking about the dude's private life -- only a prurient interest in her affairs. It's disgusting.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

So when do we start improving access for urban youth to programming and computer hardware. I know a lot of young black kids including young girls who would love to get into game development as well.

I think this may be happening already. I was at a panel discussing Gamergate not too long ago and one of the participants was the head of a local community organization doing exactly what you describe.

 

[Elandyll]

I have to wonder... What will it take for the police or the FBI to step up and make examples of this kind of toxic discourse and threats (as obviously the "Freedom of Speech flagbearers" like Tweeter and Facebook, let alone 4chan or Reddit) don't seem to want to police themselves?

A breaking and entering of a dev/ blogger's house?

Personal property destroyed?

An actual physical assault to "teach them"?

Or will it have to be a murder from a deranged psychopath that would feel a "righteous cause" is with him?

I am pretty sickened by all this frankly, and I don't even have a daughter so I can seldom imagine the thoughts of someone who would have a daughter thinking about enering the Gaming industry. Right now I am just feeling nauseous at the thought of being likened to this by association as a "gamer", and at the thought of my two young sons growing up hearing this kind of anti-women diarrhea (under the pretense of "freedom of speech" and "feminism wants to destroy our sexy games").

Don't be fooled, GamerGate was never about Integrity in the media, it was always a facade, some thing they could cling to, in order to hide their hatred of women behind. I urge those people to grow up. To realize that women are humans too, not some alien gender that is out to take away your freedoms and your games.
Please accept that different people will have different opinions, and that civil discourse, even when disagreeing, is always the best way to understand each other's point of view.

Also please realize that Women desiring a change in the way they are treated overall in games does not mean your "sexy games" will disappear. It might just mean that perhaps, more often than not, any given mass market game (not the niche games like say Duke Nukem or Dragon's Crown which I think there will awlys be some) will be written and designed with a more women-friendly position and while not being "feminist" at all, would be as empowering and impacful for either sex.
Those games already exist, certainly. But what I have seen, and what seems to have created the ire of many of those so called Gamers in Gamer Gate (and other similar movements) was the desire by some (devs/ bloggers/ journlists) to see these games become the -majority- of games. Which really shouldn't be a problem.
It never meant that said "sexy" games so often decried by the media would disappear.
Frankly I do believe there will always be a market for those, and even I don't mind the occasional fan service (in small doses) if tastefully done.

But do we really want to live in a world where our sons and daughters learn that the same exact piece of armor is a full piece of plate armor for men and a bikini for girls, because "sexy"?
Do we want them to learn that girls are mostly waiting to be rescued while men are the natural saviors? Do we really want them to learn that, well, yes women will be assaulted and abused and suffer long term psychological effect, cause that's war out there and after all they're "only girls", but men belong on the battlefield and are ok with mass murders and showers of blodo with little impact to their macho persona?

Those are only a few examples, and obviously do not relate to every game out there. There are plenty of good examples of games where a little girl coudl feel just as welcome and empowered as a little boy.
Maybe it's time that the GamerGate people and others accept that these could become the norm, and that pointing at bad examples and trying to make it the norm isn't a bad thing per say?

Someone before me said they should just let go of their hate.
Well, I wish it were possible. But some people will always define themselves in opposiition to something, or someone. I guess "hate" helpes some people go through their day without screaming and holding their blanket too much...

But maybe those people would be better served by realizing that talking and debating with both facts and opinions, instead of threatening and shutting down, would be far better for presenting their ideas and their position?
Ideally, love and understanding are the goal, yes.
But practically speaking, the best first step would be to understand that someone can have an opinion that differs from yours, and that it's ok, and it never -ever- warrants threats of any kind, let alone trying to act on them.

When we are at the point of people planning murders on youtube, and young girls abandonning all idea of ever getting in the gaming industry ... Maybe it's time to react? Before it possibly get worse?

 

[RpgN]

IIRC cheating may have occurred but the "sleeping with people for positive reviews" claims were all total bunk. The closest it ever came to that was Depression Quest getting a one-sentence mention in a list of like 50 indie games for a certain month, all of which got the same amount of coverage.

So yeah, it's just stuff about her personal life and really none of our business.

To the best of my knowledge Quinn did manage to get her ex into court for something like defamation, and managed to get an order against him to keep him from talking about her online (which he has violated numerous times). Her cheating on him with a game journalist to get good coverage was never true, and was obviously never true from the very beginning because said coverage didn't exist. Did she cheat on him in general? Eh, I dunno. I haven't looked into it because I frankly don't care that much. Maybe she was a shitty girlfriend to him. Its ultimately irrelevant to how I feel about this larger mess

(although I find it very unlikely that she cheated on him with "five guys")

Thank you for describing the situation. I remember being negative at Zoe Quinn and believing the original blog post her ex had.

Now I feel bad about that.

I dislike cheaters, but this has nothing to do with gaming and it turns out it has nothing to do with gaining coverage in her case.

Edit:

Let alone if she cheated with 5 different people.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Sad. I wish people could just enjoy the games they like to play and stop trying to ruin it for others.

 

[Skele7on]

Lastly, I am calling on the Obama administration to arrest and prosecute Fredrick Brennan, the owner of 8chan. 8chan doesn't just host child pornography, it also runs Baphomet, the most hardcore doxxing and swatting site on the Internet. It's time for Brennan to face justice.

I'm sorry but what would prosecuting Fredrick Brennan actually achieve,
I mean the way I see it they do use that site currently, but if he was prosecuted and the site shut surely it would just make them move to a new playground to spill their hate on?

 

[Dynomutt]

Yeah, because other people choosing to pay for something is exactly the same thing and is on the same level as women in the industry being forced into silence.

No not saying that at, I think you misinterpreted me. This is a serious issue but to generalize the issue can trivializing. Not everyone in the industry is sexist and an as whole. This is bigger than just woman even though they are the primary victim.

This is about greed and immorality. How many publishers have acted not spoken on the matter? Where are the gatekeepers in the industry? You think they care?

It's the women in the indie and small dev fields who are the most vocal. To enact the change we need it can't just be about Anita and Brianna. It has to be about all of us and our daughters, wives, and sisters.

You think if Martin Luther King narrowed his scope we would all have benefited? Remember his friend and right hand man Bayard Rustin was gay.

I'm just saying this is bigger than some of us. But we can all do something about it.

 

[RpgN]

Holy crap, dude .. Don't you get it? It doesn't matter if she's a virgin or slept with the entire Dallas Cowboys team -- it's irrelevant to anything and none of our business. Slut shaming has to stop. This idea that we have a right to know the private affairs about everyone has to stop. It's part of the problem. You don't see anyone asking about the dude's private life -- only a prurient interest in her affairs. It's disgusting.

Wow there, somehow I missed this reply.

I'm not a dude and I have for the most part defended various female related threads.

You might want to calm down a bit.

This hostility against anyone who asks questions that are seen as undesirable is getting a bit out of hand.

 

[nrvalleytime]

Wow there, somehow I missed this reply.

I'm not a dude and I have for the most part defended various female related threads.

You might want to calm down a bit.

This hostility against anyone who asks questions that are seen as undesirable is getting a bit out of hand.

It's not the question that's out of hand. It's why it matters or is even being expressed.

You realize her private life has absolutely nothing to do with this situation, right?

 

[chaostrophy]

I used to be embarrassed calling myself a gamer because it was seen as dorky or childish, now I'm embarrassed because of stuff like this.

I've been a gamer since the NES days and had never been embarrassed about it before the gamergate mess. Before, admitting being a gamer was a good social filter: I had no time for or interest in people who would look down on me for practicing a harmless hobby. Now gamers are associated with being hostile to feminism and wanting to harm women, so if I talk about gaming I always have to put in a disclaimer that I loathe the gamergaters. It's annoying.

 

[RpgN]

It's not the question that's out of hand. It's why it matters or is even being expressed.

You realize her private life has absolutely nothing to do with this situation, right?

Yes, I do realize that. I already stated that in my second comment if you haven't read that already.

You know what, I'm getting tired of this. Stop telling me what to talk and not talk about. I was curious and I wanted to know if everything was a lie, what's wrong with that?

I wasn't attacking anyone, sounding negative or have malicious intents. I'm getting sick of people getting offended at me for asking a simple question.

 

[nrvalleytime]

Yes, I do realize that. I already stated that in my second comment if you haven't read that already.

You know what, I'm getting tired of this. Stop telling me what to talk and not talk about. I was curious and I wanted to know if everything was a lie, what's wrong with that?

I wasn't attacking anyone, sounding negative or have malicious intents. I'm getting sick of people getting offended at me for asking a simple question.

No one's offended at you. At this point, there have been quite a few threads about GG - it doesn't take much digging to see through the lies. Start there, and you'll find your answers.

It doesn't matter if it's a lie or not.

 

[Michanical]

I'm sorry but what would prosecuting Fredrick Brennan actually achieve,
I mean the way I see it they do use that site currently, but if he was prosecuted and the site shut surely it would just make them move to a new playground to spill their hate on?

Yeah, but that argument can be applied to almost anything. Why prosecute shoplifting? People are just going to shoplift anyway!

The only thing your point argues is that Brennan should be prosecuted and the site should get shut down. If a new site pops up, then that site should also be shut down and the person facilitating it should also be prosecuted. This is assuming what Brennan did is illegal (I just don't know for certain).

If it isn't illegal, then, of course, no prosecution.

 

[RpgN]

No one's offended at you. At this point, there have been quite a few threads about GG - it doesn't take much digging to see through the lies. Start there, and you'll find your answers.

It doesn't matter if it's a lie or not.

This statement wasn't specifically aimed at you though, it's for the other member too. Plus it happened before too when I followed the story and left a reply at the time.

I try to follow as many female related threads as possible. Before, I would safely claim that I follow all of them. Now that is hard to do because the amount of threads made weekly are hard to keep up with nowadays. Especially this story at the time, I also avoided the huge gamergate threads before they got locked.

It doesn't matter at all to gaming whether she did or not. It matters enough to me to be curious about that and because I find that important in private life.

I hope that you can at least understand that from my perspective. Please continue discussing the topic, I don't want to derail the thread.

 

[Mman235]

That DICE thing is pretty damning, as it basically admits that the reason the industry hasn't openly spoken out is that they're too cowardly to do so.

I'm glad GamerGate has turned women away from the industry.

Because the faster and harder we get into a 'white men only' cycle, the same one comics fell into and landed them in relative obscurity for over a decade, the sooner the industry crashes and we can hit a reset button on all this bullshit. The sooner the same group of people control more of the industry than they already do. The sooner games are made for only a small subset of the market, by only a small subset of individuals. The sooner we alienate everyone but the 16-34 male demographic - the sooner everything comes crashing down and we can realistically, and forcibly, address all the bullshit that goes on in the games industry and in gaming culture.

Because until a crash happens, and GamerGate certainly seems to be providing the fuel for one, nothing is going to get fixed. The machine works too well, is too complex, is too profitable for anyone, or everyone, to make the necessary changes to improve or fix the problems we have in regards to hiring and treatment of diverse employees, marketing and producing for diverse consumer groups, and being a culture that doesn't completely implode on itself whenever a woman, or any perceived outsider, gives it criticism.

And I'm glad more women, and really just everyone in general, are being shown the darker side of being in the games industry. As a developer, in any aspect of the company, or as part of the media - if you aren't following the status quo, if you aren't pandering to your predominating angry white male audience, if you aren't saying and doing the things that group wants you to say or do - you will get harassed. Non-stop. This isn't limited to just females. I got threats all the time. I would get players emailing my boss, demanding I be fired on a near daily basis. I would get players posting on message boards, calling me out by my real name, telling people the world would be a better place if someone murdered me. This happened every single day, multiple times a day and for what? Because I changed a value on their character for balancing purposes? Really? No, imagine that, compounded about 50x and having nothing to do with anything other than your gender. That's what some of my female colleagues deal with. And many times, not just from players or random internet tough guys ... but from other employees within the company. It's an absolute shit environment to be in. And it takes an immensely thick-skinned, level-headed, and dedicated person to withstand the bullshit we put up with. To imply, ever, that we just need to grow a thicker-skin or ignore the vile bullshit spewed at us, or that if we choose to give up and say fuck this that we aren't 'dedicated enough to dreams' is beyond insulting.

So I say good. I'm glad GamerGate is spiraling so totally out of control that even the most defensive, pretentious, dismissive and ignorant of us are having a hard time defending, dismissing, or ignoring just how bad things behind the curtain have been for years. It's a good thing this is now in the public eye and people get to see the level of bullshit that goes on all the time and can't just dismiss it out of hand as being "a small minority". Because it isn't. It's a real, major, dangerous problem that almost everyone was happy enough to sweep under the rug until it finally blew up in their face.

This is an interesting way to think about it but I think it kind of comes at it the wrong way. The "crash" is already happening, and that's exactly why these people are having an extended tantrum; Indie games are getting easier to make and allow for developers to make any vision they want, and higher budget games are (very) slowly starting to embrace a higher level of diversity.

It's not that they've won and the inevitable trainwreck of that happening will change things, it's that they're losing, the change is already happening, and that's why they're outraged.

 

[Riposte]

I'm glad GamerGate has turned women away from the industry.

Because the faster and harder we get into a 'white men only' cycle, the same one comics fell into and landed them in relative obscurity for over a decade, the sooner the industry crashes and we can hit a reset button on all this bullshit. The sooner the same group of people control more of the industry than they already do. The sooner games are made for only a small subset of the market, by only a small subset of individuals. The sooner we alienate everyone but the 16-34 male demographic - the sooner everything comes crashing down and we can realistically, and forcibly, address all the bullshit that goes on in the games industry and in gaming culture.

Because until a crash happens, and GamerGate certainly seems to be providing the fuel for one, nothing is going to get fixed. The machine works too well, is too complex, is too profitable for anyone, or everyone, to make the necessary changes to improve or fix the problems we have in regards to hiring and treatment of diverse employees, marketing and producing for diverse consumer groups, and being a culture that doesn't completely implode on itself whenever a woman, or any perceived outsider, gives it criticism.

I think your bad experiences has made you believe in (and desire?) a scenario that holds very little possibility of happening and doesn't have much basis in the reality (including what you say about comics). Things don't work that way and even if they did, I don't think there is much evidence this is what's going to happen. This just seems like pure, unfiltered resentment. (It's especially silly once you extend this beyond the US/Europe.)

This is an interesting way to think about it but I think it kind of comes at it the wrong way. The "crash" is already happening, and that's exactly why these people are having an extended tantrum; Indie games are getting easier to make and allow for developers to make any vision they want, and higher budget games are (very) slowly starting to embrace a higher level of diversity.

It's not that they've won and the inevitable trainwreck of that happening will change things, it's that they're losing, the change is already happening, and that's why they're outraged.

What you describe isn't close to a crash.

 

[nrvalleytime]

This statement wasn't specifically aimed at you though, it's for the other member too. Plus it happened before too when I followed the story and left a reply at the time.

I try to follow as many female related threads as possible. Before, I would safely claim that I follow all of them. Now that is hard to do because the amount of threads made weekly are hard to keep up with nowadays. Especially this story at the time, I also avoided the huge gamergate threads before they got locked.

It doesn't matter at all to gaming whether she did or not. It matters enough to me to be curious about that and because I find that important in private life.

I hope that you can at least understand that from my perspective. Please continue discussing the topic, I don't want to derail the thread.

I do see that perspective, and I understand.

It does require a little digging though - disregarding that several people I know were victims of this situation, I've been a long-term proponent of researching this issue before we ask about it.

Even so - her private life just doesn't have any bearing on the situation. That's the thing. The lies or questions have no place in a rational discussion of gaming, ethics, or any forsaken amalgamation of the two. When it matters to you, ask yourself - why? Would this influence my perception of the person? Would it help me judge if the horrible actions of people are justified because it started with someone who may or may not enjoy having sex?

It's difficult, and I'd argue impossible, to see the relevancy in this situation or in the future. That's the stance GAF has taken, and those threads were only locked because the discussion about other issues--not this one--had run its course.

 

[Lunar15]

Just got around to reading this, Makes me really upset.

I'm not a woman, however, I'm just starting out in the game industry and I have to say that a lot of the GG nonsense gave me a lot of doubts about continuing on in the industry. While I understand that GG related views are (hopefully) a minority, it is scary knowing that a portion of your audience is going to spout such awful crap at you for trying to do new and different things. It's a challenging concept to grasp, and no, it's not exclusive to games.

Once you begin to realize the systematic issues in the industry, from management to marketing all the way down to the ardent and sometimes irrational segments of fanbases, it becomes a really scary market to want to go into. It's really hard to explain, and I don't want to give the wrong impression. Basically, the whole event made me have some deep thoughts about my career path in this industry.

 

[Mman235]

What you describe isn't close to a crash.

I agree. I was using it in figurative terms, which is why I put it in quotes.

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

While it being incredibly sad, I hope some of those younger girls decide to change their minds as they get older. You're never too young or old to start, but as they mature I hope the rest of the gaming community does as well.

 

[QaaQer]

I think you're quite right about this: these guys were surely on the verge of radicalization from the start. But the corollary of this is that this problem is a societal problem, not a problem specifically of the games industry in any meaningful way. We're dealing with a group of people so extreme that they're unreachable by anyone save law enforcement, and what's gotten them to that point has nothing to do with tech industry sexism or AAA companies not being outspoken enough against harassment: these people don't work in games and don't care what major players in the industry have to say.

The reason there's this reservoir of disaffected, self-victimizing young men out there is a failure of our culture perhaps, a failure of mainstream feminism, a function of economic shifts, who knows. They're thickest here, in and around games, only because historically this has been a hobby for guys like them, but the root of the problem lies elsewhere, and the solutions are going to have to come from elsewhere too.

Great post. Reminds me of this article: link

Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way— and its vast cultural consequences.

If nothing else, games give some a sense of power and control.

 

[InsaneZero]

I'm glad GamerGate has turned women away from the industry.

Because the faster and harder we get into a 'white men only' cycle, the same one comics fell into and landed them in relative obscurity for over a decade, the sooner the industry crashes and we can hit a reset button on all this bullshit. The sooner the same group of people control more of the industry than they already do. The sooner games are made for only a small subset of the market, by only a small subset of individuals. The sooner we alienate everyone but the 16-34 male demographic - the sooner everything comes crashing down and we can realistically, and forcibly, address all the bullshit that goes on in the games industry and in gaming culture.

Because until a crash happens, and GamerGate certainly seems to be providing the fuel for one, nothing is going to get fixed. The machine works too well, is too complex, is too profitable for anyone, or everyone, to make the necessary changes to improve or fix the problems we have in regards to hiring and treatment of diverse employees, marketing and producing for diverse consumer groups, and being a culture that doesn't completely implode on itself whenever a woman, or any perceived outsider, gives it criticism.

And I'm glad more women, and really just everyone in general, are being shown the darker side of being in the games industry. As a developer, in any aspect of the company, or as part of the media - if you aren't following the status quo, if you aren't pandering to your predominating angry white male audience, if you aren't saying and doing the things that group wants you to say or do - you will get harassed. Non-stop. This isn't limited to just females. I got threats all the time. I would get players emailing my boss, demanding I be fired on a near daily basis. I would get players posting on message boards, calling me out by my real name, telling people the world would be a better place if someone murdered me. This happened every single day, multiple times a day and for what? Because I changed a value on their character for balancing purposes? Really? No, imagine that, compounded about 50x and having nothing to do with anything other than your gender. That's what some of my female colleagues deal with. And many times, not just from players or random internet tough guys ... but from other employees within the company. It's an absolute shit environment to be in. And it takes an immensely thick-skinned, level-headed, and dedicated person to withstand the bullshit we put up with. To imply, ever, that we just need to grow a thicker-skin or ignore the vile bullshit spewed at us, or that if we choose to give up and say fuck this that we aren't 'dedicated enough to dreams' is beyond insulting.

So I say good. I'm glad GamerGate is spiraling so totally out of control that even the most defensive, pretentious, dismissive and ignorant of us are having a hard time defending, dismissing, or ignoring just how bad things behind the curtain have been for years. It's a good thing this is now in the public eye and people get to see the level of bullshit that goes on all the time and can't just dismiss it out of hand as being "a small minority". Because it isn't. It's a real, major, dangerous problem that almost everyone was happy enough to sweep under the rug until it finally blew up in their face.

"I believe that the well being of many women are acceptable casualties in this crusade against the current video game industry. Poisoning the well long enough is the only to take down this beast. It is only at that time that the industry burns, taking out the jobs of many reasonable people that work in it, that we can fully bring out the ideal utopia of a reborn video game paradise powered by the tears of unicorns.

I also think it's time to hunt unicorns, since I can't really think of anyone that would willingly want to drink from that well afterwards."

 

[ScatheZombie]

(including what you say about comics)

I'm interested to see what you think caused the comic book crash.

Comics crashed in late 90s because of a lot of the same shitty businesses practices that are extremely prevalent in today's gaming market. The biggest ones being emphasis on 'limited, special editions' that were neither limited nor special (collector's edition, day one edition, limited edition games), cutting up a series into a hundred different pieces for promotional purposes (DLC), constant relaunching of the same franchises (remasters, remakes, and rebooted sequels), trading card and other non-comic related tie-ins in effort to boost sales (Amiibo, TCGs, board games, mobile apps), perceived consumer demand for less 'fun, humorous' comics and more 'dark, gritty and mature' comics (self-explanatory: for reference see Naughty Dog, or really anyone but Nintendo at this point), comic companies not being able to meet deadlines and either shipping half-finished products or missing ship dates (how often has this happened just this year alone).

And yet, all of this stemmed from a very quiet problem within the comic industry: everything was run by a very small group of predominately white guys who had the mostly the same interests targeting consumers just like themselves. And eventually everyone who didn't fall into either the 'comic book guy' stereotype who aggressively and violently defended the status quo (just see the outrage a black spiderman tore through the comic community - which would be modern day GamerGate) and comic book collectors left the comic book market entirely and are only just now returning through films - but still not buying comics (even Batman, the highest selling comic, only moves about 500k units while the movies rake in tens to hundreds of millions of viewers).

Since we're already at the product shittification levels of 90s comics in terms of limited edition, DLC, remasters, sequels, gritty and mature, over-budget, missed ship date bullshit; we only need the narrowing of market focus to a specific, alienating consumer group to hit all the major points necessary for a crash. And this could be accomplished by a GamerGate level event, which has done an amazingly good job beginning this alienation process.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

Im curious and you are definitely entitled not to comment or anything, especially if you don't want to.

But has there been any talk at your workplace about this? Have there been any talks about what things you as a game company might be able to do? Any concrete stuff? Just curious

I've been incredibly reluctant to comment, but an old friend of mine recently reminded me that important to speak out about these things, lest you appear complicit.

To answer you question though, I think I've had maybe three conversations at work about the subject. There's not really been much to talk about. It's pretty much agreed all round that GG is a horrible thing, full of horrible, damaged, or at best terminally naive people.

(apologies for sleeping on this, but I see the thread is still moving)

Thing is, this is not particularly new or unique. It's just happening in our back yard this time. Reactionary movements bloom, and then slowly burn out into irrelevance. Society moves forward, on average, in the long run. My heart goes out to those affected directly. For them unfortunately, it's in the hands of law enforcement, and *HA* in this case, Twitter. Good luck with that.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

I'm interested to see what you think caused the comic book crash.

It's quite clear what caused the comic book crash: it was a speculation bubble. The video game industry is not a speculation bubble. Collector's editions constitute a tiny proportion of overall game sales, and there's no evidence that many people are actually buying them with the express purpose of reselling them at a later date rather than because they just find collector's editions to be desirable as products.

Most of the rest of your post is a litany of inappropriate analogies and post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacies. There's no evidence that the overabundance of white guys in the comics industry had anything to do with the crash, there's no evidence the trend towards dark and gritty comics had anything to do with the crash, etc etc etc.

 

[ApharmdX]

GamerGate has had a cost, in these women who might have contributed to the industry and helped diversify it, but it has also caused review sites (IGN comes to mind immediately) to make changes to their ethical policies. I wish we could have had the positive changes without the abuse and threats directed towards women in gaming.

Maybe I'm callous, but I agree with posts about how you have to have a thick skin to be a game developer, and some of these women weren't cut out for it (just as many men aren't). This is nothing new. I remember a dozen years ago, some high-profile game developers used to post on message boards that I frequented, and most of them were subjected to some pretty nasty attacks at times. You think George Broussard didn't get hostility? Or Derek Smart? However, there's a definite difference between attacks and threats, between "they are being mean to me" versus "my life is in danger". I'm not sure how many of these women stepped away for the former, or was it actually the latter situation, in which case that's totally understandable.

 

[The Technomancer]

You think George Broussard didn't get hostility? Or Derek Smart? However, there's a definite difference between attacks and threats, between "they are being mean to me" versus "my life is in danger". I'm not sure how many of these women stepped away for the former, or was it actually the latter situation, in which case that's totally understandable.

I'd say the volume is pretty different. Figures like TotalBiscuit like to say "I get harassed too", but take a look at the one week excerpt that Anita Sarkeesian put together, and then take a similar look at his twitter activity: a couple assholes calling you an idiot dickfart every day or two is not the same as a continual torrent of hate

 

[Anton Sugar]

GamerGate has had a cost, in these women who might have contributed to the industry and helped diversify it, but it has also caused review sites (IGN comes to mind immediately) to make changes to their ethical policies. I wish we could have had the positive changes without the abuse and threats directed towards women in gaming.

Maybe I'm callous, but I agree with posts about how you have to have a thick skin to be a game developer, and some of these women weren't cut out for it (just as many men aren't). This is nothing new. I remember a dozen years ago, some high-profile game developers used to post on message boards that I frequented, and most of them were subjected to some pretty nasty attacks at times. You think George Broussard didn't get hostility? Or Derek Smart? However, there's a definite difference between attacks and threats, between "they are being mean to me" versus "my life is in danger". I'm not sure how many of these women stepped away for the former, or was it actually the latter situation, in which case that's totally understandable.

Thick skin may be needed, but it's important to note the difference in being attacked because you're a developer and someone is pissed at your game/design/decisions/etc., and being attacked because you're a woman.

 

[Riposte]

It's quite clear what caused the comic book crash: it was a speculation bubble. The video game industry is not a speculation bubble. Collector's editions constitute a tiny proportion of overall game sales, and there's no evidence that many people are actually buying them with the express purpose of reselling them at a later date rather than because they just find collector's editions to be desirable as products.

Most of the rest of your post is a litany of inappropriate analogies and post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacies. There's no evidence that the overabundance of white guys in the comics industry had anything to do with the crash, there's no evidence the trend towards dark and gritty comics had anything to do with the crash, etc etc etc.

I would go a step further and say the "relative irrelevancy" (which is true today, if the implication was to say otherwise) has more to do with comics not being able to compete with the appeal of movies, games, etc. This is only being slightly remedied while moving towards digital, as print is a fast approaching dead-end. The superheroes of American comics, particularly Marvel comics, are now stronger brands than ever and it's because they are not just appearing in comics.

Also his point of view holds a myopic focus of American markets. The speculation bubble did not affect manga in Japan. I was going to try to link this with a comparison to games popular in other markets (e.g., online gaming in China), in addition to mobile and social gaming, but I realized his concept simply doesn't work for videogames. A crash is fairly impossible to imagine at this point. Like I said, it just seems like aimless resentment. "Burn it all down, it's sick!".

 

[ScatheZombie]

It's quite clear what caused the comic book crash: it was a speculation bubble. The video game industry is not a speculation bubble.

Ah yes, I thought this would be the response. It's very clear this was a big factor but to say it was the only factor is dismissive of all the other issues that the comic industry had at the time and that the now-successful comic industry (which is mostly Image Comics) has since moved away from almost entirely.

Even if you argue that the major factor in the comic crash was collector's realizing their collection were worthless, we have the same phenomenon in gaming only to arguably a smaller degree. How many of you have games - dozens, even hundreds - of games that sit on your shelf or in your Steam library that you have never played (and realistically have no intention of playing)? And how long before your backlog or collection gets large enough, or something happens in your life (marriage, children, job) that turns you away from continuing to purchase these games unnecessarily and remove an artificial consumer demand bubble that creates? This is the video game version of the comic industry bubble. Only our bubble is arguably much smaller (though when you consider the size differences between gaming and comics, our bubble is actually larger but a smaller percentage of total market).

Which should lead you to compare other issues and similarities between the two that created the environment. And there are a TON of similarities. Especially when you look at the post-crash changes the comic industry has gone through - specifically at the changes Image Comics has made (hiring more women, creating comics that appeal to both genders, throwing out old conventional wisdom) and compare their success to that of Marvel and DC that have basically stuck to their guns and maintained a lot of their pre-crash mentality (and had their success - outside of the films - suffer for it).

 

[AHUGECAT]

I'm glad GamerGate has turned women away from the industry.

Because the faster and harder we get into a 'white men only' cycle, the same one comics fell into and landed them in relative obscurity for over a decade, the sooner the industry crashes and we can hit a reset button on all this bullshit. The sooner the same group of people control more of the industry than they already do. The sooner games are made for only a small subset of the market, by only a small subset of individuals. The sooner we alienate everyone but the 16-34 male demographic - the sooner everything comes crashing down and we can realistically, and forcibly, address all the bullshit that goes on in the games industry and in gaming culture.

Because until a crash happens, and GamerGate certainly seems to be providing the fuel for one, nothing is going to get fixed. The machine works too well, is too complex, is too profitable for anyone, or everyone, to make the necessary changes to improve or fix the problems we have in regards to hiring and treatment of diverse employees, marketing and producing for diverse consumer groups, and being a culture that doesn't completely implode on itself whenever a woman, or any perceived outsider, gives it criticism.

And I'm glad more women, and really just everyone in general, are being shown the darker side of being in the games industry. As a developer, in any aspect of the company, or as part of the media - if you aren't following the status quo, if you aren't pandering to your predominating angry white male audience, if you aren't saying and doing the things that group wants you to say or do - you will get harassed. Non-stop. This isn't limited to just females. I got threats all the time. I would get players emailing my boss, demanding I be fired on a near daily basis. I would get players posting on message boards, calling me out by my real name, telling people the world would be a better place if someone murdered me. This happened every single day, multiple times a day and for what? Because I changed a value on their character for balancing purposes? Really? No, imagine that, compounded about 50x and having nothing to do with anything other than your gender. That's what some of my female colleagues deal with. And many times, not just from players or random internet tough guys ... but from other employees within the company. It's an absolute shit environment to be in. And it takes an immensely thick-skinned, level-headed, and dedicated person to withstand the bullshit we put up with. To imply, ever, that we just need to grow a thicker-skin or ignore the vile bullshit spewed at us, or that if we choose to give up and say fuck this that we aren't 'dedicated enough to dreams' is beyond insulting.

So I say good. I'm glad GamerGate is spiraling so totally out of control that even the most defensive, pretentious, dismissive and ignorant of us are having a hard time defending, dismissing, or ignoring just how bad things behind the curtain have been for years. It's a good thing this is now in the public eye and people get to see the level of bullshit that goes on all the time and can't just dismiss it out of hand as being "a small minority". Because it isn't. It's a real, major, dangerous problem that almost everyone was happy enough to sweep under the rug until it finally blew up in their face.

This already happened.

It was called the Wii.

But it was abandoned as fast as they bought it... let's face it, games will likely always be a male dominated industry. That's just how it is. Do I wish it wasn't? Yeah, I loved the Wii and playing the Wii with my aunt/mom/grandma, but I don't expect them to ever get into GTA or Halo.

 

[ScatheZombie]

The speculation bubble did not affect manga in Japan.

Exactly. And why was that? Because the manga industry didn't have the rest of the checklist of industry issues that comic industry had, or rather actually make efforts to address them. Manga has made a significant effort to appeal to their female audience and to avoid having a cycle of content creators remaining stagnant and only creating content for themselves, narrowing the focus of the market to consumers only reflective of the original content creators. Which was a major problem in comics and is a major problem in games.

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

I want to remind everyone that this isn't just a problem with the videogame industry.

Go look at random forum threads talking about sexism and the portrayal of female characters on popular sites about anime, literature, film, cartoons, comics, etc. You'll see the exact same arguments there that you find here.

For guys, I think a lot of it boils down to whether you prefer women who look like this:

Or this:

Gamergaters seem to like women whose design and personality revolve around pleasing men. Any woman who isn't enthralled by a dude 100% of the time, or providing fanservice, is seen as threatening.

Anti-gamergaters seem to prefer women who are independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things. And also sometimes like to bone a dude.

 

[SquirrelWide]

I suspected this, but having it confirmed is a bit depressing.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Can't believe this gamergate bullshit hasn't died out already.

It's doing nothing but hurting people.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I want to remind everyone that this isn't just a problem with the videogame industry.

Go look at random forum threads talking about sexism and the portrayal of female characters on popular sites about anime, literature, film, cartoons, comics, etc. You'll see the exact same arguments there that you find here.

For guys, I think a lot of it boils down to whether you prefer women who look like this:



Or this:



Gamergaters seem to like women whose design and personality revolve around pleasing men. Any woman who isn't enthralled by a dude 100% of the time, or providing fanservice, is seen as threatening.

Anti-gamergaters seem to prefer women who are independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things. And also sometimes like to bone a dude.

I saw this article go by recently in the context of Gamergate and young men in video games, as associated reading: Young White Men: Scared, Entitled, and Cynical -- A Deadly Combination

This was a money quote to me:

"Young white men see white men at the top of nearly every organization, court, government office, military position, university, and other powerful structures visible in our society. They are fed an unrelenting stream of history books, literature, TV shows, movies, video games, and advertisements which tell them that the place for white men is on top, in control, in power, in charge and that women, all people of color, people with disabilities, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, and recent immigrants are inferior, less worthy, and not entitled to the same power as white men."

 

[Foggy]

It's stuff like this that makes it hard for me to think there's any victory against these people that isn't pyrrhic. All they need is a couple thousand or even hundred black hearts to have such a devastating effect on the industry and the women in it. I'm skeptical that there's any degree of social change that could make them irrelevant. The only option that makes any sense to me is set up some infrastructure for protection for developers.

 

[Michanical]

This already happened.

It was called the Wii.

But it was abandoned as fast as they bought it... let's face it, games will likely always be a male dominated industry. That's just how it is. Do I wish it wasn't? Yeah, I loved the Wii and playing the Wii with my aunt/mom/grandma, but I don't expect them to ever get into GTA or Halo.

I don’t think this is true. As of last year, 45% of gamers are women.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Even more interesting, 40% of console gamers are women. Of those statistics, a larger percentage of female gamers play console games “heavily” than men. You are still stuck in this idea that women only like casual games. Their favorite genre on consoles is RPG, not puzzle games or Wii Sports.

Women don’t need to play GTA or Halo to pass some gamercred test. Anecdotally, my girlfriend plays games about as much as I do. Recently, we’ve been playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, and Phoenix Wright together. Why does it matter if she likes Halo or GTA? I’m not a fan of them either, and I’ve been playing games actively since 1989.

 

[Riposte]

I want to remind everyone that this isn't just a problem with the videogame industry.

Go look at random forum threads talking about sexism and the portrayal of female characters on popular sites about anime, literature, film, cartoons, comics, etc. You'll see the exact same arguments there that you find here.

For guys, I think a lot of it boils down to whether you prefer women who look like this:

Or this:

Gamergaters seem to like women whose design and personality revolve around pleasing men. Any woman who isn't enthralled by a dude 100% of the time, or providing fanservice, is seen as threatening.

Anti-gamergaters seem to prefer women who are independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things. And also sometimes like to bone a dude.

What a weird way to make your point. I wonder what this says about women who work at Hooters and how they fail to give off the impression of being "independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things". Regardless, I think you'll find a lot of men who like sex appeal, and even Hooters, are not associated with GamerGate.

Exactly. And why was that? Because the manga industry didn't have the rest of the checklist of industry issues that comic industry had, or rather actually make efforts to address them. Manga has made a significant effort to appeal to their female audience and to avoid having a cycle of content creators remaining stagnant and only creating content for themselves, narrowing the focus of the market to consumers only reflective of the original content creators. Which was a major problem in comics and is a major problem in games.

I think you hear what you want to hear. Kind of like everyone who make the apocalyptic claims about their geek hobbies (e.g., "mobile gaming will create a crash!"). You listed a laundry list of things you don't like about comics and then listed the same for games, mostly being exactly the same things we hear everyday here on GAF (and even from the perfect "misogynistic gamers" representatives, no less, I mean just take a look at Reddit or 4chan if you want) and claim the industry will die and die in this specific way. Then there is the reality, that the game industry isn't crashing and doesn't look to be crashing anytime soon. I mean, if it was, that would be an interesting discussion where we could look at data, not lead with what grinds your gears and ideological grandstanding. I mean people are already doing that everywhere, but rarely do they think they'll be awarded with the destruction of the industry for being right. I'll stick to the idea that you've created an unreasonable scenario because you hold a lot of resentment inside of you, perhaps perfectly reasonably so, and that's pretty much always the case when it comes to doom-sayer prophets.

 

[berzeli]

I want to remind everyone that this isn't just a problem with the videogame industry.

Go look at random forum threads talking about sexism and the portrayal of female characters on popular sites about anime, literature, film, cartoons, comics, etc. You'll see the exact same arguments there that you find here.

No sexism isn't only prevalent in only video games, but unlike those other industries video games has an organised hate-mob that tries to silence critics. No one really bats an eye if Mark Kermode blasts a Michael Bay film for having a crass view on women and if you take a look at Anita Sakreesian's youtube you'll notice that she discussed films, toys and comics earlier and she did that without getting anywhere as much harassment for it as she did when she decided to start discussing video games.

For guys, I think a lot of it boils down to whether you prefer women who look like this:

Or this:

Gamergaters seem to like women whose design and personality revolve around pleasing men. Any woman who isn't enthralled by a dude 100% of the time, or providing fanservice, is seen as threatening.

Anti-gamergaters seem to prefer women who are independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things. And also sometimes like to bone a dude.

This might be the single dumbest post in this thread and I congratulate you on that achievement for that is not an easy thing to accomplish. What the fuck does a woman's appearance have to do with any of it? Like seriously, what the fuck?

I'm not even sure how to approach this line of argument, what if a gay dude rightly criticise GG for being a harassment-campaign? It just makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Toxi]

The perception of comics in general has changed. You know how in older Simpsons episodes Bart would go to the comic book store and buy comics? I don't think I've ever seen a kid browsing the comic section of my local game store since I moved here.

 

[Michanical]

I want to remind everyone that this isn't just a problem with the videogame industry.

Go look at random forum threads talking about sexism and the portrayal of female characters on popular sites about anime, literature, film, cartoons, comics, etc. You'll see the exact same arguments there that you find here.

For guys, I think a lot of it boils down to whether you prefer women who look like this:



Or this:



Gamergaters seem to like women whose design and personality revolve around pleasing men. Any woman who isn't enthralled by a dude 100% of the time, or providing fanservice, is seen as threatening.

Anti-gamergaters seem to prefer women who are independent, have cool personalities and accomplish incredible things. And also sometimes like to bone a dude.

I think this is some pretty faulty reasoning. I doubt many men make determine their political opinions based on the kind of women they are attracted to. I doubt many MRAs would be happy with the top girl if she was working on her master’s degree in economics and writing her thesis on the importance of gender diversity in business and ways to use affirmative actions to close the pay gap. The woman in the bottom picture would be an MRA dream if she fell for PUA-style manipulation and holding the opinion that women are given more advantages in society. Your point is simply overly reductive.

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

This might be the single dumbest post in this thread and I congratulate you on that achievement for that is not an easy thing to accomplish. What the fuck does a woman's appearance have to do with any of it? Like seriously, what the fuck?

I'm not even sure how to approach this line of argument, what if a gay dude rightly criticise GG for being a harassment-campaign? It just makes no sense whatsoever.

Appearance has a ton to do with it. GG is, at it's heart, about threatened men trying to force women to look and behave in a traditional manner. They believe that women should be defined by sex appeal, and that to focus on any other aspect of a woman is to miss the core point of her existence: pleasing men.

Said gay dude can do so, but if he wants to examine why that harassment campaign exists, he'll have to look at the differing concepts of female identity between GG supporters and detractors.

I think this is some pretty faulty reasoning. I doubt many men make determine their political opinions based on the kind of women they are attracted to. I doubt many MRAs would be happy with the top girl if she was working on her master’s degree in economics and writing her thesis on the importance of gender diversity in business and ways to use affirmative actions to close the pay gap. The woman in the bottom picture would be an MRA dream if she fell for PUA-style manipulation and holding the opinion that women are given more advantages in society. Your point is simply overly reductive.

MRAs would probably be equally-reductive of both women, but they're crazy people.

I'm talking specifically about the largely-ignorant male everygamer who thinks that Anita Sarkeesian is trying to steal their virtual/fictional boobs.

 

[ScatheZombie]

I think you hear what you want to hear.

I fail to see how this doesn't also apply to you.

For clarification, when I say "crash", I'm not claiming the game industry will cease to exist entirely. I mean that the major publishers who have been pushing and profiting from these issues will no longer be able to meet shareholder demands for year-over-year profits because they've alienated and narrowed their market to an unsustainable level. At which point, those mega-publishers are either forced to make drastic changes to the way they do business, are sold off to more forward thinking competitors, or collapse in on themselves and make room for more progressive companies. I don't think it's unrealistic doom-saying to conclude that giving the current market situation, the current gaming culture situation, and historic relevance to other industries that had remarkably similar circumstances that at least one of the big, major publishers could die in the next 5 years - and that would potentially spark the other major 'status quo' mega-publishers to re-evalute how they do business and how their current business is cultivating a volatile and self-destructive consumer base.

 

[Oersted]

I don’t think this is true. As of last year, 45% of gamers are women.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Even more interesting, 40% of console gamers are women. Of those statistics, a larger percentage of female gamers play console games “heavily” than men. You are still stuck in this idea that women only like casual games. Their favorite genre on consoles is RPG, not puzzle games or Wii Sports.

Women don’t need to play GTA or Halo to pass some gamercred test. Anecdotally, my girlfriend plays games about as much as I do. Recently, we’ve been playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, and Phoenix Wright together. Why does it matter if she likes Halo or GTA? I’m not a fan of them either, and I’ve been playing games actively since 1989.

The fact that some games are not "respected" as games shows how much mindset power marketing has.

 

[AHUGECAT]

I don’t think this is true. As of last year, 45% of gamers are women.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Even more interesting, 40% of console gamers are women. Of those statistics, a larger percentage of female gamers play console games “heavily” than men. You are still stuck in this idea that women only like casual games. Their favorite genre on consoles is RPG, not puzzle games or Wii Sports.

Women don’t need to play GTA or Halo to pass some gamercred test. Anecdotally, my girlfriend plays games about as much as I do. Recently, we’ve been playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, and Phoenix Wright together. Why does it matter if she likes Halo or GTA? I’m not a fan of them either, and I’ve been playing games actively since 1989.

I doubt these stats are true. Maybe 45% of smartphone gamers, but not 40% console gamers.

40% of Wii/DS gamers, yeah I'd somewhat believe that. Not Xbox or PlayStation (as of 2009 only 10% of those who played PS3/Xbox 360 were women, and the PS4/One are even more geared towards the 18-34 male demographic than the PS3 and 360 were!).

Only 11% of Assassin's Creed or GTA players are female. 56% of Animal Crossing: New Leaf gamers are female however.

The thing is we don't know what we want. We say we want consoles to expand to other demographics, but when it did (Wii) it got bashed relentlessly by gamers.

Even Minecraft is extremely dominated by males: 94% of Minecraft players are male (http://minecraft-seeds.net/blog/minecraft-player-demographics/)

Unless we see another Wii console games will be dominated by males.