EA claims that the video game industry is continuing to fail women by not producing enough games that appeal to them. Their research has found that 40% of teenage girls play video games versus 90% of teenage boys and most girls lose interest in games within a year. Indeed, a report by the Entertainment Software Association last year revealed that 38 percent of gamers are female, spending an average of 7.4 hours a week playing. Presumably their boyfriends/husbands are out at this time and so the girls don’t have to wrench the game pads out of their cold dead hands. The report’s author, Dr. Jeff Brand, predicts that the number of female gamers will increase to equal that of male gamers by 2012. EA wants to be the first to experience the girl gamer boom, as they believe it could add a billion dollars to their sales. The first hurdle to overcome, however, is that the content currently aimed at women gamers is not appealing.

- Simon Moore