By Katey Khaos

Hey guys ~ have you noticed anything different lately when you’ve been playing Call Of Duty: Black Ops? Maybe not. So you may not realize it, but girl gamers are no longer the few and far between.

According to Entertainment Software Association, thirty-eight percent of gamers are female. We’re not just talking about game likes Farmville, either.  “Women are out there in significant numbers playing MMOs, action games, first-person shooters,” said Sony Online Entertainment marketing guru Torrie Dorrell.

The MMORPGS (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) realm has a huge community of girl gamers. Franchises like World of Warcraft, which has over 12 million subscribers as of October 2010, has a massive number of female gamers! In other role-playing game like The Sims, more than fifty-five percent of the gaming community is female as well ~ 55% means that we ladies are a stronger force than you guys out there.

The fact of the matter is, not many male gamers would notice the change because a good portion of the female gaming community doesn’t flaunt the fact that they’re girls. Don’t get me wrong here ~ there are plenty of Spartans running around sporting bubble gum pink armor, and there are plenty of gamer tags with Xs and Os in them.  On the flip side, there are plenty of other gamer girls who will select male characters and play them incredibly well ~ and you wouldn’t have the slightest idea they’re girls unless you heard them talk on their headsets.

Now why wouldn’t a girl gamer necessarily give away she’s female? There are a few reasons for the “secrecy.”  For me personally, it’s the fact that gender shouldn’t factor into the gaming community.  Ability is what really counts here ~ not what you’re rockin’ down under, if you catch my drift. Second, there are a lot of instances where girl gamers are “gamed down on,” so to speak. In other words, other players will leave the team or talk poorly to or about the girl and her ability to play ~ especially if they’re playing a cutesy character like Annie from League of Legends (who is my main character, by the way!)

Sure, there are bad girl gamers out there ~ but same goes for the opposite sex. (The term “noob” goes both ways here, guys!)
If you don’t believe just how many girls are into games these days, check out www.girlgamer.com ~ you’ll be pleasantly surprised.