By Christina Mariannino
A lot of our more recent articles have focused mainly on children, but some of our readers might be under the impression that we are only speaking about the boys in their house—Xbox® games aren’t just for your sons. Girls play and enjoy video games too!
Of course the first thing that comes to mind are games like Barbie™ Horse Adventures™ Wild Horse Rescue™ and Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX™, but these are not the only games girls like to play. In addition, there are many things a young girl can learn while playing video games. Eye and hand coordination, teamwork, and thinking before acting, which can be hard for some children.
Girls Are Competitive In the Xbox Videogame Arena
Videogames are also good for girls because they show them that they can be competitive in games against both male and female competition. There is a group of all-female gamers that go around competing (and beating) the boys in many competitions.
There are many girl gaming clans, but I am specifically referring to the Ubisoft-sponsored FragDolls. While this girl gaming group is not necessarily in the age group we generally discuss, it is important to mention since it just serves to prove that the old adage “boys are better at video games” simply is not true.
We Can Compete—but Let’s Bond
For the most part, young female gamers (and females in general) show stronger emotions than boys normally display, and therefore develop a stronger bond with the characters in their games and the storyline too. So it is likely that your young girl may be more apt to continue playing a game, long after your son has grown bored of it. This can help keep your young girl’s mind active more than watching cartoons will.
Casual Gaming and the Xbox Live Arcade Experience
If you were to look at the statistics for casual gaming, female gamers make up a large majority of the casual gaming revolution going on in PC gaming, and this is crossing over to Xbox Live® with the addition and expansion of the Xbox Live Arcade.
We already discussed the benefits that Xbox Live Arcade has to offer for the whole family in a previous article, so I am not going to go into the details, but increasingly more and more you’ll see your girls playing these casual games and having a good time with it to boot. It can be a great way for you to bond with your child, especially fathers, if you’re not into the whole make-up thing.
Platformers and Action Games
As I stated before, girls generally have a longer attention span than boys do, so platformers, strategy, and adventure titles are also well-suited for girl gamers. There is a great list of games in the Xbox Family Center that will lead you in the right direction when choosing a title your young gamer will enjoy. Some of the games are based on popular cartoons, others are based on movies, so there is sure to be something for everyone. And of course you get the added benefits of some of the skills learned during gameplay, such as problem-solving skills.
This is not to say that girls are not as involved with say first-person shooters; but we all know girls think differently than little boys do.
Looking Ahead to Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is coming this holiday season, and with it will come a huge list of enhancements, games, and online services such as the Xbox Live Marketplace. In our next article we will highlight what you can expect to see from Xbox 360 and what it will have to offer the family in more detail. For now, just be ready to grab one!
A lot of our more recent articles have focused mainly on children, but some of our readers might be under the impression that we are only speaking about the boys in their house—Xbox® games aren’t just for your sons. Girls play and enjoy video games too!
Of course the first thing that comes to mind are games like Barbie™ Horse Adventures™ Wild Horse Rescue™ and Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX™, but these are not the only games girls like to play. In addition, there are many things a young girl can learn while playing video games. Eye and hand coordination, teamwork, and thinking before acting, which can be hard for some children.
Girls Are Competitive In the Xbox Videogame Arena
Videogames are also good for girls because they show them that they can be competitive in games against both male and female competition. There is a group of all-female gamers that go around competing (and beating) the boys in many competitions.
There are many girl gaming clans, but I am specifically referring to the Ubisoft-sponsored FragDolls. While this girl gaming group is not necessarily in the age group we generally discuss, it is important to mention since it just serves to prove that the old adage “boys are better at video games” simply is not true.
We Can Compete—but Let’s Bond
For the most part, young female gamers (and females in general) show stronger emotions than boys normally display, and therefore develop a stronger bond with the characters in their games and the storyline too. So it is likely that your young girl may be more apt to continue playing a game, long after your son has grown bored of it. This can help keep your young girl’s mind active more than watching cartoons will.
Casual Gaming and the Xbox Live Arcade Experience
If you were to look at the statistics for casual gaming, female gamers make up a large majority of the casual gaming revolution going on in PC gaming, and this is crossing over to Xbox Live® with the addition and expansion of the Xbox Live Arcade.
We already discussed the benefits that Xbox Live Arcade has to offer for the whole family in a previous article, so I am not going to go into the details, but increasingly more and more you’ll see your girls playing these casual games and having a good time with it to boot. It can be a great way for you to bond with your child, especially fathers, if you’re not into the whole make-up thing.
Platformers and Action Games
As I stated before, girls generally have a longer attention span than boys do, so platformers, strategy, and adventure titles are also well-suited for girl gamers. There is a great list of games in the Xbox Family Center that will lead you in the right direction when choosing a title your young gamer will enjoy. Some of the games are based on popular cartoons, others are based on movies, so there is sure to be something for everyone. And of course you get the added benefits of some of the skills learned during gameplay, such as problem-solving skills.
This is not to say that girls are not as involved with say first-person shooters; but we all know girls think differently than little boys do.
Looking Ahead to Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is coming this holiday season, and with it will come a huge list of enhancements, games, and online services such as the Xbox Live Marketplace. In our next article we will highlight what you can expect to see from Xbox 360 and what it will have to offer the family in more detail. For now, just be ready to grab one!