Why girls like 2D video games

Most of the girls I know play 2D games because they’re easy. The games, not the girls.

[Lucent Beam]

Sounds like the author was too inept to learn to control a dual analog game so she assumes all girls are like that...? I disagree basically with everything the article says. Most girls "tuned out" as gaming progressed because they beaome "normal teenage girls" who didn't seem to play many games, not because the changing control methods of gaming scared them away. Also, clearly boys loves collecting too or else achievements and trophies would not be so popular. To answer her question "am I completely off base?" ....yes, I think you are.

[Quagmire]

Because its easy enough for them to play whilst making a sammich in the kitchen.

Lol, joax, but i can feel a few disagrees coming along... soz

[BBAM]

but bubbles for guts and light-hearted humour

[bacrec1]

Church

[lil boy blue]

Quagmire that was a beast joke I'm gonna use it in some sometime.

[Titanz]

New Super Mario Bros Wii sales prove that statement.

[ShinMaster]

New Super Mario Bros Wii is not 2D. And not it's not "so true", it's a vague generalization.

[ShinMaster]

Why disagree? New Super Mario Bros Wii isn't 2D. It's side-scrolling, but in 3D.

And what I meant by vague generalization, I was referring to the article saying "women prefer 2D games".
I've known a few that play mostly 3D games and one of them is my wife, who enjoys games like GOW, Demon's Souls, Final Fantasy, Katamari and MGS.

[MaxXAttaxX]

Granted. Not all 2d games are easy, in fact a lot of them can be harder than 3D games.

[Seferoth75]

Your comment kinda proves you never played it. Its one of the harder Mario games out there. They could make it harder because they included the help feature for people with little skill. Makes the game so even a Sony gamer could play it.

[ShinMaster]

Were you responding to me?
If so, then yes I have played NSMBWii. And I have been playing Mario games since the first one, my favorite being SMB3, which was harder than both of the New SMB games.
But I'm also a Sony gamer as much as I am a Nintendo gamer.

[MaxXAttaxX]

He seems a little angry toward Sony gamers for some reason, turns everything into an anti-sony argument. Maybe he's envy lol
Don't mind the fanboys.

[MysticStrummer]

At least Sony gamers know your name is spelled incorrectly.

[Seferoth75]

Poor kid... Too bad for you I have a valid reason for spelling it this way. Though I dont have to prove it to you or even get your approval to use it.
Sad that is what you thought would be a decent come back.

On the plus side 4 ppl disagree with you. I have a little more faith in this site now

[R0me]

Sad no one has a chance versus diehard nintendo fanboys, who really think mario games are hard. I didnt play it, but I saw an 14 year old playing it on live stream at justin.tv. Sorry man, it isnt hard. Its maybe hard if you compare it to the other mario games.

Play Demon's Souls if you want a real hard game. It has no help, so it will be impossible for a Nintendo gamer to play.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

Games are very easy...

[Transporter47]

and then tell me they are very easy

[Ricegum]

Or go play this :)

http://n4g.com/news/98453/i...

[DigitalHorror81]

Don't forget the old school Mega Man.

I'm 28 and it STILL kicks my ass.

[Mini Mario]

Dont forget Contra

[darkdoom3000]

Megaman disagrees with your statement, bubbles.

[na-no-nai]

ninja gaiden also pretty hard. i played it again after so many sooo many years have past. and i have a hard time with it lol

[Ron_Burgundy]

not true, they're not popular on xbox

[BYE]

As long as there's marvels like Demon's Souls, no problem, they can have their easy and fail-safe games :)

[MorganX]

Best Halo Player I know - Girl
Best Resident Evil 5 Player I know - Girl

[Red-Dead-Roar]

you need more friends ... :)

[MysticStrummer]

I regularly play UC2 with a girl who owns the room, and at one point the best MW player in the world was a girl... not sure about now. You need to wake up and smell the reality.

[Sashamaz]

You Suck...at 3D games

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

and I like 2d games too.

[DigitalHorror81]

The Atari Jaguar controller.

Seriously, what the hell were they thinking?

[BBAM]

one of the funniest opening sentences I've read in an article for a while.
Back to the subject at hand. I agree, with the exception of littlebigplanet, I love that game myself, but chicks adore that game!
It's true as well that games used to be alot more basic and easy but yet still great fun. I love going back to Crash bandicoot warped ever now and then, the game's so fun and yet the 'story' and levels are so... random. If such a game came out today it would be slaughtered by critics and gamers alike.
Games like the pixel junk series somehow manage to keep that original simplexity and be appealing to a wider audience, and STILL look stunning

[Focker420]

I wish they'd make a new Crash Bandicoot. Those games were awesome.

[BBAM]

but Naughty Dog no longer owns the rights, since they moved onto Jak and Dakter and Uncharted. My younger brother was playing a Playstation2 Crash Bandicoot game thinking it was good. Had a good mind to backhand the ignorant foo'

[Focker420]

Theres a few girl gamers I know that kick the sh*t out of everyone on CoD4. Just because sidescrollers are "supposedly" easy doesn't mean girls gravitate towards them. Everyone has different tastes and just because they're girls doesn't make any difference. Girls can be hardcore gamers too.

[BenCrazy424]

I think this is just sexism at its best. Just because most women out there do not play video games does not mean that the ones that do are overtaken by a step up to 3D. Its like saying women like the ps2 better because the graphics on the ps3 is "way too much for them to handle." stfu 2d-x.com

[Snarkasaur]

Great article. I've actually been thinking a lot about this particular subject lately as the girls I know never seem to play games on hard or trophy hunt (with exceptions) and this kind of crystallizes why that is.

Also 2d-x ftw.

[Figboy]

my wife is a girl, and she HATES 2D games because they are too hard.

instead, she plays Fallout 3, Oblivion, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 1 and 2, and Fable 1 and 2, to name only a few of the games she plays. those are not 2D. the only real 2D game she'll play is Little Big Planet, but only up until the end, because those last levels are brutal.

broad generalizations about the sexes are FUN! /sarcasm

i suppose this author also thinks that girls don't play or like any game that's not Hello Kitty themed?

my wife and old roommate (who is also a girl), love games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil also (although my wife tried to play Silent Hill, but it scared her to much, so she just forces me to play it over, and over, and over, and over again. lol).

the problem with some gamers is that they are unable to accept that girls can be just as insane about games as we are. they only have breasts. which make them a bit more awesome than us guys, but only a little. my wife grew up playing the NES and the Final Fantasy series. her younger sister too. when i first met her, one of the things that attracted me to her was the fact that she could go on a tirade about Final Fantasy 6 and all of it's characters and story like any of my hardcore geek gamer guy friends.

the preconceived notions about what a gamer is based on gender or sexual orientation have just got to stop. 50% of World of Warcraft players are female. many female gamers throw up a little in their mouths when they see a new Hanna Montana or >insert game people think women will love here<.

everybody is different and has different tastes. female gamers are no different. some like 2D, some like 3D. some like light, fun games, some like dark, gritty games (i won't even TELL you the things my wife was doing to characters in her "evil" playthrough of Fallout 3...). don't just put them in a box of generalizations because some guy gamers try and view gaming as a "boys club," and women just "won't understand," the appeal of games that aren't fluffy bunnies and rainbows. you'd be WRONG.

[Ironfungus]

2D games are harder, actually - as history dictates.

[Mini Mario]

Super ghouls n ghosts, contra, battle toads, castlevania, super star wars.

ahh the memories

Those are some hard games. And they aren't broken, just harder. No saves either!

Also there is a contra 4 game on the DS. People who think 2D is easy should try or buy it. Just to prove a point.

[N4OGs]

music and movies and facebook type stuff.

Theres girls that like to play games and such but a lot of them are on the wii because thats what they used to play with there big brothers or sisters back in the day.

You will never see a girl running late for work, looking like a zombie, or not washing because of games lol. Girls can play and get addicted to games and such. EVen some girls can get super crazy about them like they do justin bieber.

[jemarval]

Girls "think" in 2D. A teacher (woman teacher) told me men are more capable of handling tasks that require spacial thinking because they develop it in early years playing with blocks, cars, and more phisical stuff. Girls play with dolls and develop social skills and bonding with toy children and toy friends.

[dizzleK]

could it be science at work? science says that females generally have problems with navigating in a 3D environment.

http://searchengineland.com...

Generally speaking, men are more adept at navigation in 3D environments than women. In fact, this ability marks one of the most significant gender differences in ability.

Another possible implication is that males enjoy virtual games more because the job of navigating through the game environment is done at a subconscious level, whereas with women, it occupies more of the executive function of their brains, creating a greater cognitive load and reducing their ability to engage in the other aspects of the game. Perhaps a typical video game that involves 3D spatial navigation is a better match for the male brain. Purely speculative, but interesting nonetheless.

[Darkfiber]

I like 2D video games and I'm a guy. My girlfriend likes 3D video games and she's a girl. This article has no purpose.

[e-p-ayeaH]

wow GTFO

[e-p-ayeaH]

Girls play alot second life and sims 3 and their completly in 3D.

2D games are also appealing to girls cause it involves more in platforming,puzzles and other stuff like that.

[MadMan00]

I know so many hot females that play Pokemon, I'm just like WOW.

[Mini Mario]

2D games are awesome to anybody that likes games. 2D games are still awesome today and i will still be playing them tomorrow. And im not female...shock horror

[jmmurillo86]

Some of the hardest games are 2D:

Ghost & Goblins
Earthworm Jim
Bionic Commando
Abe's Exoddus
Metal Slug

Others, while not hard, offer good challenge, like Lemmings, Worms, Sonic, etc...