Gaming, much more than a game for women

When describing the world of gamingmany times it is crossed by a gender bias and we tend to talk only about players, but the truth is that in Argentina, more than 47% of those who play from their mobile are women. And there are not only those who enjoy this training in amateur mode, but there are also professionals who today compete in different tournaments.

This figure comes from a study carried out by Digital Turbine and disseminated by Adsmovil throughout the region. And they are correlated with the report presented by Newzoo in 2021, in which it is said that 42% of the public gamer They are women, between the ages of 14 and 50. In addition, this same consultancy affirms that 72% of women have played a video game in the last six months. Even, in the same way, there is a gradual increase in women who develop professionally in the industry.

“At a global level, even in Argentina, almost half of the players are women. And of that total, half are over 30 years old. And although women represent a similar portion of gamers in many of the largest markets, they often have their own unique set of preferences and gaming behaviors,” says César Vidal Scasso, president of the Argentine Association of Electronic and Electromechanical Sports (Adeema ).

On a sporting and professional level, “As in most sports, the male sex predominates. Although in recent years we see many more women in the industry, both as competitors, creating content, accompanying as specialized professionals or undertaking in the ecosystem. Society is openly seen moving towards a balance. It is seen in soccer, and much more in the gaming and the e-sports”, adds Vidal Scasso.

An example is Aldana Ortiz, content creator and streamer, former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) player. “I started competing at the age of 16. When I started, the scene was not very developed and it was very difficult to live off the e-sports. To compete you need at least eight hours a day and it was difficult to work and train at the same time. With very few women competing, every time a player dropped out, it was hard to get a replacement,” she recalls. “Today streaming is my main activity. In 2021 I had a proposal to create content about NFT games and I decided to enter this world and try different games. Happily I receive many proposals. Recently, for example, we were doing some streams with CITY Esports, the team of Julián Serrano and KManus, testing an NFT game that I see a great future for: The Harvest. And more interesting games are coming out with their own competitive scheme”, Ortiz details.

In the e-sports there is an expansive wave of women who join. “In Argentina and in the region, there are some pioneering cases such as that of Isurus, which until 2020 was one of the only teams of e-sports which had a high-performance women’s team, which achieved great titles. At present all, or almost all the teams of e-sports have a squad of women, also including newer teams like KRÜ”, says Shirley Romero, AMD Consumer Manager for Argentina & Chile.

Like in other industries, in it gaming Women also have walls to cross, ranging from wage disparity and the number of positions held by women in the industry, to the violence that can be experienced just by playing a video game in the form of entertainment.

“What for many is a source of enjoyment, for women can become a nightmare. To demonstrate the bullying and harassment suffered by women in the gaming, Women in Games Argentina, carried out an experiment with the agency BBDO Argentina, in which three gamers Male professionals played with a female voice modulator to experience first-hand what women feel every time they try to play,” says Romero.

What happened? “These players experienced violence from other players upon noticing that they were playing with women and as a result significantly lowered their win rate and declared that it is impossible to play in these conditions. As companies, we must commit to continue promoting diversity, through example and giving rise to both gamers men and women, and bringing the best products to everyone”, describes Romero.

“With this action We wanted to make visible a situation that is denounced daily by female gamers around the world, and for which they do not find support from video game companies, nor in most cases, from the community itself gamer”, said Christian Rosli and Joaquín Campins, Chief Creative Officers at BBDO Argentina.

“This is particularly evident in the e-sports space, such is the case that in Argentina almost 92% of the player base are men. Although there are many local (such as Lady Mufa) and international (Sasha Hostynis, known Scarlett) exponents, the reality is that it is a quite hostile space and where women, in some way, are constantly forced to demonstrate that they have a certain capacity. to be in the field and be treated on an equal footing”, highlights Paula Haurie, managing director for Globant’s Latam Atlántico and member of the IAB Argentina Gaming & Esports commission.

For example, Scarlett, is the most famous woman in e-sports and better pay globally, “however it is barely in the top 500 of the best competitors in the world”, says Haurie.

“In the last four years women with incredible talent and potential have made many teams of e-sports, showing his worth in any title no matter what. In any game you can find a woman, a professional and talented player, and with the support of companies like Logitech or Champion Games, or clubs like Team Heretics,” says Velita, a member of the gaming community. gamers by Ola GG.

Although he is aware that several players do not dare to speak into the microphone “because they are told that games like Fortnite either Valorant they are not for them. Some are discriminated against and even insulted for just being women, to the point that they only use a skin and a boy’s name. For many, the way to overcome those ‘limits’ is to simply ignore, take control and continue playing”, adds Velita.

What happens in the companies that are producing video games today? Do you have female talent among your members?

Particularly, from Nimble Giant, they assure that of the almost 100 people who entered to work in the different offices of the company in 2022, more than 20% of the income is identified with the female gender. ”Regarding 2021, the number of women they hired increased by 110%, which marks an upward trend in the number of talents for the industry. Even after the last performance evaluation, the team has 60% more women in leadership roles than the previous year”, they say from the company.

The truth is that there is still “a lot of space to add more female professionals, either from basic training or from the conversion of other professions to video games. The opportunities are many more than the barriers”, they highlight from Nimble Giant.