Women’s sports are gradually getting the notoriety they deserve. While athletics, hockey, tennis, and netball have all been closer to level pegging with the men for a long time, in terms of following and promotion, the same cannot always be said for the likes of soccer, basketball, and cricket. There have been improvements across the board, but one of the more notable areas where significant ground is being made is gaming.
The entertainment medium is at its most popular around the world right now. Of all of the top-selling games each year, it’s the annual sports titles that always fly to the top of the rankings. Sports games have become intrinsically tied to sports fandom and shall be increasingly so in the years to come. As such, it’s not only crucial that top games promote the female stars, but that they come in as a value-add in sports games.
Much like sports, gaming was often seen as a boys’ club by those in and around the industry. Thus, many of the highest-quality games were tailored to men. Throughout the history of gaming, there have been many female protagonists, with Lara Croft the most notable. Still, it wasn’t until recently that fair representation was being practiced, even in the Tomb Raider games.
Now, we’re at the beginning of what might just become the golden age of women in gaming. One of the world’s biggest online games right now is Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead. It’s so popular that platforms offer completely free, no-deposit plays to appeal to newcomers, and here’s a great place to read more about the bonus. However, to change with the time, the platform has released a sequel, Cat Wilde and the Doom of Dead, which makes Rich’s daughter the protagonist.
The former, misplaced idea that gamers don’t want to play as women is being disproven time and time again. Horizon Zero Dawn is, perhaps, the finest example of the shift that we’re beginning to see take place, with the character of Aloy being hailed in an article found right here as one of the best new protagonists in years. We even saw the formerly male-led The Last of Us pivot to focus on the young female co-star, Ellie, in its sequel. Now, it’s over to the ever-popular sports games to follow suit.
For new IPs in gaming, market trends will always influence the direction of studios, which has been seen to sway how they gender characters. Sports games, however, will be top sellers every year regardless. As such, they have a duty to represent women’s sport as well. The biggest of them all, FIFA, has been half-hearted in its approach once again, with EA Sports only making female footballers available in international matches in FIFA 21, which this piece here touches on.
Sports titles from other developers, however, have stepped up a great deal. The relatively small Big Ant Studios decided to take the parity approach with Cricket 19. The game only has the official license to the Ashes teams and its players, as detailed in this game review, so they created both the men’s and the women’s competition as playable game modes in the title. While it’s coming as a post-release addition on next-gen consoles, NBA 2K21 will also be building on its playable WNBA teams by creating a new career mode, dubbed ‘The W.’
Gaming is an essential form of interaction for sports fans, particularly younger fans. So, playing in proper game modes as women’s teams and players will undoubtedly help propel the respective sports.
