Women gamers have been around since the beginning, and more and more women are getting into it. However, though there are more women gamers than ever, they've typically had to adjust to certain male centric views to enjoy the gaming they love. However, at the recent SXSW, a discussion was held looking to see what needed to be done from a design and marketing point of view to attract more women.

From the article:

Boyfriends aren't the only ones facing dilemmas. Publishers and developers have been struggling to develop games that appeal to women, because they represent a huge demographic who haven't traditionally been associated with the video game market, and that translates to lost dollars. But how do you begin to approach making a game for girls, or is it even a mistake to set out to do that from the beginning, rather than just making a game that's fun?

The panel first asked the question, "What constitutes a female gamer?" Jame Pinckard said, "Women aren't just this monolithic block of 'gamers', they all want different types of games. Just because a Barbie video is made for a 12 year old girl, doesn't mean a 26 year woman has to play it." Sheri Graner Ray took it a step further, adding "There is no definition of a female gamer, and trying to tack a label to them does a disservice. The female gamer is simply a female who plays games. She's just a diverse as any other market out there."

Then they broke down some of the numbers they have about female gamers. According to the numbers, 42% of all online gamers are women. At first, this number is fairly impressive ... however the panelists were quick to point out that "online gaming" consists of things like casual games (Super Text Twist, anyone?), and that female gamers are an extremely small portion of online gaming when it comes to consoles, which is 98% male. Still, even with that note, 42% of all online gaming is still a large number, and large numbers attract companies hunting for customers.

Read the full article over at joystiq.com