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DUNDEE, Scotland, Jun 30, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The founder of the International Game Developers' Association says manufacturers must consider women to tap the videogame industry's huge growth potential.
"Existing online role-playing games are succeeding with women in spite of their subject matter, not because of it," Ernest Adams told the BBC.
"When we get more games whose gameplay genuinely appeals to female players, we can expect to see huge growth there," he said.
Adams called for more female developers and games that require less time, a message he will take to the 2005 Women in Games Conference in Dundee, Scotland, in August.
Online games that involve solving puzzles are popular with women, who like the hugely popular "Sims" game as well as men.
"It is no coincidence that the developer team on this was also evenly split between men and women," Adams said.
Women make up one-quarter of the gaming population in Britain compared with 39 percent in the United States and 69 percent in South Korea, the BBC reported.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
