Even In Fantasyland Women Are Valued Less
from the chauvanistic-gamers dept
An economics professor who has made a name for himself studying the economics of online games and societies is now pointing out that just like in the working world, women are often valued less than men in the online gaming world. Looking at the price that gaming characters are sold for shows that equivalent women characters average about 10% less than men. He admits that this isn't a huge surprise - since the vast majority of players are male, and are more likely to want to play male characters. However, the more interesting point, then, is that males are willing to pay more just to be perceived as a male in an online environment.
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Hmmm....
When I played D&D (ok, I might be upper middle class, with a good tech job, and a nice home in the subburbs, but I admit it, I still play it), I found that the best players were the ones who could play any character well, regardless to the sex, race, etc. Then again, creativity is often what makes the game fun, and a man playing a woman character well (and vice-versa) is a sign of great creativity, not a sign of a deviant sexual preference (get your minds out of the gutter folks!)
Then again, joe-sixpack hasn't been known for their creativity.
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