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Women's Games in Japan

Gendered Identity and Narrative Construction

Bucheon Cartoon Information Center Webzine, faust{at}snu.ac.kr

Women's games refers to a category of games developed and marketed exclusively for the consumption of women and girls in the Japanese gaming industry. Essentially gender-specific games comparable to the `games for girls' proposed by the girls' game movement in the USA, Japanese women's games are significant for their history, influence and function as a site for female gamers to play out various female identities and romantic fantasies within diverse generic structures. This article will first review previous research and literature on women and gaming, analyze the key issues raised in the discourse concerning femininity and electronic games, outline the history and development of women's games, explain how multiple factors contributed to the appeal of women's games by analyzing the games Angelique and Harukanaru Tokino Nakade3 and, lastly, discuss the meaning and significance of women's games in the larger context of women and gaming. The 1994 game Angelique succeeded in establishing a loyal and close-knit fan base by actively utilizing popular female culture such as shoujo manga (girls' comics) and the fan base for voice actors. Angelique also set up the specifics and conventions of women's games: a focus on romance, easy controls and utilizing other multimedia. In 2004, Harukanaru Tokino Nakade3 deconstructed the genre and gender conventions of women's games and shoujo manga, while developing a new type of feminine identity and narrative. Women's games indicate that genderspecific games can be more than educational tools to familiarize girls with technology or perpetuate stereotypes; they can be a significant extension of female culture into the realm of gaming, and contribute to the development of women's culture and the diversification of the gaming industry.

Key Words: computer games • gender • Japan

Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 26, No. 2-3, 165-188 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0263276409103132


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