"Play Vanilla" Games Magazine for Women Announced

[fitbabits]

Computec Media, based in Germany, sends along news of the first games magazine marketed to women - Play Vanilla.

Press release to follow...

Um, while I applaud this move, I can't help gagging at the actual title of the thing! What do the ladies of EvAv make of this?

[fitbabits]

Germany’s Computec Media AG’s new play vanilla title, the world’s first games magazine for women, will be addressing a market that has often been talked about but hardly served. Around a quarter of all computer gamers are female, and the tendency is rising. The first play vanilla issue will be appearing on December 4 as a supplement to the next issue of Joy lifestyle magazine German edition, and on a regular basis from March 2007.

Fresh, bold, upbeat and feminine - four words to sum up play vanilla, Germany’s first gaming magazine for women, presenting games with sense and soul along with consumer electronics products and gadgets in smart designs. The play vanilla editorial team will be building on the product-testing expertise of Computec’s magazines in dealing with topics that appeal specifically to women in the 19-to-40 age bracket.

Women have been the source of enormous surges in growth on the games market; internationally successful games have already shown a large proportion of female players - 60% for Sims II, more than 30% for the Anno series. Half of the "casual” gamers - more than 54% of the target group for advertising aged 14 or over are female according to a recent study by Electronic Arts and Jung von Matt - as are 44% of the Nintendo DS gamers. Women make up more than a third of all mobile game downloads according to Bitkom presiding committee member Manfred Gerdes (FTD, August 2006).

The first issue of play vanilla will appear as a premium supplement on December 4 - in time for the gifting season - in the January 2007 issue of Joy, Marquard Media’s women’s lifestyle magazine German edition, at a print volume of 700,000 copies and sales volume of 534,946 copies (IVW III/06). From March 2007, play vanilla will appear regularly as a magazine title in Germany in a format yet to be decided.

"Play vanilla will be serving an interest group that has so far been woefully neglected, a group with enormous potential and specific requirements,” explains Petra Fröhlich, Editor-in-Chief of play vanilla and PC Games. "Women want to play too, but are quite different from men in the demands they place on a game. A magazine like play vanilla is inevitable with the increasing numbers of female gamers and games with specifically female appeal. Focus groups and games publishers have shown excellent reactions to play vanilla.”

According to Commercial Director Hans Ippisch, "Computec Media has remained true to its pioneering role, and is in a position to offer agencies and media production companies direct access to one of the most rapidly expanding target groups - we are the first publishing house to begin a new revolutionary print and online publication with both women and gaming in the focus. The advertising slots booked for the first issue alone have shown how well the concept has been received by advertising customers.”

Johannes Sevket Gözalan, Computec Media AG CEO: "The launch of Germany’s and the world’s first games magazine for women - play vanilla - is a consistent continuation of our strategy of expanding on our core competencies with innovations dominating the market not only in depth, but also in range, while tapping into the existing target-group potential to the full. We look forward to the challenge of finally presenting what has been a traditionally male domain to women, and satisfying this target group’s expectations.”

[lettheashesfall]

Play Vagina

[Rirath]

Play Vanilla? Is it scratch and sniff or something?

Eh, anywhere else this would barely be a blip on the radar of news, but all the gaming sites will likely run with it.

[J Arcane]

Wow. What an idiotic and potentially insulting title. Lets kick off a first attempt to court female gamers seriously, by telling them they play boring and bland games.

Fucking retards.

[KamaItachi]

Since I'm not a woman, or in Germany, the name doesn't really affect me. It's not like I'll be seeing it about.

I do wonder though, how you make a magazine dedicated to casual gamer without most of the material being fluff. I guess you don't need to worry about recycling weeks old news that's already been posted all over the net and debated ad nauseum on message boards.

Best of luck to them though, the industry could use a bit of diversity.

[Yama]

I doubt the connection between Vanilla and "Bland" exists in German culture. To them it's probably just another flavour (And real Vanilla does have a flavour, unlike what you get in vanilla icecream).

[violentp]

Ladies of EvAv?

[MrWonderstuff]

Ladies of EvAv?

There are none. Which isn't a surpirse given the immaturity of lettheashesfall's comment.

[Watership]

Ladies of EvAv?

He's talking about Trackzero.

[Disgustipated]

He's talking about Trackzero.

OH DUDE! BURN!

[EvilBob46]

Wow. What an idiotic and potentially insulting title. Lets kick off a first attempt to court female gamers seriously, by telling them they play boring and bland games.

Fucking retards.

I would say the term Vanilla as meaning "shallow" is completely lost on 95% of Germans anyway. It's an English title that sounds fancy in German...nothing more.

[Kwatsu]

Female EvAv reader: personally, I think that title sounds like a sex toy.

[Disgustipated]

Female EvAv reader: personally, I think that title sounds like a sex toy.

Ooh, a real female EvAver? Let us rejoice, for estrogen once again has joined us. :D

[lettheashesfall]

There are none. Which isn't a surpirse given the immaturity of lettheashesfall's comment.wow, chill out.

[GunnyMo]

Wow, Play Vanilla. I'm not quite sure what to say on that. It's one of those things where you scratch your head and are really speechless. Not necessarily because someone might find it insulting but more because you're trying to fathom how the hell they came up with such a name. Play Vanilla? I have to go with the sex toy idea, myself.

[jeffool]

I dunno. I don't think 'Play Vanilla' is bad or anything. And it's no worse a name than Edge or GMR.

[GunnyMo]

I dunno. I don't think 'Play Vanilla' is bad or anything. And it's no worse a name than Edge or GMR.

Yeah, but at least you knew what Edge or GMR was about. Play Vanilla? Who the hell knows what that's about? Weird food sex games? A fetish magazine?

[jeffool]

Actually, that was my point. I only know about them because I've seen them and have been shown them by friends. By the names alone I'll be damned if I could figure out what 'Edge' was about. Sounds more about music, actually. GMR I could possibly deduce, but 'Play Vanilla' does have 'play' in the name.

[KamaItachi]

Yeah, but at least you knew what Edge or GMR was about. Play Vanilla? Who the hell knows what that's about? Weird food sex games? A fetish magazine?

Reading just the name, Edge could be about anything. When you see it on shelves, you get an idea about what the magazine is for.

Play Vanilla is a German magazine with an English language title. I'm assuming with even a little grasp of the language you'd know what the words themselves mean, but as a name it doesn't mean anything. There are lots of foreign magazines that use english words or titles and when people see them on the news stands I'm sure they don't sit and ponder how the hell to decrypt the cypher rather than looking at the cover and going "oh, games!"

[spacerat100]

Play Vanilla... sounds like sex jelly

[Sloth]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.

[Serapth]

Sometimes.... i just dont feel fresh...

[F3nyx]

Fresh, bold, upbeat, feminine, and aggressively lowercaseFixed. 10char

[ElectricMonk]

I doubt the connection between Vanilla and "Bland" exists in German culture. To them it's probably just another flavour (And real Vanilla does have a flavour, unlike what you get in vanilla icecream).

i was just going to post the same thing

[F3nyx]

I doubt the connection between Vanilla and "Bland" exists in German culture. To them it's probably just another flavour (And real Vanilla does have a flavour, unlike what you get in vanilla icecream).You're probably right, but that makes even less sense if vanilla's just another flavor. "Play Chocolate"? "Play Mint"? "Play Caramel"?

[OUX]

Makes me think of a thrilling 32 level game in which the hero Robins is trying to restore the vitality to the respective flavor kingdoms... or a sex toy

[Heretic Machine]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.

The industry currently has an obsession with segregating the female gamer from everyone else, reducing them to playing nothing but The Sims and Bejeweled. The actual female gamers I've met have a much wider spectrum of games that they enjoy.

EDIT: Also, Vanilla is the best flavor ever, fuck all of you! :mad:

[Rirath]

Fixed. 10char

Truth. ;) Now if you could only explain the reasoning behind it, I'd sure love to know.

[F3nyx]

Truth. ;) Now if you could only explain the reasoning behind it, I'd sure love to know.Capitalization is an invention of the Man.

[saulob]

Woman ? Here ? Where where where ????? Show me show meee !!

Hello Hello Hello... Hi hi hi hi hi :D

[gojira]

Woman ? Here ? Where where where ????? Show me show meee !!

Hello Hello Hello... Hi hi hi hi hi :D

Way to go, dork. Now she's gone.




;) <--- smiley added for the humor impaired.

[spacerat100]

The industry currently has an obsession with segregating the female gamer from everyone else, reducing them to playing nothing but The Sims and Bejeweled. The actual female gamers I've met have a much wider spectrum of games that they enjoy.

EDIT: Also, Vanilla is the best flavor ever, fuck all of you! :mad:

i met a female gamer that said, "hey fuck you.. i'll quake your ass off" .... i was in love till i discovered she was a lesbian :[

[jeffool]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.Maybe female gamers are looking for different things in their magazines, then? I don't know. Ask them. (And hopefully these folk did.)Woman ? Here ? Where where where ????? Show me show meee !!

Hello Hello Hello... Hi hi hi hi hi :DIf I were a wittier man I'd make an off the cuff joke about you being from Brazil, but I'm not.

[JRR006]

What, precisely, will make it "for women"? *looks back over article* Let's see: "sense and soul". I don't even know what that means, and besides, how many casual gamers buy magazines devoted to gaming anyway? If they think they can make a buck, more power to them, I guess.

[Zeal]

I think trying to segregate women who play games into another market is counter-productive.

[Captain Awesome]

haha, there are no women here. You're kidding yourself.

[TrackZero]

He's talking about Trackzero.

Oh, you're so going down for that.

[Ultima Thulian]

Well, the magazine is targeting a very, very niche market. And there's ladies on EvAv...they just don't show up anymore. Piggie, Piku!, Trackzero, they're there.

[Camel]

Well, the magazine is targeting a very, very niche market. And there's ladies on EvAv...they just don't show up anymore. Piggie, Piku!, Trackzero, they're there.
Don't forget niakori! I see posts from her pretty regularly!

We need a damn registry for our ladies, the issue of female EvAvers comes up fairly often.

[Ultima Thulian]

Most forums just let you assign the typical male/female symbol under your name or whatever. It doesn't guarantee that the person is the gender they claim to be, but it does give out the illusion! :p

[Kwatsu]

Well, I read Edge and OPS2 if there's something good out. OPS2 is usually worth it: fairly guy-orientated but the gaming news is still in there... somewhere... But I live in the UK, so I doubt I'll ever read Play Vanilla one way or the other.

Oh yeah, and this thing the companies have about appealing to 'girl gamers' by bringing out pink PS2 and DS gear? Pass. Shockingly, most of us girls think that just making something pink and pretending that it's targeted merchandise, is kinda patronising. If we can live with a white iPod we can live with a white DS. I think we'd be better off if people stopped dividing us by 'gamers' and 'girl gamers'. We're all just in it for a pixel fix anyway, right?

And now I'm off to take my frustrations out on SoulCalibur III.

[F3nyx]

We need a damn registry for our ladies, the issue of female EvAvers comes up fairly often.No, we don't. Even the best of forums have swarms of losers who make creepy attempts at flirting whenever a poster admits to being female.

[Cavalier]

I dunno. I don't think 'Play Vanilla' is bad or anything. And it's no worse a name than Edge or GMR.

What are you talking about, it's a blatantly racist title, they want to get back to their white supremacist roots and subjugate the black man!

Get Leland Yee on the phone, someone has to stop these...europeans!

Or something :)

[KamaItachi]

Well, I read Edge and OPS2 if there's something good out. OPS2 is usually worth it: fairly guy-orientated but the gaming news is still in there... somewhere... But I live in the UK, so I doubt I'll ever read Play Vanilla one way or the other.

Oh yeah, and this thing the companies have about appealing to 'girl gamers' by bringing out pink PS2 and DS gear? Pass. Shockingly, most of us girls think that just making something pink and pretending that it's targeted merchandise, is kinda patronising. If we can live with a white iPod we can live with a white DS. I think we'd be better off if people stopped dividing us by 'gamers' and 'girl gamers'. We're all just in it for a pixel fix anyway, right?

And now I'm off to take my frustrations out on SoulCalibur III.

I don't think they released it just to get the girl gamer, more than they released it because pink stuff is fucking awesome.

[Kwatsu]

Oh shit, yeah, I forgot that Real Men Wear Pink. :)

But Play Vanilla is still a dumb name.

[KamaItachi]

Oh shit, yeah, I forgot that Real Men Wear Pink. :)

But Play Vanilla is still a dumb name.

Hey, I'm not going to let something as silly as a colour threaten my sexuality.

Women on the other hand...

[51|RandoM]

So where is the Men's Gaming Magazine, and what will we call it, "Play Chocolate"?


On a serious note, I would submit that women who are into gaming are also ones who've most likely left print magazines behind and have embraced the Internet for such content.

[51|RandoM]

No, we don't. Even the best of forums have swarms of losers who make creepy attempts at flirting whenever a poster admits to being female.

Exactly. It bugs the shit out of me when 10 idiots start fawning(drooling) over what might be a female. It is like people congenitally blind who suddenly see their first rays of sunlight or something.

[kickmybum]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.

I think women look for different things in games (char's affect on environment, community, chat, variety of armor, etc) than men do (gore factor, power-ups, killing, graphics, etc) , so I guess they would rather read gaming articles from a women's point of view.

[Ultima Thulian]

I got an idea for what game should be on the cover: Cooking Mama 2: Bitch Make Me A Sammich! :D

[51|RandoM]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.

I've been thinking about this, and the conclusion is that they're not really trying to target the female gamer. They're trying to target the people who want to advertise to the female gamer. It isn't that women need a separate magazine, it is so that they can tap a different base of advertising funding.

Think about it, when was the last time you saw a two-page spread on the freshness of Summer's Eve in CGW?

[Ophelea]

Female gamer here and I lurk 99% of the time on the 40-odd boards I'm registered on. Not because I have nothing to say but because the type of discussion I'd prefer to have is more about the implications of gaming, how it relates to society, families (I have kids), etc. And that simply doesn't translate well on forums.

If they put that in a magazine for women - who more often than men are concerned with these issues because of their children - than I can see segregating it. As someone who makes a living at marketing, I'd be sorely disappointed if it's a way to market, but it would be a good one.

[Serapth]

Exactly. It bugs the shit out of me when 10 idiots start fawning(drooling) over what might be a female. It is like people congenitally blind who suddenly see their first rays of sunlight or something.


Man, you should have played Everquest. It was fucking pathetic.

[51|RandoM]

Man, you should have played Everquest. It was fucking pathetic.

I played beta 1-4 and it was rampant. I will admit to spending a large portion of my time partnered with this female elf who ran around in these weird red chap type pants, but that is another story.

A member of my party looted McQuaid's green armor leggings during a beta event, hehehe. It was like, "Dogpile on the dude in green armor!!!!"

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Yeah, but at least you knew what Edge or GMR was about. Play Vanilla? Who the hell knows what that's about? Weird food sex games? A fetish magazine?


How on Earth do you know what Edge is about unless you are familiar with it? When I hear the word "Edge", I sure as hell don't think of gaming. :p


I think the title is fine - I honestly don't see the problem that you guys have with it. "Vanilla" is only slang for bland in the US anyway...probably because most of the things that are "vanilla" flavored here don't actually have any vanilla in them. Kind of like most of the other shit Americans consume. :p

[Magnanimous Gnome]

How does the current batch of game magazines not serve the female gamer? I read Windows Gaming Magazine, and don't see how a female gamer couldn't get the same content out of it as a male gamer.


American game mags have come a long way in the last few years. They used to be incredibly sexist - I'm sure some of them still are.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I wish we'd see more games with "gay" characters and storylines, although this is definitely improving, slightly.


So where is the Men's Gaming Magazine, and what will we call it, "Play Chocolate"?


On a serious note, I would submit that women who are into gaming are also ones who've most likely left print magazines behind and have embraced the Internet for such content.


Play Chocolate will be the title of the gay gamer's mag. :rolleyes:

Someone had to say it. :eek:




Edit - Wow, sorry about the triple post. :o

[Serapth]

I wish we'd see more games with "gay" characters and storylines, although this is definitely improving, slightly.

Im trying, and I cant think of a game with openly gay characters??

[Greymane]

For Magnanimous Gnome, the top five games the gaming world needs in the interest of balance:

1. An American RPG with a homosexual main character. (The jRPG storytelling style probably wouldn't fit with it, and the tendency for feminization of male leads in jRPGs would make it seem patronizing.)

2. A Final Fantasy game with a 50 year old main character, complete with beard and general crankiness. No high emotionalism, no broadly obvious love plotlines, and no Wonder Years -esque narrations; just anger, irritation, wisecracks, and efficiency.

3. An excellent racing game that has a jazz / big band soundtrack.

4. An adventure game where the puzzles are always solved violently.

5. An action game with a female lead that is not attractive at all. No giant tits, no collagen-filled lips, no button noses, no lustrous manes, no perfectly proportioned hips. A female lead who's got blunt features, and a stocky figure.


None of these would make an inherently good game, but I can't think of a single game where the aforementioned actually happens.

[jamaicanrage]

God of War has puzzles that are solved pretty violently. And One of the Characters in KOTOR was a (potential) lesbian if i remember correctly.

[Ultima Thulian]

God of War has puzzles that are solved pretty violently. And One of the Characters in KOTOR was a (potential) lesbian if i remember correctly.

Yeah, but she wasn't human either. There's plenty of games with gay characters, they just tend to be stereotyped. It's the same way with movies, tv, etc.

[KamaItachi]

Do games like Fable where your main character can be gay if you want count?

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Im trying, and I cant think of a game with openly gay characters??


Well The Sims, when I play it....


Oh you mean a game that doesn't involve "accidently" selling the pool ladder... :D


Thanks for the list Greymane - I'd love to see some of those come to fruition.


Yeah, but she wasn't human either. There's plenty of games with gay characters, they just tend to be stereotyped. It's the same way with movies, tv, etc.


What do you mean stereotype? All gay men really are super-feminine and are ready to do a makeover at a moments notice. :rolleyes:


Do games like Fable where your main character can be gay if you want count?


Sort of - that's why I said that there have been some advancements in this area. It's nice that the choice is there now, but I wish that we'd see that choice more often - and not just sexuality either. I'd be a lot more immersed in some games if I had some more control over my character and his/her/it's interactions.

[civil_dead]

Um, while I applaud this move, I can't help gagging at the actual title of the thing! What do the ladies of EvAv make of this?
What, there are girls in here?!

::quickly tucks in shirt and combs hair::

"Hey baby. What's a fine lady like you doing in a place like this?"

[net7runner]

Im trying, and I cant think of a game with openly gay characters??
If I remember correctly, every social group in Bully has exactly one gay character, each of which is a possible romantic interest for the main character (along with any number of girls).

[KamaItachi]

If I remember correctly, every social group in Bully has exactly one gay character, each of which is a possible romantic interest for the main character (along with any number of girls).

I just remembered another one, the owner of the bar in Phantom Dust turns out to be gay and making steps to woo one of the other characters with fancy cooking.

[Avy]

I can't really see anything offensive with the title, although if it had been an English-based magazine I'd probably feel a little differently simply because of how we view those words. I think it might be interesting, to read a magazine targeted towards women who aren't already serious gamers. It would probably have a lot of reviews of fun games that are overlooked in other gaming mags simply because they're not as 'cool' as say, GoW or the latest Madden.

My main problem with print-based gaming mags is that the articles are written as if the writer is talking to a man. I don't think most guys notice it, but there are a good handful of jokes/comments about women. Even the stuff that's parodying stereotypes has an undertone of 'but seriously, girls don't game and they'll nag you about it if you do'.

I don't think the articles themselves need to be written really differently aside from dropping the male-centric tone they sometimes have. I'm just as interested in reading about gore, weapons and console specs as I am reading about games with good stories and deep character developement. Hell, I play GoW and Viva Pinata as well as a huge amount of other games and the genres are all over the place - as female gamers, we don't *need* stuff to be specifically tailored to us. Just, ya know, drop the more blatant frat-boy kind of stuff from the mags and I'm sure we'd all be fine with it.