Former Burnout Producer Emily Newton-Dunn has addressed the gender imbalance within today’s videogames industry, suggesting that the market would do wise to capitalize on the female gaming sector, or in turn risk losing "a sizeable amount of revenue."
Speaking at the recent Birds Eye View Film Festival in London, Dunn tackled the issue of the games industry having become “for males, by males,” stating that women should have a far more prominent role within the market.
“Personally I don’t think you have to be a woman to make great games for women,” said Dunn, adding, “but I think that sometimes women might bring a different sensibility to the table which will enhance or make games more appealing to women.
“Like in any other creative media the more diversity you can attract or the more you personally go out and do different things and see other stuff the more you’re going to bring back to your job.”
Dunn remarked that it is crucial to maintain a diverse approach to game development if the industry is to maintain originality and appeal.
“I think if games were only ever made by one type of person you’d get really boring games. You need to bring in some different cultures, different people, different sexes and different interests, otherwise you’re just going to be churning out the same stuff again and again.”