When the creators of Pac Man wanted to reach out to girl gamers, they added a bow and created Ms. Pac Man.
Nearly two decades later, Nintendo made its popular Game Boy available in pink and berry colors in an effort to make the console appear girl-friendly.
But is a pink box enough to attract girls to computer games?
Not according to experts, who say that girls want interactive, collaborative content instead of the violent video games that dominate the market.
"Girls want games that engage and challenge them, not 'girlie' versions of games originally designed for boys," said Patti Miller, director of Children Now's Children & the Media program. "Game producers need to stop thinking pink."
In a market long dominated by video games targeted at boys, titles that appeal to girls can be hard to find. And critics say that most of the top-selling video games feature violent, stereotypical or unrealistic characters, which send the wrong messages to girl gamers.
A study released Wednesday by children's advocacy group Children Now suggests that almost half of the top-selling console video games contain negative messages about girls.
The month-long study examined the top-selling video games for the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 console systems as ranked in October 2000 by PC Data. Overall, 27 games were studied, some of which were available on more than one system.
Researchers found that only 54 percent of the games surveyed had female characters, compared to 92 percent of games that contained male characters.
Over half of the games with female characters portrayed them as violent, while more than a third displayed unrealistic body images. Many of these characters also displayed stereotypical female characteristics, such as fainting and talking in high-pitched voices.
"These are not the kinds of images that girls want to see, nor are they the types of games they want to play," Miller said.
"Both boys and girls receive unhealthy messages that impact the way they think they should look and act. These kinds of portrayals send very strong messages about what it means to be female."
Sega, Sony and Nintendo were unavailable to comment.
A report released earlier this year by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation (AAUW) found that many girls are turned off to technology at an early age by violent computer games that are geared toward boys.
The report found that girls often dislike violent video games and prefer personalized, interactive, role-playing games.
But games that engage girls in problem solving and cooperative-play are few and far between. Games that are targeted at girls often focus on 'girl specific' interests, such as makeup and fashion.
"Barbie very much reigns supreme in video games for girls," Miller said. "But girls need more options.... (Game developers) need to focus on different kinds of things other than fashion and appearance."
"We believe that girls should have as many types of games as there are types of girls," said Megan Gaiser, president of Her Interactive, developer of the popular Nancy Drew CD-ROM series.
Miller cited games such as Her Interactive's "Nancy Drew" series, Judith Love Cohen's "You Can Be a Woman Engineer" and "Mia Hamm Soccer" as positive examples of games for girls.
"We don't use gender stereotypes to appeal to girls," Gaiser said. "We rely on the appeal of a good mystery and the guts of a good heroine."
Miller said that virtual characters such as Tomb Raider's Lara Croft have failed to appeal to girls because of the violent nature of the game.
Her Interactive uses input from girls who play their games when designing new products.
"The fact that there aren't a lot of games out there makes our girls' input fresher," Gaiser said. "They aren't willing to settle for status quo."
Until recently, game makers virtually ignored the girl games market. But recent numbers indicate that girls are interested in games.
Half of computer game buyers are women, and 48 percent of console software buyers are women, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association.
"In the past, the industry didn't think girls were interested," Miller said. "Now, we're finding that is not the case. Girls are interested. They're just not finding products that appeal to them."
Although game developers are starting to acknowledge the girl games market, many insist that there's still room to develop products that appeal to a range of interests.
"The gap is closing rapidly and yet you wouldn't know it when you look at the way games are marketed," said Kathryn Wright, consulting psychologist of WomenGamers.com.
"Girls have just as broad tastes as boys do. There's only a narrow selection of tastes being catered to."
"(The girl games market) is still in its infancy," Gaiser said. "There's a lot of room between Barbie and shoot-em ups to segment the market."
Game manufacturers should also focus on gender-neutral games that take both male and female interests into account, Wright said.
"We need to create the types of female characters that young women can identify with," Wright said. "Having all-male characters and all-male teams doesn't engage girls as much as if they have both characters to choose from."
"We need to make sure that games feature positive female characters that aren't displayed in exaggerated and stereotypical ways," Miller agreed. "We need to engage girls with critical thinking skills. We need to focus on what girls say they want."
