Nintendo's "For Men" Advertising Campaign: Impact on a Potential Female Market

This study examines how Nintendo's "For Men" advertising campaign for the Game Boy Advance SP affected perceptions among a potential female market for handheld gaming. The authors argue that while the female gaming community has grown through online spaces, educational initiatives, and industry support groups, the public face of gaming remains male-dominated, and advertising in particular can deter female consumers who might otherwise be interested. Their central claim is that the device itself was viewed favorably by female participants as a gender-neutral product with good usability, but that the gender-specific marketing undermined that appeal.

The research relies on focus groups conducted in central London and surrounding counties, involving two samples: tertiary students aged 17 to 19 and women in their thirties whose lifestyles matched the device's intended professional market. Participants were shown the handheld, played The Legend of Zelda on it, and were then exposed to the advertising campaign, allowing the authors to observe shifts in attitude. The paper also draws on earlier research by Schott and Horrell from 2000 and on online testimonies of harassment experienced by female players.

Findings indicate that participants' genre preferences had broadened beyond the simple retro titles noted in earlier studies, though they expressed a desire for developers to make games more appealing to women within existing formats rather than creating separate female-oriented products. Before seeing the advertisements, participants responded enthusiastically to the device and quickly became immersed in gameplay, but their enthusiasm waned once the campaign was revealed. The authors conclude that Nintendo's approach may have alienated a viable female market, and that industry marketing must change to encourage female participation in gaming culture.