Staggering Statistics Money is a motivator in the gaming industry. It is a common belief that women like to play games, but they won't pay for them. Starting out Young Many games for girls are derived from characters found in books such as Madeline , Nancy Drew , The American Girls , Dear America , and Sheila Ray . Others come from TV screen plays such as Buffy, Sabrina, Xena and Mary Kate and Ashley or the panoply of games based on Disney movie titles. At the extreme end of the invisible spectrum are subtly disguised female characters like Freddie Fish and Blue of Blue's Clues , which are cleverly marketed to appeal to both boys and girls.
Sports games continue to be big sellers.
The Backyard Series of sport games like football, soccer, and baseball continue to attract the interest of both girls and boys. Surprisingly, some of the most popular games with girls are the old standbys like the Sim series, car racing games, puzzle games such as Pandora's Box created by Pajitnov of Tetris fame or the Puzz3D series based on the actual 3D puzzles of castles, cathedrals and Victorian houses. Until recently, games created for girls were available exclusively for the PC and Macintosh. Enter the consoles and the hand-held games with their vibrant colors. These devices are well suited for fast action but not complex story lines.