Ubisoft demonstrates girl power at E3

For those who still think videogames are just shooters for hormonally charged boys, Ubisoft has news for you.

The French game publisher behind Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia has slowly built a sizable business by going after an underserved market -- girls 15 years and younger. Its Imagine games, which lets girls play at being a rock star, veterinarian, fashion designer, figure skater, chef or babysitter, have sold 4 million copies since they were launched in November.

Today, Ubisoft unveiled a new suite of games dedicated for 'tween girls. Called Ener-G, the titles revolve around sports. Rather than dress up Madden Football in pink, Ubisoft developed the lineup around dancing, gymnastics and horseback riding. "In 1972, one out of 27 girls played organized sports," said Tony Key, Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "Today, half play sports."

Like the Imagine line, these games will be available for the Nintendo DS, a hand-held console. Key estimates that about 80 million people own DS consoles and that a quarter of them are girls, adding up to roughly 20 million potential buyers for Ubisoft. "It's the fastest growing customer segment of DS owners," he said.

They're also turning out to be just as obsessive as their male counterparts at playing games -- provided that the games speak to them. Girls tended to buy multiple games in the Imagine series, and they often played the games all the way through, Key said. "They're hardly casual gamers," Key said. "They're just non-traditional."

That meant Ubisoft had to find out what girls like to play. The company has invited hundreds of girls to its San Francisco office to ask why they play sports. Many say they like being part of a team, socializing and supporting their teammates. When asked whether winning was a motive, most said no. "So we designed our games, based on those nuggets of insight," Key said. "We're serving an underserved and growing market. That's a recipe for success."

Ubisoft: You play like a girl and that's a good thing!

-- Alex Pham

Screenshot of Ener-G courtesy of Ubisoft