Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
DOI 10.1007/s11199-007-9250-0
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Sex, Lies, and Video Games: The Portrayal of Male
and Female Characters on Video Game Covers
Melinda C. R. Burgess & Steven Paul Stermer &
Stephen R. Burgess
Published online: 30 June 2007
# Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract Two hundred twenty-five console video game
covers obtained from online retail sites were examined for
portrayals of men and women. We hypothesized that males
would be portrayed more often, but that females would be
portrayed in a more hyper-sexualized manner. Male
characters were almost four times more frequently portrayed than female characters and were given significantly
more game relevant action. However, in spite of their less
frequent appearance, female characters were more likely to
be portrayed with exaggerated, and often objectified,
sexiness. Further, violence and sexiness was paired more
frequently for female characters than violence and muscular
physiques for the male characters. The potential influence
these negative portrayals could have on gamers is discussed.
Keywords Stereotypes . Sex roles . Video games
Introduction
Psychology has long concerned itself with the influence of
images on attitudes and behavior. Specifically in the
domain of psychology of women, social scientists with
diverse perspectives have investigated the stereotyped
images of women and men in television (Signorielli and
Bacue 1999), children’s books (Gooden and Gooden 2001),
and most dramatically, in advertising (Kilbourne 2002). The
M. C. R. Burgess (*) : S. P. Stermer : S. R. Burgess
Department of Psychology,
Southwestern Oklahoma State University,
Weatherford, OK 73096, USA
e-mail: melinda.burgess@swosu.edu
S. R. Burgess
e-mail: stephen.burgess@swosu.edu
purpose of this work was to perform a content analysis of
video games to examine the portrayals of women and men
in one of the most popular media outlets today. This work is
a significant contribution to our understanding of the images
that children and young adults are being presented today;
while video games are routinely criticized for their violent
content (see Anderson et al. 2003), few have discussed
whether the games depict accurate and healthy portrayals of
men and women.
In the last 20 years, video games have become one of the
most prevalent forms of entertainment for children and
adults. According to the MediaWise Video and Computer
Game Report Card (Walsh et al. 2005), 87% of 8–17 year
old children played video games (92% of boys and 80% of
girls). The rise in popularity of video games led to the
creation of a society of professional gamers. This group, the
Cyberathlete Professional League, allows gamers to pursue
full-time careers playing video games that would provide
the gamer with no need for an additional source of income.
The CPL is the world’s most recognized brand in
professional videogame tournaments and has been a major
force in the transformation of videogame competitions to a
professional sport. Since its founding in 1997, the Dallasbased organization has hosted 60 international main events
with a total attendance of 300,000 gamers, has sanctioned
over 500 international qualifiers and awarded over $3
million in prizes.
It is tempting to believe that video games are strictly the
domain of children and teens, as opposed to adults;
however, the Entertainment Software Association (2006)
found that 69% of gamers were over the age of 18 and that
more women over 18 (30%) played than boys under 17
(23%; Entertainment Software Association 2006). Given
this intense consumption, it is reasonable to ask, what is in
these games? Much research and political attention has
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been given to the violent content of these games and its
potentially negative effects (see Anderson et al. 2003). We,
however, focused our investigation on the portrayal of male
and female characters.
Given the plethora of research demonstrating that negative
portrayals of women are associated with various negative
results in both the attitudes and behaviors of both men and
women, a critical question to ask is whether the portrayals of
women in video games are associated with similar findings.
This is a particularly important question given that video
games are more interactive and repetitive in nature and these
elements are proposed to make them even more influential
(Anderson and Bushman 2001). However, before research on
these relationships can be conducted the critical first step is
to examine the content present in the video games. If there is
no negative content, it is unlikely to have negative influence,
but the presence of negative content will necessitate studying
the influence of that negative content.
Dietz (1998) conducted the first significant work examining gender roles and violence in games that were
specifically marketed to young children. She was interested
in the gender roles available in children’s games, as opposed
to those targeted to an older audience, because of their
potential influence on the children’s developing sense of
gender roles. Her work revealed some disturbing findings. In
playing 33 popular Nintendo® and Sega Genesis® video
games for an hour each, Dietz (1998) found that the most
common portrayal of women within the games was actually
a complete absence; 41% of the games contained no women,
and fully 30% of the games did not have any female
characters, human or otherwise. In the games that did
contain women 21% of the time they were portrayed as
needing aid from a male (Dietz 1998). Two additional roles
emerged as common: the physically beautiful “cheerleader”
watching and/or encouraging the active male characters or
the evil obstacle, who, when not unattractive, was portrayed
in a sexually provocative style (no percentages provided).
More recent research by Dill et al. (2005) examined
computer games for violence, sex and race. Their work
confirmed that computer games were no more egalitarian
than Dietz found video games to be; only 10% of the main
characters were clearly female and those females were
typically highly sexualized.
A recent review of the literature indicates that there has
been little work investigating the portrayal of women in
video games. Beasley and Standley (2002) examined 47
games for gender role stereotyping. They found that males
were dramatically over represented relative to female characters by a ratio of approximately 5 to 1. In spite of the
significant under representation of female characters on the
whole, they were six times more likely to have a low-cut
neckline and 41% of those women whose busts could be seen
were characterized as voluptuous. Although this work was
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
certainly consistent with Dietz’s (1998) original findings of
women being largely absent from the video game landscape,
and physically alluring when present, what was particularly
distressing about Beasley and Standley’s (2002) findings is
that 52% of their games were rated as “E” games, indicating
appropriateness for use by young children. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) currently assigns a
rating of E (everyone), T (teen) or M (mature) to all computer
and video games available for purchase. The E designation is
deemed appropriate for all ages, the T designation restricts
purchase of the game to those 13 and older and the M
designation restricts purchase to those 17 and over.
Scharrer (2004) examined 1,054 advertisements in video
game magazines and Ivory (2006) examined 100 game
reviews from a popular game review website. Neither Scharrer
(2004) nor Ivory (2006) reported the ratings breakdown of the
games they rated. These two studies used indirect methods to
assess the content of video games for various reasons.
Scharrer (2004) argued advertisements could be a more direct
look at the messages that video games choose to send about
gender. Ivory (2006) chose online reviews to avoid player skill
issues in assessing a game (i.e., a less experienced gamer may
not get far enough in a game, in a specified period of time, to
see anything of interest).
Although both these studies found that women were
portrayed in ways similar to what Dietz (1998) reported,
i.e., largely absent but sexualized when present, they were
not analyzing the games themselves, but rather a third party’s
representation (Scharrer 2004) or discussion (Ivory 2006) of
those games. An additional, and more significant, concern
with these studies was their source material. Both Scharrer
(2004) and Ivory (2006) looked in sources designed for
serious and experienced gamers. A novice gamer is unlikely
to read gaming magazines because these magazines often are
more in depth and rely on some advanced knowledge that is
not available or of interest to a casual gamer. Ivory (2006)
investigated reviews on the internet that are equivalent to a
gaming magazine. Review sites generally state the technical
aspects of the game and reference the quality of the story,
graphics, and sound. These reviews do not usually contain
information related to the actual content portrayed except
when advancement has been made in gaming that adds to the
realism or immersion of the game for the player. These sites
do not cater to parents buying the games for their children or
to the average gamer.
Since video games are a constantly changing form of media
we had a unique opportunity to examine the current character
portrayals in a market where gamer demographics have
drastically changed. It is important to ask whether the video
game developers have improved in their portrayals of women
since the games that Dietz (1998) examined hit the market.
Our research addresses several gaps in the currently
existing literature. First, we expanded the number and rating
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
of games included to ensure a broad and diverse sample.
Specifically, we reviewed a large sample including games of
the increasingly popular T and M ratings. In 2005, 47% of
games sold received a rating of T or M (Entertainment
Software Association 2006). It was essential to include T and
M games, not just for their use by appropriate age groups,
but also because data that suggest ratings are not keeping
these games out of the hands of younger gamers. In the
Media Wise survey (Walsh et al. 2005) of 4th–12th grade
students (N=657), 70% of children reported playing M
games; 78% of boys reported owning M games and 60% of
children rated at least one M game as their favorite.
Second, we analyzed the covers of the games, thus
avoiding player skill issues. The cover contains images
relevant to and present in the game, as opposed to the
advertisements (e.g., Scharrer 2004). Advertisements could
potentially have images not directly related to the game that
are used to entice potential gamers into further examining
the game described in the advertisement. Perhaps more
importantly, the covers are available for anyone to see,
whether they are experienced or not; the covers are easily
viewed by those not even interested in playing. For
example, video games are usually just one aisle away from
the movies in a rental store. Games are not organized by
rating so the games rated for mature audiences are often
displayed together with games meant for younger children.
There is nothing keeping young children from being
exposed to the images on the M rated games even if they
are only seeking an E rated game. Lastly, for many people
the decision to purchase, play, or allow a child to play a game
may be based largely on the material portrayed on the cover.
From the perspective of female gamers, who play less than
males and play different games than males (Stermer et al.
2006), the cover provides important information about what
is contained inside. Much of the discussion about differences between how much men and women play has centered
on the content of the games (Cassel and Jenkins 1998).
Obviously, a cover can provide a powerful first impression
of what the game may contain. If female characters are
consistently negatively portrayed on the covers, female
gamers may not bother going beyond the cover while males
may see this as an inducement.
The broad, overarching question we addressed was
whether males and females were portrayed in different
ways on video game covers. Specifically, we addressed four
major considerations: (1) Are males and females equally
present on the covers? (2) Are males and females portrayed
as equally essential to the game? (3) Are male and female
bodies portrayed in equivalent manners in terms of
sexualization and exaggerated physiques? (4) Are males
and females equally likely to be portrayed as violent?
The issue of representation is particularly compelling
considering that the video game market has now expanded
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to include an increasing number of older and female players
(Entertainment Software Association 2006). Specifically,
are female characters now commonplace considering the
increased market share of female gamers. Much has been
made of game companies’ attempts to attract this new
segment of the market (Cassel and Jenkins 1998). For
example, the Lara Croft, Tomb Raider© franchise was
hailed by the market as the first serious action/adventure
game to feature a female character for female gamers. Lara
Croft is an action/adventure heroine who thwarts enemies
in various, exotic locales with her acrobatic physicality.
Although clearly strong and fit to evade and defeat her
enemies, she was most notable for her enormous, balloonlike breasts emphasized under a form fitting tank top and
her extremely short shorts. It was her physical representation that made some question whether this game was really
designed for female gamers or whether it was simply
designed as a male fantasy (Kennedy 2002).
If women are represented with some degree of frequency, it is important to ask if their roles have improved since
Dietz’s work (1998). While it would certainly be unreasonable to criticize video games by claiming that they don’t
offer good vocational role models, unless one is planning
on developing as yet undiscovered super powers, it is
reasonable to examine vocation from the perspective of
agency. Are males and females portrayed as having equal
amounts of action? Are males and females equally likely to
be portrayed as primary characters? Are any characters
relegated to being visual extras, and simply portrayed for
their appearance? Is one sex more likely to fall into this
category than the other?
In a closely related vein, we examined role objectification of male and female characters. Dietz (1998) found that
games offered two primary scripts for children to play:
weak, albeit attractive, female needing male rescue or
valiant male thwarted by a sexually aggressive female. It is
reasonable to ask, ten years later, do companies portray
males and females in a more egalitarian light?
Regarding the physical representations of male and female
characters, we were specifically interested in physical
objectification, physical exaggeration and the relationship
between violence and physique. The adjustment to one’s
new, sexually mature body is challenging for most teens. This
is particularly noticeable with the development of eating
disorders in young women (Hoek and van Hoeken 2003) and
the rise in illicit steroid use in young males (Whitehead et
al. 1992). While few would argue that the media is solely to
blame in either of these unfortunate phenomena, there is an
abundance of research suggesting that unrealistic images
from the media via television, movies and magazines
influence young peoples’ desire to have a body that is
exceedingly difficult to attain without extreme measures
(e.g., Posavac et al. 1998; Cusumano and Thompson 1997).
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Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
Yet, little to no research has examined whether male and
female bodies are portrayed in a realistic way in video
games in spite of the amount of time that teens are known to
spend playing them (Anderson et al. 2004).
Lastly, given the well-documented concerns with violence
in video games, we asked whether male and female characters
were equally likely to be portrayed as perpetrating violence.
The following hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis One:
Are males and females portrayed with equal frequency?
Hypothesis Two: are males and females portrayed as
equally active and essential to the game? Hypothesis 3:
are males and females equally portrayed as role objectified?
Hypothesis 4: Are men or women equally likely to be
represented as a whole or a part? Hypothesis 5: Are male
and female characters equally likely to be physically
objectified? Hypothesis 6: Are male and female forms
equally likely to be represented with exaggerated or
glorified form? Hypothesis 7: Are male and female
character equally likely to be portrayed as a decorative,
secondary character in the game. Hypothesis 8: Do violent
characters differ in their physical portrayal?
were presented in their original size in a computer slide
show. The coders each viewed a cover at the same time and
completed a checklist with the relevant categories while the
cover was in view. They then orally stated their decisions.
Any disagreements were discussed until reconciled. If a
satisfactory solution was not reached, the third, independent
rater was consulted to resolve the disagreement. Each
disagreement was recorded. Out of the 2,858 judgments
made, there were only 23 disagreements, yielding an interrater reliability of nearly 100%.
Method
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Anatomy
Sampling Strategy
Each human character was further coded as a whole figure
or part of a figure. A figure including head, chest, arms and
a portion of thigh was considered whole. Characters coded
as parts had each visible part coded. Possible parts
included: arms, legs, chest, face, buttocks, and/or back.
Additionally the portrayal of a character as a part was
classified as artificial or environmental. Artificial portrayals
were those that have been partitioned by the end of the
cover itself or by dividing the cover into sections. These
decisions were made by the cover’s artist. Environmental
portrayals are those that occur naturally in the environment,
such as a whole person being obscured because of being in
a car or in a crowd of people.
This study examined the content of 225 covers of video
games from the three most popular video game consoles (XBox, Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube) at the time of
collection. The covers were primarily downloaded from a
popular online store (http://www.buy.com) during summer
2005. The online store has video games divided into genres.
For each genre, a list of games was compiled. Each list was
cross-referenced to avoid any overlap, as many video games
can be categorized as multiple genres. All covers available
for download in a sufficient resolution (350×500 pixels)
were compiled. Additionally, we examined sales rankings at
another popular online store (http://www.amazon.com) to
ensure that the 50 top selling video games for each console
were included in our sample. Lastly, the inventory of local
video game rental stores was compared to our sample; all
locally available video games were represented in our
sample. The ESRB ratings for each game broke down as
such: 72 rated Everyone (32%), 95 rated Teen (42%), and
58 rated Mature (26%). A list of the games is included in
Appendix.
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Type
of Character
Each character was coded as either human or non-human.
Characters were further coded by gender (male, female, or
unknown). If applicable, the character was coded as a
primary character. Primary was defined to be: the largest
character on the cover, the central character, a character
performing a central action, the character closest to the
foreground, and/or the only character. All other characters
were considered ancillary.
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Violence
Each violent act was categorized into two groups: implicit
depictions or explicit depictions. Implicit depictions were
defined as the presence of a weapon such as a gun, sword,
or clenched fist. The weapon was not being used, merely
represented. In explicit depictions weapons were used. For
example: a gun being shot, a fist making contact with
another character, or presence of a bloody weapon.
Data Collection
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Objectification
We used a content analysis approach. Three raters coded
the covers. One rater was used to resolve disagreements
while the other two served as the primary raters. Covers
We analyzed covers for their interpersonal and physical
portrayals of men and women through the presence or
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
423
absence of role or physical objectification. Role objectification was the same for both males and females; this
included any combination of the following: being portrayed
without action (e.g., stationary positions, in the background, without any kind of tool or weapon to perform an
identifiable action, etc.), being in a submissive role, being a
reward to others, appearing unnecessary to the goal of the
game (e.g., on the cover of a car racing game, there is a
young woman clad in a bikini top and open pants, and
while it is possible she raced the car, she was certainly not
dressed in the appropriate gear), and/or requiring rescue
without any clear attempts to help oneself. Physical
objectification for women was defined as including any
combination of the following: being portrayed in a sexy
way (e.g., clothing that is open in a sexually suggestive
way), exaggerated bust (this not only included unrealistically large in relation to the body, but also unnatural shapes,
such as perfectly round spheres that seem immune to
gravity), vulgar clothing (e.g., audacious clothing such as a
leather dominatrix costume), tight clothing to accentuate
body parts, revealing dress and/or being portrayed as
simply a part other than a face (e.g., just thighs). Physical
objectification of males was the same as for women with
the exception of an exaggerated bust which was replaced
with an exaggerated groin area. We chose an exaggerated
groin, realizing how unlikely it was to be illustrated,
simply because it was the closest comparison characteristic to a woman’s breasts in terms of sexuality and action
irrelevancy.
We also developed a definition for the term “eye candy,”
characters who seemed to serve no purpose beyond visual
stimulation. A character was classified as eye candy when a
character of the opposite sex was considered the primary
character on the cover. A same sex primary character could
be present but that character was only considered “eye
candy” if s/he was role objectified. While it was certainly
possible for a solo female to have been portrayed as a male
fantasy figure, we chose to limit our definition to the
ornamental aspect of eye candy. Even if she is portrayed in
an excessively sexualized way, a solo primary female
character is likely to be one whose role the player can
assume. For example, in Lara Croft, Tomb Raider—Angel
of Darkness she is extravagantly voluptuous, with a waspwaist, in miniscule shorts; however sexualized she may be,
she is not trivial. The component of eye candy we were
seeking was the lack of functionality and decorative nature
of some characters much like the detailing on a race car.
healthy body that had muscles clearly evident; the muscles
were not emphasized but readily visible. Super-muscular
was defined as specific muscle groups being visible,
unnaturally large muscles, and/or a muscle group larger
than another part of the body that should not normally be
comparable (e.g. a bicep larger than the character’s head).
All other characters were said to be normal.
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Male Body
Type
Males were twice as likely to be featured on covers as
females were: 90.2% (N=156) of the covers with humans
portrayed men and 42.7% (N=74) portrayed women. This
unbalanced representation became even more pronounced
when examining characters with approximately three and a
Male characters were classified as muscular, super-muscular, or normal/indeterminable. We defined muscular to be a
Operational Definitions of Key Concepts for Female Body
Type
Female characters were classified as busty, super-busty, or
normal. Busty was defined as having breasts larger than
normal, but not unnaturally so. Super-busty was defined as
unnaturally large breasts that, due to size and/or shape, were
not natural. All other characters were said to be normal.
Although weight is most obviously related to body image in
women we chose to analyze bust shape and size as recent
research suggests that breast size and shape contribute to
body dissatisfaction (Forbes and Frederick 2006).
Results
Of the 225 covers examined, 173 contained human characters.
While all characters were coded, human or non, the results
discussed here are only for the human characters. It is
doubtful that players are identifying to the same degree with
the non-humans. Also, with regards to bodies, it is impossible
to know whether alien shapes were exaggerated. However,
some of the nonhuman characters had human like characteristics and demonstrated behaviors and portrayals similar to
those of the human characters; some of this content is worth
noting. For example, “Conker: Reloaded” contains squirrels
playing the role of soldiers. The cover featured a male squirrel
straddling a large, smoking cannon and holding additional
weapons clearly indicating an active role. The female squirrel
is shown stroking the cannon in a suggestive way; although
she is holding a bloody weapon, her fighting role was
minimized relative to that as a sexy, supportive cheerleader.
Perhaps one of the most bizarre aspects of this cover, and
others like it, was the notion of sexy squirrels; the blatant
hyper sexuality of female characters was so prevalent that it
even spread to small rodents.
Hypothesis 1: Were males and females portrayed with equal
frequency?
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Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
half times more men than women: 485 human characters
were coded as 78.6% (N=381) men and 21.4% (N=104)
women. This under representation of female characters is
more striking when viewed from the ranges and medians:
male characters ranged in frequency from 0 to 20 per cover
while females ranged from zero to five. The median
number of males portrayed was one, while the median
number of females portrayed was zero.
Male characters were significantly more likely to be
present overall (χ2 =155.93, df=1, p<.0001), and were significantly more likely to appear in games rated as M (χ2 =
6.79, df=2, p<.05). Males were almost three times more
frequent on covers rated M at 96.3% (N=52) while females
were only present on 33.3% (N=18). In games rated T and
E males were approximately twice as likely as females to be
portrayed. On T covers males appeared 82.5% (N=66) of
the time, while females appeared only 47.5% (N=38) of the
time. Games rated E showed a similar pattern with males
present 88.4% (N=38) of the time and females present
42% (N=18) of the time. See Table 1 for the comparisons
of percentages of male and female characters and their
portrayals.
It is reasonable to ask if the discrepancy between the
number of males and females was simply a result of the
number of games in which it was unreasonable to include
women. Specifically, games simulating experiences in which
most women do not participate, like combat (N=7) or
professional sports teams that exclude female participation
(N=4) such as the National Football League, Professional
Boxing, Major League Baseball, and Tiger Wood’s Golf (the
PGA). However, this only removed 11 games from our
sample, narrowing our covers with males to 145 and covers
with females to 74 representing 351 male characters and 104
female characters. Even excluding these games, male
characters were still significantly over-represented relative
to female characters (χ2 =131.93, df=1, p<.0001).
Hypothesis 2: Were males and females portrayed as equally
active and essential to the game?
Agency was measured as a function of character role: was
the character considered the primary character and central to
the game or simply an ancillary character without a clear cut
contribution to the game? Males were almost five times more
Table 1 Data on the characters.
Male
Total characters*
Primary*
Objectification*
Role*
Physical*
Any physical exaggeration
Muscular/busty
Violent
Super-muscular/super-busty*
Violent
Violent*
Implicit
Explicit
Ancillary*
Objectification*
Role*
Physical*
Any Physical Exaggeration*
Muscular/busty*
Violent
Super-muscular/super-busty*
Violent
Violent*
Implicit
Explicit
Female
Percent (%)
Number
Percent (%)
Number
78.6
36.7
11.4
0
11.4
68.6
36.0
42.0
32.9
47.8
66.4
83.9
16.1
63.3
4.1
1.7
2.3
10.4
5.0
83.3
5.4
61.5
41.1
88.9
11.1
381
140
16
0
16
96
50
21
46
22
93
78
15
241
10
4
6
25
12
10
13
8
99
88
11
21.4
28.8
63.3
20.0
71.4
73.3
26.7
25.0
46.7
42.9
40.0
83.3
16.7
71.2
66.2
37.8
28.4
39.2
14.9
72.7
24.3
50.0
25.7
100.0
0
104
30
19
4
15
22
8
2
14
6
12
10
2
74
53
28
21
29
11
8
18
9
19
19
0
Starred items indicate the comparison is significant at the .05 value or less.
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
likely to be portrayed as the primary character (N=140) than
the females (N=30) (χ2 =69.88, df=1, p<.0001). Males
were almost four times more likely to be portrayed as
ancillary characters (N=241) than females (N=74) (χ2 =
86.43, df=1, p<.0001). It is likely that both of these
findings were artifacts of the discrepancy between the
number of male and female characters overall. As such, we
compared how often males and females were portrayed as
primary characters accompanied by a primary character of
the opposite sex. We hypothesized that females would be
more likely to share their primary status with a primary
male. Even with a primary female character, the presence of
a primary male implied that the female was only allowed to
be an important part of the game because the male was
there with her. The male could serve as protector, guide, or
actually perform most of the action while the female serves
as a sidekick. The proportion of female primary characters
(13/30) who were presented with a male primary character
was significantly higher than the proportion of male
primary characters (18/140) who were presented with a
female primary character (z=−3.923, df=1, p<.0001). It is
important to note that in addition to often being accompanied by a primary male character, primary female characters
were also often portrayed in an unequal manner. For
example, “Max Payne 2” features both a male and a female
primary character, but the male is hovering over the female.
The positioning was ambiguous: was it a romantic embrace
or a threatening position? The presence of firearms added to
the uncertainty of the situation. It is also interesting to note
that 20 games had more than one primary male while only
one game had more than one primary female. The game that
featured 2 primary females was “Outlaw Beach Volleyball.”
The cover also featured a primary male. The male was placed
in the center of the cover and while the two females were
proportionally equivalent to the male in size, they were
portrayed in a far more objectified way. They were wearing
minimal clothing and were not accurate representations of
real women’s bodies. Additionally, while only one primary
male was portrayed sharing the spotlight with two primary
females, 20% (N=6) of the primary females were portrayed
with two primary males.
Hypothesis 3: Were male and female characters equally
likely to be portrayed as role objectified?
As a corollary to the analysis of agency via the primary-ness
of characters, we also analyzed role objectification by
examining contribution to the action, regardless of status as
a primary or ancillary character. This categorization closely
paralleled Dietz’s (1998) description of the classic damsel-indistress and the female cheerleader of male action. Thirtythree point eight percent (N=25) of the covers represented
women in objectified roles with 32.7% of the female
425
characters (N=34) portrayed this way. Certainly, role
objectification was more common in the ancillary as
opposed to the primary characters, regardless of sex
(32/315 vs. 6/170, z=2.592, p<.005). However, female
characters were far more likely to be role objectified than
the males. This was true for the ancillary female characters
(26/74) as compared to ancillary males (4/241) (z=8.581,
p<.0001). But this difference was even more striking in the
primary characters (z=5.387, p<.0001). Not a single primary
male character was role objectified, yet 20% (N=6) of the
primary female characters were.
Hypothesis 4: Were men and women equally likely to be
represented as a just part of a body?
Male and female characters were equally likely to be
represented as partial bodies as opposed to whole bodies.
Males were portrayed with just parts of their body 40% of
the time (154/381) and females were portrayed with just
parts of their body 43% of the time (45/104), z=.524, p>.05.
Hypothesis 4A: When bodies were portrayed as pieces,
were males and females equally likely to be artificially
partitioned?
When characters were portrayed as pieces of a body, 84%
of female characters (38/45) were fragmented using
artificial means (e.g., just drawing the legs and buttocks)
as opposed to environmental factors (e.g., legs being
unobservable when riding in a car) compared to 55% of
male characters (85/154), z=3.55, p<.01.
Hypothesis 5: Were male and female characters equally
likely to be physically objectified?
Physical objectification referred generally to the portrayal
of males and females in a sexualized way. Overall,
physical objectification of females occurred on 47.4%
(N=35) of the covers and 42.3% (N=44) of the characters
were portrayed in physically objectified ways. For males,
physical objectification occurred in 13.5% (N=21) of the
covers and 5.8% (N=22) of the characters were portrayed
in physically objectified ways. The female characters were
significantly more likely to be physically objectified than
the male characters were (44/104 vs. 22/381, z=9.631,
p<.0001). It should be noted, however, that 10 covers
portrayed women with just their faces or eyes. For example,
“Tenchu: Fatal Shadows” has a full male figure and two
female figures. Both females are represented only by
seductive eyes. Additionally, seven of the games portrayed
female children rather than adults, removing a total of 25
characters that were unlikely to be physically objectified.
Thirty-seven male characters were either children or adults
426
portrayed as faces only. No male characters were represented only by their eyes. With these characters removed
due to the difficulty and/or unlikelihood of being physically
objectified, females were still significantly more likely to be
physically objectified than their male counterparts (44/79
vs. 22/344, z=10.89, p<.0001).
The operational definition of physical objectification
included either an exaggerated bust or an exaggerated groin
area. There was not a single male portrayed with an
exaggerated groin, in spite of a number of skin-tight action
suits. To even the comparison of physical objectification
between males and females, we excluded the females who
were classified as physically objectified simply because of bust
shape/size. This eliminated no primary female characters and
eight ancillary female characters. This left characters who
were physically objectified because of any combination of
the following: vulgar, revealing, or tight clothing and
sexually suggestive poses. Primary female characters were
objectified significantly more often than primary male
characters (15/30 vs. 16/140; z=4.965, p<.0001). In spite
of their dramatically less frequent appearance, ancillary
female characters were physically objectified more frequently than the males (29/74 vs. 6/241; z=8.787, p<.0001).
Hypothesis 6: Are male and female forms equally likely to
be represented with exaggerated or glorified form?
In spite of the questionable relevance of large breasts to
video game action, female characters were significantly
more likely to be portrayed as busty/super-busty than their
male counterparts were to be portrayed as muscular/supermuscular (z=4.568, p<.0001); 49% of the females were
portrayed as either busty (N=19) or super-busty (N=32),
while 25.7% of the male characters were portrayed as
muscular (N=37) or super-muscular (N=61).
Given the frequency of physical exaggeration/glorification of characters, we asked whether it was more likely to
occur in primary males or primary females. Since muscularity would be useful for battling evil enemies, it was
reasonable to predict that males were more likely to be
shown with exaggerated or glorified physiques than
females. There was no difference in glorification between
primary males and females (z=1.247, p>.05). In other
words, large muscles were no more common than large
breasts. The results for glorification of ancillary characters
were perhaps less surprising. By virtue of being ancillary
and not as central to the action, we didn’t expect the
ancillary males to be glorified that frequently, and they
weren’t (25/241). The ancillary female characters, however,
were dramatically more glorified than their male counterparts (z=5.753, p<.0001); 39.2% (47/74) of the ancillary
female characters were portrayed as busty or super-busty.
This discrepancy suggested that sexual attractiveness was a
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
more critical factor for inclusion as a female than strength
was for the males.
The issue of physical exaggeration becomes more
disturbing if it is limited to the portrayals of extreme
physiques, the super-busty and super-muscular. While
primary males were less likely to be represented as having
extreme physiques, the super-muscular, (23/140) than their
primary female counterparts, the super-busty, (14/30) (z=
3.642, p<.0001), this pattern was far more pronounced for
the ancillary characters. Practically a quarter of the ancillary
females (18/74) were depicted as super-busty, while only
5% of the ancillary males (13/241) were portrayed as supermuscular (z=4.782, p<.0001). Given the irrelevance of
large breasts from a super-hero/action oriented perspective,
it is hard to interpret these numbers as anything other than
objectification.
Hypothesis 7: Are male and female characters equally likely
to be portrayed for their decorative, or ornamental, value as
opposed to their relevance to the implied action of the game?
As it became apparent just how many of the female
characters were portrayed as role and physically objectified
in unrealistically busty bodies, we asked how many of the
characters were present simply for their ability to arouse the
viewer. For example, “Spawn: Armageddon” had two
females that were disproportionately smaller than the
primary male character and were used to create a border
around the top and bottom of the cover. Each character was
wearing a leather g-string and was performing no identifiable action other than to titillate the audience. We refer to
this category as “eye candy.” 38.5% (N=40) of the female
characters were classified into this definition. 42.5% of the
female characters are depicted as either busty or super-busty
(busty=8, super-busty=9). Thirty percent (N=12) of these
women were physically objectified. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, given the other results, this classification as eye candy
was far more prevalent for the female characters than the
males (40/104 vs. 5/381, z 11.574, p<.0001). Additionally,
only one of these males was presented in a physically
objectified way; the remaining four males were portrayed
as simply smaller than the primary female, but equivalent
to the other ancillary characters on the cover.
Hypothesis 8: Were male and female characters equally
likely to be portrayed as violent?
Covers were almost four times more likely to portray
males as violent (65%, 102/156) than females (38%, 28/
74), z=3.937, p<.01. This differences was even more
noticeable at the character level; male characters were
approximately six times more likely to be portrayed as
violent with 50% of the male characters (192/381)
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
portrayed as violent while only 32% of the females (33/104)
were, z=3.383, p<.01:
Hypothesis 8A: Did the violent male and female characters
differ in their physical portrayals?
Our last analysis examined whether there was a link
between violence of a character and that character’s
physical portrayal. For example, were the violent male
characters portrayed as muscular and physically intimidating or were weapons used to compensate for physical
inadequacy? How were violent female characters portrayed? Specifically, were violent female characters more
or less likely to be portrayed as having sexy physiques?
Differentiation between implicit or explicit violence was
not analyzed, as only 1.9% of the female characters were
explicitly violent (N=2) and only 6.8% of the male
characters were explicitly violent (N=26). Muscularity, of
any type, in males was associated with violence 16% of the
time (N=61). Bustiness, of any type, in females was more
frequently associated with violence at 24% of the time (N=
25) than muscularity was associated with violence among
males (z=1.9, p<.05). This was particularly true for the
ancillary females for whom there was a significantly
stronger association between bustiness and violence than
muscularity and violence for the males (17/74 vs. 18/241, z=
3.712, p<.0001).
Discussion
The seminal work looking at the portrayals of men and
women in video games, conducted by Dietz (1998) found
that the most common portrayal of women was their
absence. In fact, 30% of the games in her sample did not
contain female characters of any species. We began this
research wondering if the explosive growth in video game
popularity, along with the increased attempts to appeal to
female gamers, would have changed the demographics of
game characters.
After deducting the sports and war games, for the
reasons described earlier, from both our sample and the
Dietz sample, we found that women have definitely
increased in frequency: of the games which included
humans, 47% of our sample included female characters,
while her sample was a meager 9.4%. Initially, this looks
like a dramatic improvement; perhaps game companies
have responded to the increased number of female gamers
and provided a more equal representation in their games.
Unfortunately, this rosy picture becomes more muddied
when the number of characters and how they are portrayed
is examined. While 47% of the covers contained a female
427
character, male characters were almost four times more
likely to appear than their female counterparts. But the most
distressing aspect of the representation of male and female
characters was that, in spite of their less frequent representation, female characters were dramatically more likely to
be negatively portrayed. This negativity ranged from their
relative lack of action to their physical portrayal.
Female characters were rarely given roles of action
compared to their male counterparts. This finding emerged
using a number of different analyses. First, there were almost
five times more primary male characters, the characters
identified as important or central to the game, and there were
three times more ancillary male characters. Second, these
male characters tended not to share the spotlight with primary
female characters. However, female primary characters
typically did share the spotlight with a male. Even more
dramatically, 56% of the male characters appeared on a cover
(57% of the games with humans) without females, yet only
18% of the females appeared without a male (10% of the
games). Third, female characters, when they were present,
were often role objectified, yet this only occurred to a handful
of the ancillary male characters, and never happened to a
primary male character.
One could argue that the relative lack of illustrated
action on the part of the female characters is actually a
positive portrayal given that much of the action male
characters portray is violent. Unfortunately, as video games
currently exist, violence connotes power. No characters,
male or female, are portrayed as central to a game by
stopping violence, or offering peaceful solutions. By
excluding women from the action roles, they are relegated
to groupie status.
As discouraging as these data may seem, the discrepancies between the amount of action given to male and
female characters paled in comparison to the physical
representations of the characters. In the relatively rare cases
where women were portrayed as central, or wielding the
violent power video games offer, this role almost always
came with an exaggerated sexuality. The pairing of
muscular men and violence was not surprising given that
one could reasonably expect strength to be required to
vanquish super-human enemies. On the other hand, the
frequency of unrealistically sized and shaped breasts was
difficult to interpret as anything other than sexist objectification given the irrelevance of breasts to the tasks facing
video game characters. For example, it would be anatomically difficult to explore tombs and climb mountains with
breasts the size of basketballs with legs and arms the size of
toothpicks as Lara Croft© is portrayed. Approximately 20%
of the male characters whose arms and or chests could be
seen were portrayed as muscular or super-muscular, while
over half of the female characters whose chests could be
seen were portrayed as either busty or super-busty. It should
428
be noted that when we began, we initially included the
category of muscularity for the female characters, expecting
to see fit, toned super heroines. However there was not a
single female character who could be described as
muscular; in fact, many of the most action oriented
characters were portrayed with unusually thin arms and
legs accompanying unusually large breasts. The message
clearly seemed to be that large breasts and/or a hypersexualized appearance were an essential element for female
characters.
While this research thoroughly sampled the currently
available video games, further research will need to be
pursued. A new generation of video game consoles is being
ushered in with the release of the X-Box 360®, Playstation
3®, and Nintendo Wii®. These new consoles mean new
games with new innovations. Research examining the
portrayals of the characters present in the new games is
necessary. As gaming systems advance, the representation
can become more realistic. Are these portrayals going to
actually be more realistic, or will they only be more realistic
representations of unrealistically exaggerated characters
with clear sex differences in action?
An additional area of research that can supplement this
work is to go beyond the covers and investigate the
character representations within the games. There are many
characters in all video games. Only a limited sample is
viewable on the cover of the video game. If a character is
not important enough to be on the cover, they are probably
not important enough to have a major part in actual game,
but the minor portrayals in video games could be frequent
enough to merit further study. Multiple small presentations
of negative stereotypes and unrealistic body types could
potentially be as harmful as one frequently present
representation.
Lastly, it is critical that further research investigate the
effects of the negative portrayals found in this content
analysis. We had hoped that as games had increased in
number and female gamers became an increasing share of
the market, character portrayals would have improved.
When looking at sheer visibility, it is true that female
characters have become more frequent; however, this
frequency seems to have come with a cost. Given our
increased awareness of what is available in terms of
character portrayals in currently marketed video games, a
reasonable question is, does it matter?
While Dietz (1998) certainly demonstrated that women
were often portrayed negatively in video games, it is
reasonable to ask whether these negative portrayals really
matter. This issue has not been examined in video game
research but the answer to this question, in regards to
various other media (e.g., television, magazines, etc.), is
that, yes, negative portrayals of people can influence
attitudes and behavior. Much of the research investigating
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
the influence of various media portrayals of women has
focused on the portrayal of sexuality. Early research by
Zillmann and Bryant (1982, 1984) demonstrated that long
term exposure to mainstream pornography (loosely defined
as several hours over several weeks of watching sexually
explicit films) resulted in a number of things. First, this
exposure was related to peoples’ increased tolerance for and
interest in uncommon pornography (e.g., sadism). Second,
people with long-term exposure also became less compassionate towards rape victims and women in general.
Other researchers have examined very brief exposures to
nude portrayals of women. Kenrick et al. (1989) found that
men exposed to centerfold erotica similar to that found in
popular magazines such as Playboy© and Penthouse© rated
themselves as less in love with their wives. Kenrick et al.
(1994) found that male undergraduates rated their current
relationships less favorably following exposure to highly
attractive females. Perhaps more disturbing was the
interaction between attractiveness and dominance of the
female depiction. Men only felt more negatively about their
own relationships when the attractive females were low in
dominance. High dominance attractive females had no
effect on men’s perceptions of their current relationships
(Kenrick et al. 1994). The obvious implication in their work
is that objectified portrayals of women have a greater
impact on viewers than equitable or strong portrayals of
women. Additionally, Gutierres et al. (1999) found that
individuals were negatively impacted by exposure to
physically attractive and dominant same sex stimuli. After
viewing these attractive stimuli both male and female
college students rated their own value as potential mates
as decreased.
More recent work by Adams et al. (2006) has
demonstrated that even the mere hint of sexism can
negatively impact both women’s perceptions of an academic setting and their own performance within that
setting. While this work is specifically addressing the issue
of stereotype threat and classroom performance, the
question arises of whether even subtle discrepancies in the
portrayals of women in various media can influence
women’s self-perceptions.
Previous research has demonstrated that objectified and
degrading portrayals of women (e.g., Zillmann and Bryant
1982, 1984 and Kenrick et al. 1989) do in fact influence how
real people feel about women in general, as well as the
women with whom they are romantically involved; these
effects were found following relatively low levels of
immersion in those media. Video games are unique in the
amount of undivided attention gamers must devote to the
game. Additionally, from a larger perspective, knowing how
many teens and young adults play video games, future
research should ask whether these negative portrayals
influence the developing identities of teens and young adults.
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
Adolescence and young adulthood are characterized by
the intense exploration of all the necessary components of
an identity (Erikson 1968). These components include, but
are certainly not limited to, gender, vocational, and
interpersonal roles and physical identities. Previous research has demonstrated a link between exposure to gender
roles in various media and attitudes towards gender roles
(e.g., Purcell and Stewart 1990, Kolbe and LaVoie 1982).
Additional research has demonstrated that exposure to
media portrayals of women also influences teens’ and
young adults’ perceptions of their desire of and suitability
for various vocations (Anderson et al. 2001). Davies et al.
(2002) provided some of the most disturbing evidence for a
relationship between media exposure and vocational attitudes. They showed women commercials that portrayed
women in either stereotypic ways or neutral ways and then
asked them to rate interest in educational and vocational
choices that required math. The women who viewed the
stereotypic commercials indicated lower interest in those
careers and higher interests in careers that were more in
keeping with traditional, stereotypic female strengths such
as teaching children.
In a related vein, the dramatically increased frequency of
males as characters in general, and specifically as primary
characters, could foster the perception that women are
secondary in real life situations. A number of studies have
examined how men and women respond to this relative
infrequency (see Thompson and Sekaquaptewa 2002 for a
review). Solo status, being the only member of a social
group, has implications for both perceptions of and
behaviors by the solo. Sackett et al. (1991) demonstrated
that women who were solos in a professional group of men
were routinely evaluated more poorly and were less likely
to be promoted. Classic laboratory work demonstrated that
while the solo may be more distinctive and remembered
better, they are remembered along stereotypic lines
(Taylor et al. 1978). Our analysis certainly demonstrated
that video games perpetuate the perception of women as
unlikely members of a team, as is intimated by the frequent
solo status of female characters; future research needs to
examine whether this has negative effects on men’s
perceptions of women’s roles. The work investigating
how men and women behave with/as a solo is equally
discouraging. Barker (1997) demonstrated that when men
and women solved a puzzle together as a mixed-sex dyad
the man made more commands, regardless of whether he
had received the relevant training. Additionally, he found
that not a single woman corrected a man when she had
received the relevant training (Barker, 1996, personal
communication) and he had not. Given that his data was
collected well before video games became such a mainstream form of entertainment, and given that women
frequently report spending a significant amount of time
429
watching their boyfriends play video games, as opposed to
playing themselves (Stermer et al. 2006), we have to ask
what the effect of repeated exposure to such lopsided sex
roles could be.Another key aspect to this period of
development is the discovery of what one values and desires
and how to behave in a romantic/sexual relationship
(Erikson 1968; Harter 1999). Ward and her colleagues have
demonstrated in several studies that exposure to music
videos (Ward et al. 2005) and television (Ward and Friedman
2006) influence romantic/sexual attitudes and behavior. Not
surprisingly, both of these works indicated that greater
exposure to stereotype laden material was related to greater
endorsement of gender and sexual stereotypes.
It is perhaps in the area of establishing a secure physical
identity that the literature is most critical of the media’s
influence. A body of research demonstrates that both male
and female teens and young adults who have greater
exposure to media representations of male and female
forms have a more negative self image (e.g., Ferron 1997;
Aubrey 2006; Arbour and Ginis 2006; Slater and Tiggemann
2006; Labre 2005). Recent research has even suggested
that exposure to objectifying media, such as that found in
this analysis, can induce a self-objectified state in both
men and women and that this state is associated with
significant, negative psychological states (Roberts and
Gettman 2004).
Female gamers are growing in frequency. Are these
gamers being lured in by the rise in female characters present
in video games or is this just a sign of the developing social
entertainment technology that is becoming more and more
popular? The negative portrayals of women could make
female gamers think that they should look like the women in
video games. The physical attributes of the women in video
games are not naturally attainable by normal females.
Harrison (2003) found that exposure, from simply watching
television, to what she called the “curvaceously thin
woman” was associated with both men and women
endorsing women’s use of extreme body-altering techniques
such as liposuction and surgical breast augmentation. One
can only imagine what kind of effect playing as (or
watching a boyfriend play with) a “curvaceously thin”
female character can have on a young woman’s self-image.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a steady call for
increased representation of female characters in video
games. And certainly, since Dietz’s (1998) work, the
number of female characters has increased dramatically.
However, when looked at with the developing identity of
the average gamer in mind, there is not a single component
in which women are portrayed in a positive way: women
are dramatically less frequent as characters, particularly less
likely to be given any meaningful action (vocation and
agency issues), women, in spite of their less frequent
presence, are far more likely to be portrayed in objectified
430
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
and unrealistic ways (body image and relationship issues).
While the call for increased representation has been heard,
it is difficult to interpret the type of representation as truly a
step forward.
There are a number of outspoken critics of the violence
contained in video games and it has been well established
that the violence in the games is significantly and
meaningfully related to violence in the real world (see
Anderson et al. 2003). There is also a body of research too
large to ignore that shows how pervasive television’s impact
can be on adolescents’ and young adults’ beliefs about how
they can and should behave. In fact, Anderson et al. (2001)
have gone so far as to say, “content viewed is more
important than raw amount. The medium is not (emphasis
in original) the message: The message is.” Only future
research can determine the ramifications of the degrading
and sexist portrayals of women in video games.
Appendix
Male and female character portrayals in video game covers by N and
percentages.
Game title
ESRB rating
25 To Life*
Airblade*
Alter Echo*
American Idol*
Animal Crossing
Arc the Lad End of Darkness*
Area 51
Backyard Wrestling*
Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance*
Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance 2*
Bard’s Tale*
Batman Begins*
Batman Rise of Sin Tzu*
Beyond Good and Evil*
Big Mutha Truckers*
Black and Bruised*
Black Hawk Down*
Bloody Roar 3*
Blowout*
Bombastic
Brother in Arms*
Bujingal Forsaken City*
Burnout 3 Takedown
Butt-Ugly Martians
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts*
Carmen Sandiego Secret of the Stolen Drums*
Casper Spirit Dimensions*
Castlevania Lament of Innocence*
Champions of Norrath*
Chaos Legion*
M
T
T
E
E
T
M
M
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
E
M
T
T
E
T
E
E
M
T
T
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*
Cold Fear*
Conflict Zone*
Conker Live and Reloaded
Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex*
Crash Twinsanity*
Dark Angel Vampire Apocalypse*
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2*
Dead to Rights 2*
Deer Hunter*
Demon Stone*
Destroy All Humans*
Devil May Cry*
Devil May Cry 2*
Devil May Cry 3*
Digimon World 4
Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure*
Dog’s Life*
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Doom 3
Dragon Ball Z Budokai*
Dukes of Hazzard
Dynasty Warriors 4*
Episode 3 ROTS*
Everblue 2
Everquest Online Adventures*
Fairly Odd Parents Shadow Showdown*
Fallout Brotherhood of Steel*
Fantastic Four*
Fight Club*
Fight Night Round 2*
Fighter Maker 2*
Final Fantasy X*
Final Fantasy XI*
Finny the Fish and the Seven Waters
Fire Warrior
Frogger’s Adventure
Full Spectrum Warrior*
Future Tactics Uprising*
Gadget Racer
Galerians Ash
Geist*
Getaway Black Monday*
Gladius*
God of War*
Godzilla Save the Earth
Grabbed by the Ghoulies*
Gran Turismo 4
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas*
Growlanser Generations*
Hack Mutation*
Halo*
Halo 2*
Harvest Moon*
Haunted Mansion
Hitman 2*
Hot Shots Golf Fore*
Hulk
Jade Empire*
E
M
T
M
E
E
T
T
M
T
T
T
M
M
M
E
E
T
E
M
T
E
T
T
E
T
E
M
T
M
T
T
T
T
E
M
E
M
T
E
T
M
M
T
M
T
E
E
M
T
T
M
M
E
T
M
E
T
M
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
Jak 2
Jak 3
Jungle Book Rhythm and Groove*
Karaoke Revolution 2*
Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer*
Killer 7*
Kingdom Hearts*
Kirby Air Ride
Legend of Legaia 2*
Lego Star Wars*
Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events*
Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter*
Madden 2005*
Mafia*
Magic Pengel the Quest for Color*
Manhunt*
Mario Party 6*
Max Payne*
Max Payne 2*
Medal of Honor European Assault*
Mega Man Anniversary Collection*
Metal Gear Solid 2*
Metal Slug 3*
Metal Slug 4 and 5*
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2
Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition
Mission Impossible Operation Surma*
Monster Jam
Mortal Kombat Deception
Muppets Party Cruise
MVP Baseball 2005*
MX vs ATV Unleashed
Myst IV Revelation*
Narc*
NBA Jam 2004*
Nicktoons Movin*
Onimusha 2*
Onimusha Blade Warrior*
Outlaw Golf 2
Outlaw Volleyball*
Pac Man Fever*
Paper Mario*
Phantom Dust*
Pitfall the Lost Expedition*
Pokemon Channel*
Pokemon Colosseum
Polar Express
Predator Concrete Jungle
Prince of Persia*
Prince of Persia 2*
Project Snowblind*
Pryzm Chapter One the Dark Unicorn*
Psi-Ops*
Punisher*
Rally Fusion Race of Champions
Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc
Red Dead Revolver*
Red Ninja End of Honor*
431
T
T
E
E
E
M
E
E
T
E
E
M
E
M
E
M
E
M
M
T
E
M
T
T
T
T
E
T
T
M
E
E
E
T
M
E
E
M
T
M
M
E
E
T
E
E
E
E
M
T
M
T
T
M
M
E
E
M
M
Resident Evil 4*
Resident Evil Outbreak 2*
Resident Evil Zero*
Ribbit King
Riding Spirits*
Rise of the Kasai*
Road Trip
Robots
Rocket Power Beach Bandits*
Rocky Legends*
Samurai Western*
Scooby-Doo Night of 100 Frights*
Sega Bass Fishing Duel*
Serious Sam Gold*
Seven Samurai 20xx*
Shadow Hearts*
Shadow of Rome*
Shaman King Power of Spirit*
Shenmue 2*
Shox
Sly Cooper 2 Band of Thieves
Smash Court Tennis 2*
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Mega Collection
Spawn Armageddon*
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy*
Spiderman 2*
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory*
Spy Fiction*
Spyhunter 2*
Spyro Enter the Dragonfly
SRS*
SSX Tricky*
Star Ocean*
Star Wars Battlefront*
Star Wars Clone Wars*
Star Wars Jedi Academy
Star Wars KOTOR*
Star Wars KOTOR 2*
Star Wars Rebel Strike*
Star Wars Republic Commando*
Star Wars Super Bombad Racing
Starsky and Hutch*
Stella Deus*
Still Life*
Suikoden IV*
Super Mario Sunshine*
Super Monkey Ball Deluxe
Super Smash Bros Melee*
SWAT Global Strike Team*
Tekken 5*
Tenchu Final Shadows*
The Adventures of Cookie and Cream
The King of Route 66*
The Legend of Alon D’Ar*
The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker*
The Suffering*
Thief Deadly Shadows*
Tiger Woods 2005*
M
M
M
E
E
M
E
E
E
T
M
E
E
M
T
M
M
T
E
E
E
E
E
E
M
T
T
M
M
T
E
T
E
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
E
T
T
M
T
E
E
T
M
T
M
E
T
T
E
M
M
E
432
Time Splitters 2*
Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness*
Tony Hawk Underground 2*
Unlimited Saga
Unreal Championship*
Vietcong Purpe Haze*
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution*
Virtual on Marz
War of the Monsters*
Wario World*
Way of the Samurai 2*
Wheel of Fortune*
Wild Arms 3*
Wings of War*
Woody Woodpecker
Worms Forts Under Siege
Xenosaga Episode II*
X-Men Next Dimension*
Sex Roles (2007) 57:419–433
T
T
T
T
M
M
T
T
T
E
M
E
T
T
E
T
T
T
Starred items indicate the presence of a human character.
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