Here’s a studio that knows how to empower women and buck the trends. Putting women on the front of the box art or making a game with a woman lead was a no-no when it came to most publishers, because according to them, it simply doesn’t relate in sales.
Bioshock Infinite’s box art generated a lot of controversy recently due to its generic nature but the most important part was that Elizabeth was found in the back of the box art despite begin a strong protagonist.
In an recent interview with VG247 , Naughty Dog revealed how it was asked to put Ellie on back of the box art but they refused to do so.
The voice actor for Ellie, Ashley Johnson, revealed that: “I feel like they don’t put women on the covers because they’re afraid that it won’t sell. It’s all gamers really know – and I don’t want to be sexist by any means – but I get the feeling, generally, that they think game’s won’t sell as well with a woman on the cover, compared to some badass dude on the front.
Game director, Neil Druckmann added: “I agree with what Ashley said. I believe there’s a misconception that if you put a girl or a woman on the cover, the game will sell less. I know I’ve been in discussions where we’ve been asked to push Ellie to the back and everyone at Naughty Dog just flat-out refused.”
That’s really something from Naughty Dog, eh? But considering Sony is so nice to their first-party studios and also considering they are less risk averse, this doesn’t seem to be a big deal for me personally.
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