XBOX & female gamers

So here’s a question. Suppose, in an entirely fictional reality, M$ was looking to increase their share of “women” and “lapsed” gamers. What would you recommend they do? There are, obviously, no financial boundaries.

First, women gamers love casual games. You know, Diner Dash or Bejeweled type of stuff. What a company like M$ could do is a) make the downloadable ones more user-friendly (no bs with buying credits or spyware), and b) make their MSN games available on browser other than IE. This type of game is generally played at work (where people have computers that are up to par), so approaching it from that angle would be one venue.

Second, particularly women gamers seem enamored with the Wii because of its “party games,” the type you can play with couples. So, besides Viva Pinata (which seems like a half-hearted attempt), there’s simply not much that justifies letting your hubbie go out and spend $600 on a game system that has nothing ‘fabulous’ about it. They could host some events that center on games in bars that engage both girls and boys. Some battle of the sexes induced, XBOX-sponsored, event that ultimately lowers the barrier and familiarizes women with the console. What about some adult couple game? Xbox kama sutra?

Third, these “lapsed gamers” as you call them are most likely intimidated by the commitment of contemporary consoles. Sure, they have the $$ but they don’t have the time. MS could earn some credibility by buying up some of the classic, nostalgia-inducing titles, and making them available as browser-based games (for, again, more than just IE). These “lapsed gamers” remember that XBOX is relatively new to the market. To get their attention they’ll have to port a library of games that came before XBOX was even around. Think Sega.

So these are three of my suggestions. What you got?