Kawaii Killers and Femme Fatales: How Japanese and U.S. Video Game Firms Communicate the Power of Female Characters

• In Event: Beyond Lora: Female Gender in Games

Abstract

This research involved a content analysis of 378 playable female characters featured in video games developed by U.S. and Japanese companies and aims to bring awareness to the cultural dimensions at play in the creation of content within a globalized media industry. This research considered the historical context that shaped regional game design approaches as well as the ways in which ideologies of femininity in Eastern and Western cultures influence character design. Additionally, popular female archetypes within Japanese and U.S. media, such as kawaii (cute girl) and femme fatale tropes, are considered to provide qualities from which to make predictions about playable female protagonists in video games. Playable female characters in video games developed by U.S. firms in the data set were more likely to violent, sexualized, and physically capable than their Japanese counterparts. Female protagonists in Japanese games were more frequently depicted as virginal in appearance (e.g. as princess-like or as a schoolgirl). Implications for future research are considered.

Authors

• Jessica Ethel Tompkins, Indiana University

• Teresa Lynch, Indiana University

• Irene Ingeborg van Driel, Indiana U

• Niki Fritz, Indiana University