On average, girls and women are less involved with video games than are boys and men, and when they do play, they often prefer different games. This article reports two studies that investigated the dislikes of German females with regard to video games. Study 1 applied conjoint analysis to female respondents’ (N= 317) ratings of fictional video games and demonstrated that lack of meaningful social interaction, followed by violent content and sexual gender role stereotyping of game characters, were the most important reasons why females disliked the games. Study 2, an online survey (N= 795), revealed that female respondents were less attracted to competitive elements in video games, suggesting an explanation for gender‐specific game preferences. These findings are discussed with respect to communication theory on interactive entertainment and their implications for applied video game design.

Conclusions The two studies reported in this article demonstrate the importance of content and personality factors for the explanation of gender differences in computer game play. Study 1 found that young German women prefer rich social interactions in computer games, which most available products cannot offer, and also revealed the women’s dislike of violent content and heavy gender‐stereotyping in the presentation of characters. The applied research design that relied on fictional game packages and conjoint analysis should produce valid results. However, two limitations need to be addressed. First, the packages of some of the games presented contained negative remarks about “what is not in the game,” which is clearly artificial when compared to normal packages of computer games and might have affected the findings about social interaction possibilities. Second, each participant dealt with several packages, some of which had identical screenshots or visual features. Again, this differs from a natural situation of video game choice. Therefore, the findings need to be replicated using real games and participants who are allowed to actually play them. Further analysis should also deal with the comparatively high number of divergent responses that indicate some variance in how the females responded to the content factors investigated. Nevertheless, the findings are in line with the assumptions and evidence reported in the literature (e.g., Glaubke, et al., 2001). Theories on gender socialization, evolution, and biopsychological research may help to explain the existence of the observed gender‐specific content preferences (cf. Sherry, 2004) and inspire theoretical reasoning on a more abstract level (see also for a broader culture‐specific approach AAUW, 2000; Cassell & Jenkins, 1998a; Yates & Littleton, 1999). As a practical consequence, the computer game industry stands to conquer new market segments if it would rigorously implement females’ content preferences in future products (Cassell, 2002; Gorriz & Medina, 2000; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 1998). As regards personality factors, competition orientation appears to be an important component in the explanation of gender differences in Germany. Lucas and Sherry (2004) have reported similar findings from a survey in the United States. The games industry should also consider how, if at all, to implement competitive game structures if they intend to reach female mass audiences. Overall, the findings contribute to an explanation of the substantial gender gap in computer game involvement. They also call for further theoretical discussion in entertainment research: Current explanations of why playing video games is fun (e.g., Klimmt, 2003; Vorderer & Bryant, 2006) need extensions to account for gender‐specific models of pleasure. If competing, winning, and being a violent superhero do not appeal to women to the extent that they appeal to men, several mechanisms of enjoyment that have been proposed, such as pride in success and identification with attractive role models (e.g., Klimmt, 2003), should be reconsidered. Most importantly, the pleasures of social interaction with game characters, and with other players as well, require more attention in theories about (interactive) entertainment. The studies reported indicate that further gender‐specific refinements are needed in entertainment theories and entertainment research in general. In addition, differences related to frequency of game use among players should be added to the gender comparison. For example, research suggests that males who play games infrequently more closely resemble the stereotypical female game player in their preference for less violence in games (AAUW, 2000; Kafai, 1998). As the studies were conducted in Germany and gender roles as well as motivations are likely to be affected by culture, the findings first and foremost contribute to an explanation of the gender gap in video game involvement among the German population. Further research is needed that takes a culture‐based view of gender construction and associated video game preferences. Finally, given the link between access to and use of computer games for media literacy and affinity for information technologies, the implications of the findings for girls’ and women’s developmental opportunities should be brought out and addressed (Durkin, 2006). Suppose that the majority of computer games offer too much violence, unacceptable gender role models, and insufficient amounts of social interaction, and impose a level of competition that, for females, is too high. What might be the impact on the general appeal of computer technologies to girls and women who are thinking about possible career paths and participation in society (see Bussey & Bandura, 1999)? Thus, in addition to suggesting further areas for entertainment research, the findings underscore the need to continue in‐depth discussion about how video games influence females’ perceptions of and attitudes towards computer technologies.