The entertainment industry is contending with declining sales and audience engagement and amidst it all is a fundamental misunderstanding of the female consumer market. Gaming and film companies are scrambling to attract female audiences yet their efforts are often misdirected leading to alienation rather than inclusion.
Dr Lize Barclay, Senior Lecturer in Futures Studies and Systems Thinking at Stellenbosch Business School, says recent years have seen an explosion in female-focused entertainment trends.
“From the rise of the ‘romantasy’ book genre, now a multi-million-dollar industry, to the increasing popularity of cozy video games, visual novels and dating simulators, the interest from female audiences has changed. However, instead of recognising and catering to these preferences, major Western entertainment companies have attempted to force female appeal into traditionally male-oriented media, often with disastrous results.”
While women are thriving in their entertainment choices, many Western entertainment companies are struggling. Over the past three years, long-established film and gaming companies have faced shutdowns, project cancellations, layoffs and declining market shares.
Dr Barclay says the assumption that women want to consume the same type of media as men, simply with minor tweaks, has led to significant missteps in the entertainment industry.
“Among the complex reasons for this downturn is a misguided attempt to capture a ‘perceived’ female audience. Traditionally male-oriented franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars and AAA games have shifted their focus toward attracting female consumers however these efforts have largely failed. The genres of science fiction, military, superheroes, grim-dark futures and dark fantasy have not drawn the anticipated mass female audience. Worse still, these changes have alienated the core male fanbase while also pushing away the smaller female audience that previously enjoyed these franchises in their authentic form.”
“Women are making autonomous choices about the media they consume, favouring content that aligns with their interests rather than repackaged versions of male-dominated franchises. Cozy games such as Stardew Valley, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Animal Crossing dominate female gaming preferences, allowing players to engage in relaxing, creative, and socially driven experiences.”
“Similarly, dating simulators, known as Otome games, have gained immense popularity across all gaming platforms. The game Love and Deepspace, which caters specifically to female players, has seen over 50 million downloads within a year of release and generated over $319 million in revenue through in-game transactions.”
Dr Barclay says that even with these trends many major gaming and film studios have ignored these clear signals, instead attempt to reshape existing franchises to appeal to an imagined female audience.
“This strategy has backfired—traditional male audiences feel alienated, while female consumers remain uninterested. The genres of games, series and movies focused on science fiction, military themes, superheroes, grim future settings or dark fantasy do not naturally attract a mass female audience,” says Dr Barclay. “Not only has this shift failed to bring in more women, but it has also driven away the traditional male audience, as well as the smaller female audience that originally enjoyed these genres.”
One clear example is the growing popularity of Asian entertainment. Globally women are turning to Korean and Chinese dramas, often providing the kind of engaging characters, romance-driven narratives, and aesthetic appeal that resonate with female viewers.
“South Africa and Nigeria, for instance, are among the biggest consumers of Asian content in Africa. While Western media companies have struggled to capture the female market, these industries have flourished by providing content that meets women’s preferences rather than attempting to redefine them.”
She says research on character creation in gaming media shows that female players overwhelmingly create conventionally attractive female characters—contradicting the recent push by some Western gaming companies to redefine female protagonists in ways that have not resonated with audiences.”
“A French journalist recently critiqued a Korean game, Stellar Blade, for having a female protagonist that supposedly sets unrealistic beauty standards,” Dr. Barclay says. “This kind of criticism infantilises women, stripping them of their agency to decide what they enjoy in media.”
From a market segmentation perspective, a more effective strategy would have been to create distinct content divisions, similar to how book publishers develop imprints targeting different demographics.
“Rather than trying to retrofit existing franchises to appeal to a mythical female audience, entertainment companies could have developed new properties specifically for women, leveraging the expertise of creators who already understand female preferences,” Dr. Barclay suggests.
As the entertainment industry faces ongoing financial challenges—marked by layoffs, canceled projects, and declining engagement, Dr Barclay says “it must face the reality that audience preferences cannot be dictated.”
“Attempts to force a singular view of what women should enjoy have backfired, leading to significant revenue losses. Meanwhile, female consumers continue to embrace the media that speaks to them, whether through romantasy novels, cozy games or Asian entertainment.”
“As we approach International Women’s Day on 8 March 2025, we should respect women’s choices in entertainment rather than attempting to dictate their preferences. The industry’s failure to do so could lead to irreversible losses. When it comes to entertainment and hobbies, based on freedom of time and money, what has been lost could possibly never be gained back.”