Summer Game Fest called out for lack of diversity
It's hard to believe that in 2023, the straight white man still reigns supreme, but then we look at the gaming world, and it all makes sense. Stereotypes about basement-dwelling gamers have been broken in some parts of the industry, but when it comes to Summer Game Fest, it was hardly pushing the boundaries of diversity.
With E3 kicking the bucket, the summer has been left open for Geoff Keighley to swoop in and claim the goodies for himself. Although the big three of Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have been delivering their own showcases, Summer Game Fest was still one to watch - even if it was a little disappointing.
Critics call out Summer Game Fest for a lack of women
Click to enlargeAlthough there were plenty of reveals, like the long-awaited Spider-Man 2 release date and first look at Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay, no women were featured in the two-hour extravaganza. Keighley spoke to the likes of Insomniac's Bryan Intihar and NetherRealm's Ed Boon, but there was no female representation.
You might not have noticed at first, but the wider gaming sphere definitely did. The Verge's Ash Parrish wrote an op-ed, while Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio added, "Love Summer Game Fest, but not a single woman on stage this whole time? what year is it??"
Parrish explains, "To be clear, this is not only on Mr. Keighley. While he does have a responsibility to ensure his show reflects the diversity of its audience, it's also on the developers featured in these presentations to put their marginalized employees forward for opportunities like this."
Kotaku's Alyssa Mercante was in the crowd and explained, "Aside from the woman who is clearly the head of production rushing on-stage and whispering in Geoff's ear during trailers, there were no women highlighted at any point during this event. Not a single woman walked across the YouTube Theater's stage."
Summer Game Fest needs to do better
Yes, seeing Nic Cage do his best Nic Cage impression was a lot of fun, but aside from critiques that SGF lacked the big reveals we were promised, Mercante described its lack of female representation as a "massive step backward." Someone else referred to it as Summer Sausage Fest.
Not everyone agreed though. One critic wrote, "Blah blah blah. Diversity should come naturally, and not be forced," and another chimed in, "I'm all for equal rights but who tuned in expecting to see games and said 'Hey, wait a second, there weren't any women on stage!'"
Keighley is yet to comment on the backlash, but as he's promoted SGF as the new E3 and thrown a few barbs at the death of the gaming extravaganza, there are sure to be some lessons here. Still, we'll end with someone reminding us there were more Xboxes on stage than women at Summer Game Fest.
