While the video game industry is still dominated by men, the number of women in power at video game companies is growing. But it's not growing as quickly as it should, given the acceleration of female players around the world, says Wanda Meloni, founder of M2 Research. Women currently comprise less than 15% of the games industry.

    In contrast, research firm Newzoo has found that of the 1.2 billion people playing video games globally, 46%, or 570 million, are female, with the highest share of women playing in Latin America (49%) and the lowest in Asia-Pacific region (43%).

    "In the U.S., around 170 million Americans play online, mobile, PC, or console games," said Peter Warman, founder of Newzoo. "Almost half, 48%, of these gamers are female." Warman notes the majority of female gamers -- 55% of them -- is older than 30.

    The most popular platform to play games on are smartphones and tablets, according to Newzoo research. Three out of four American female gamers, or 61.7 million women, play games on their mobile device.

    In the video game industry, Meloni found that there are slightly higher numbers of women working in casual games. She also found more women entrenched in the non-entertainment serious games sector. Women tend to be more dominant in executive production and management rolls where they can oversee the process. Where they fall short is in the more technical capacity of programming and audio design.

    "Aside from getting more women to view games as a positive career option for them, we need to support them in all areas of production, design and development," said Meloni. "Additionally, we need to work on pay equity and more positive mentoring activities."

    Here are 10 powerful women in games today, any of whom would serve as good role models for female gamers looking to enter the interactive entertainment work force.

    虽然视频游戏业仍然是男性的天下，但执掌视频游戏公司的女性高管正在不断增加。然而，M2研究公司(M2 Research)创始人旺达•马龙尼认为，鉴于全球女性玩家加速增长的态势，女性掌门人的增速还未达到其应有水平。视频游戏业的女性高管占比目前还不到15%。

    相比之下，Newzoo研究公司发现，在全球12亿视频游戏玩家中，46%（即5.7亿）是女性，拉丁美洲的女性玩家占比最高（49%），亚太地区最低（43%）。

    Newzoo研究公司创始人彼得•沃曼说：“在美国，大约1.7亿人在互联网、手机、个人电脑或游戏机上玩游戏，其中大约一半的玩家（48%）是女性。”沃曼指出，大多数女性玩家（55%）的年龄在30岁以上。

    Newzoo研究公司声称，最流行的游戏平台是智能手机和平板电脑。每4位美国女性玩家中就有3位（共计617万人）在移动设备上玩游戏。

    马龙尼发现，在视频游戏业中，从事休闲游戏业务的女性人数略多一些。她也发现，更多的女性扎根在非娱乐的严肃游戏部门。女性往往在执行制作人和人事主管等侧重于流程监管的职位上更占优势。而在编程和音频设计等技术性岗位上，女性的人数相对较少。

    “除了让更多女性将游戏业视为一个积极的职业选择之外，我们还需要在生产、设计和开发等领域给予她们以支持，”马龙尼说。“此外，我们还需要促进薪酬公平，同时让她们接受更加积极的指导活动。”

    以下是游戏业目前最具影响力的10位女性。对于寻求成为互动娱乐业一员的女性玩家来说，其中的任何一位均可作为职场榜样。

    Hope Cochran

    • Title: CFO

    • Company: King

    Casual game publisher and developer King is heading towards an IPO. The maker of hit cross-platform games like Candy Crush Saga and Bubble Witch Saga lured CFO Hope Cochran away from Clearwire Inc. The Swedish mobile game developer, which tests games out on its main site before fine-tuning them for Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) and then monetizing them on mobile, is one of the fastest-growing companies out there. King has over 1 billion gameplays per day globally across 150 exclusive games in 14 languages through mobile, Facebook and online. Cochran previously helped raise over $11 billion while at Evant, which bodes well for King's IPO and aggressive growth plans.

    霍普•柯克伦

    •职衔：首席财务官

    •公司：King

    休闲游戏发行商和开发商King公司即将启动IPO（首次公开招股）。作为《糖果粉碎传奇》（Candy Crush Saga）和《泡泡女巫传说》（Bubble Witch Saga）等热门跨平台游戏的制造商，King公司从Clearwire公司挖来了首席财务官霍普•柯克伦。这家瑞典移动游戏开发商是游戏领域增长最快的公司之一。它通常先在自己的主站点测试游戏，然后根据Facebook的要求予以微调，最终在移动设备上出售这些游戏。全球各地玩家每天通过移动设备、Facebook和互联网操作King公司旗下150款拥有14个语言版本的独家游戏，日均游戏次数高达10亿以上。此前在Evant公司任职期间，柯克伦曾经帮助该公司募集了110亿美元。对于King公司的IPO和雄心勃勃的增长计划而言，这份履历是个好兆头。

    Stephanie Barish

    • Title: CEO

    • Company: IndieCADE

    With the proliferation of mobile gaming, there's been a boom in independent game developers around the world. Even big console makers likeSony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT,Fortune 500) are embracing indies with their current and next-gen consoles. Stephanie Barish has helped spotlight the greatest minds in independent game development today through IndieCade, which has partnered with established gaming events like Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) and Game Developers Conference and also held its own festivities. Barish previously founded and created the blueprint for the Annenberg Center for Communications' Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML) at the University of Southern California.

    史蒂芬尼•巴里斯

    •职衔：首席执行官

    •公司：IndieCADE

    随着手机游戏的加速普及，世界各地如雨后春笋般涌现出了许多独立游戏开发商。就连索尼（Sony）和微软（Microsoft）等大型游戏机制造商也纷纷通过当前主打的游戏机和下一代游戏机向这些独立开发商示好。史蒂芬尼•巴里斯推动独立游戏开发领域目前最伟大的头脑汇聚一堂，成为世人关注的焦点——她执掌的IndieCade公司不仅与西雅图游戏展（Penny Arcade Expo）和游戏开发者大会（Game Developers Conference）等游戏业盛事合作，还举办自己的游戏节。巴里斯此前在南加州大学（University of Southern California）的多媒体素养研究所（Institute for Multimedia Literacy）创建了安纳伯格通讯研究中心（Annenberg Center for Communications），还为它绘制了发展蓝图。

    Holly Liu

    • Title: Co-Founder and Chief of Staff

    • Company: Kabam

    Mobile game maker Kabam has had great success reaching mainstream gamers through Hollywood licensed product like Fast & Furious 6: The Game (33 million installs worldwide) and original franchises like Kingdoms of Camelot. That franchise, which has made over $200 million to date, saw Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North become the top-grossing app on iOS in 2012. Liu was an initial designer on that game expansion. She has also grown Kabam's personnel base by 500% in three years with more than 600 employees around the world. Liu was previously Senior User Interface Designer for AOL (AOL).

    霍莉•刘

    •职衔：联合创始人兼人事主管

    •公司：Kabam

    通过《速度与激情6：游戏》（Fast & Furious 6: The Game，已在全球安装了3,300万部）等好莱坞授权产品和《亚瑟王国》（Kingdoms of Camelot）等原创游戏，手机游戏制造商Kabam极其成功地打入主流游戏市场。迄今为止，《亚瑟王国》系列游戏已创下逾2,000万美元的收入，《亚瑟王国：北方之战》（Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North）更是在2012年成为 iOS商店最卖座的应用。霍莉•刘是这款游戏扩张的初始设计师。此外，她还推动员工团队在3年内增长了500%，Kabam公司目前在全球各地拥有600多名员工。霍莉•刘曾在美国在线（AOL）担任高级用户界面设计师。

    Emily Greer

    • Title: Co-Founder and CEO

    • Company: Kongregate

    Emily Greer and her brother Jim created casual video game site Kongregate back in 2006. She led the initial product development of Kongregate, from the first wireframes to live site, including designing the level and points system that lures gamers back to try more of the never-ending stream of free-to-play games. Leading video game retailer GameStop (GME, Fortune 500) acquired the site in 2010, connecting its global gamers to the growing library of titles. After expanding its offerings to mobile, Kongregate recently invested $10 million to fund new game developers and help them reach an audience.

    埃米莉•格里尔

    •职衔：联合创始人兼首席执行官

    •公司：Kongregate

    早在2006年，埃米莉•格里尔就和她的弟弟吉姆一起创办了休闲游戏网站Kongregate。她领导Kongregate最初的产品开发，从第一张线框图到运行的站点，事事过问。为了吸引玩家更多地尝试永无止境的免费游戏，她还设计了水平和计分制度。领先的视频游戏零售商GameStop在2010年收购了这家网站，把它的全球玩家与Kongregate公司不断增长的游戏库联系了起来。进军移动领域之后，Kongregate最近投资了1,000万美元资助新的游戏开发商，帮助它们的产品抵达受众。

    Jessica Tams

    • Title: Managing Director

    • Company: Casual Games Association

    As Managing Director of the Casual Games Association, Jessica Tams oversees quarterly Casual Connect Conferences around the world and publishes the Casual Connect Magazine, as well as research reports to over 20,000 industry professionals. The CGA acts as a meeting place for all facets of the casual games business through its sold-out conferences in locales like San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Kiev. Tams saw the worldwide growth of casual games across all platforms early on, having worked as vice president of product planning at FUN Technologies, a Liberty Media (LMCA) company, and helping to create Oberon Media's Seattle Studio. Tams entered the game industry as a software engineer developing PC and Xbox games like Dungeon Siege and Gabriel Knight III.

    杰西卡•塔玛斯

    •职位：执行董事

    •公司：休闲游戏协会

    杰西卡•塔玛斯是休闲游戏协会公司（Casual Games Association，简称CGA）的执行董事，负责监管每个季度在世界各地召开的休闲连接会议 （Casual Connect Conferences），并出版《休闲连接》杂志（Casual Connect ），以及面向2万多名专业人士的研究报告。休闲游戏协会时常在旧金山、阿姆斯特丹和基辅等地举办大受欢迎的行业会议，成为游戏业各路精英的会面之所。塔玛斯是跨平台休闲游戏在全球迅速发展的早期见证者之一，她曾经在自由媒体公司FUN Technologies担任产品规划业务副总裁，并帮助Oberon Media公司创建了西雅图工作室。塔玛斯当初以一位软件工程师的身份加入游戏业，开发过《地牢围攻》（ Dungeon Siege）和《狩魔猎人3》（Gabriel Knight III）等电脑和Xbox游戏。

    Kate Edwards

    • Title: Executive Director

    • Company: International Game Developers Association

    The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is one of the leading global entities that unites game makers from every region through localized, national and global activities. Kate Edwards has spent 16 years in the game development industry, serving as Microsoft's geopolitical strategist from 1992 through 2005. She used her knowledge of the global games industry to identify geopolitical and cultural risks and opportunities for game franchises like Halo, Age of Empires, Fable, and Dance Central. She co-organized the Game Developer Conference's Localization Summit.

    凯特•爱德华兹

    •职衔：执行董事

    •公司：国际游戏开发者协会

    国际游戏开发者协会（International Game Developers Association，简称IGDA）是全球顶级的行业活动组织者之一，通过本地、全国性和全球性活动把来自各个地区的游戏开发商联合在一起。凯特•爱德华兹已经在游戏开发业工作了16年，曾经在1992年至2005年担任微软公司（Microsoft）的地缘政治战略分析师。她运用自己对全球游戏业的深刻理解，为《光晕》（Halo）、《帝国时代》（Age of Empires）、《寓言》（ Fable）和《舞蹈中心》（Dance Central）等游戏确认地缘政治及文化风险和增长机会。她还是游戏开发者大会之本地化峰会的主办方之一。

    Kiki Wolfkill

    • Title: Executive Producer of Halo

    • Company: 343 Industries/Microsoft

    Kiki Wolfkill is an executive producer at Microsoft's 343 Industries game studio, which is responsible for theHalo entertainment franchise. In addition to developing Halo 4 and the upcoming Halo 5, Wolfkill has been responsible for the transmedia franchise that has spanned novels, comics, a web series, and an upcoming live-action series produced by Steven Spielberg. Wolfkill began her career as a motion graphics and cinematics artist. She previously served as director of art at Microsoft Studios, working with game developers on franchises like Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing, Gears of War, and Mass Effect.

    琦琦•沃尔夫基尔

    •职衔：《光晕》游戏执行制作人

    •公司：微软343行业

    琦琦•沃尔夫基尔是微软公司旗下343行业游戏工作室（343 Industries/Microsoft）的执行制作人，这家工作室负责开发《光晕》系列游戏。除了开发《光晕4》和即将上市的《光晕5》之外，沃尔夫基尔还负责跨媒体特许经营业务。这项业务目前已经横跨小说、漫画、网络剧，以及史蒂芬•斯皮尔伯格制作的真人动作电视剧等领域。刚加入游戏行业时，沃尔夫基尔主要从事视频和动画设计。她曾担任微软工作室的艺术总监，与游戏开发商一起合作开发了《极限竞速》（Forza Motorsport）、《世界街头赛车》（Project Gotham Racing）、《战争机器》（Gears of War）和《质量效应》（Mass Effect）等热门游戏。

    Amy Hennig

    • Title: Creative Director

    • Company: Naughty Dog

    Naughty Dog has been pushing the envelope when it comes to cinematic interactive entertainment since the first Uncharted game took the game industry by storm. With each sequel, as well as the new The Last of Us, Amy Hennig has overseen everything from the performance-captured actors that bring the virtual characters to life to the rich and addictive gameplay. Hennig is a big reason that Sony has a steady stream of must-have exclusives for PlayStation from Naughty Dog. Before joining the Santa Monica-based studio in 2003, she worked at Crystal Dynamics on the Soul Reaver and Legacy of Kain titles.

    艾米•亨尼格

    •职衔：创意总监

    •公司：顽皮狗

    自第一部《神秘海域》（Uncharted）游戏征服游戏业以来，顽皮狗（Naughty Dog）就一直在挑战互动娱乐游戏的极限。在每部续集和新游戏《最后生还者》（The Last of Us）的开发过程中，从捕捉性能，让虚拟角色栩栩如生的技术人员到丰富且令人上瘾的游戏体验，艾米•亨尼格负责监管一切事务。索尼旗下的顽皮狗工作室之所以能够为PlayStation源源不断地提供玩家必备的独家游戏，艾米•亨尼格绝对功不可没。她在2003年加入这家位于圣莫尼卡的工作室之前曾经在水晶动力公司（Crystal Dynamics ）参与过《灵魂掠夺者》（ Soul Reaver）和《凯恩的遗产》（ Legacy of Kain）等游戏的开发工作。

    Lucy Bradshaw

    • Title: SVP, Maxis

    • Company: Electronic Arts

    As senior vice president of Maxis, Lucy Bradshaw oversees The Sims and SimCity at Electronic Arts (EA). Bradshaw has been with EA since 1997, working with Maxis founder Will Wright on bestselling franchises that attracted new females to gaming. Over half of Sims players are female. She's played a pivotal role in evolving The Sims, which has sold over 100 million copies (The Sims 4 arrives next fall). Prior to Maxis, Bradshaw worked at George Lucas's LucasArts Entertainment, overseeing the development of games like The Dig, Secret of Monkey Island 2,and Rebel Assault.

    露西•布拉德肖

    •职衔： Maxis公司高级副总裁

    •公司：电子艺界公司

    露西•布拉德肖是 Maxis公司的高级副总裁，负责电子艺界公司（Electronic Arts）旗下两款热门游戏《模拟人生》（The Sims ）《模拟城市》（SimCity）的运营事务。自1997年以来，布拉德肖一直就职于电子艺界公司，她曾经与Maxis公司创始人威尔•赖特一起开发了吸引众多女性新玩家的畅销游戏。超过一半的《模拟人生》玩家是女性。在《模拟人生》的演化历程中，她起到了举足轻重的作用。这款游戏至今已经售出超过1亿套（《模拟人生4》将于明年秋天上市）。在加盟Maxis公司之前，布拉德肖曾经效力于乔治•卢卡斯的卢卡斯艺术娱乐（LucasArts Entertainment），监督开发了《异星搜奇》（The Dig）、《猴岛的秘密2》（Secret of Monkey Island2 ）和《叛军袭击》（Rebel Assault）等游戏。

    Jade Raymond

    • Title: Managing Director

    • Company: Ubisoft Toronto

    Jade Raymond heads up Ubisoft's Toronto studio, which opened in 2010 and is on track to grow to 800 employees by 2020. She's responsible for new intellectual property and is currently working on five titles. Raymond serves as executive producer of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell franchise, including games, books, and movies. She made her name in the industry as the co-creator and executive producer on the original Assassin's Creed game at Ubisoft Montreal. That game went on to become the fastest-selling new intellectual property in gaming in 20 years and has sold over 57 million copies worldwide. Having recently completed Tom Clancy'sSplinter Cell: Blacklist, she's now working on a new Assassin's Creed game (not Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag), as well as the open-world Watch Dogs game set in Chicago. The former programmer has focused on blockbuster game franchises and never looked back.

    婕德•雷蒙德

    •职衔：执行董事

    •公司：育碧多伦多

    婕德•雷蒙德是育碧多伦多工作室（Ubisoft Toronto）的掌门人，预计到2020年，这家创建于2010年的工作室的员工团队将增长至800人。她负责独家新游戏的开发工作，目前正在研发5款游戏。雷蒙德是《分裂细胞》（Splinter Cell ）的执行制作人，这款游戏改编自反恐惊悚小说大师汤姆•克兰西的同名作品（除了游戏之外，这部作品的授权产品还包括书籍和电影）。雷蒙德在游戏业界的声誉来自她在育碧蒙特利尔工作室（Ubisoft Montreal）担任联合创始人兼执行制片人期间开发的原创游戏《刺客信条》（ Assassin's Creed）——它随后成为近20年来销售速度最快的独家新游戏，已经在全球各地售出了超过5,700万套。她最近开发完成了根据汤姆•克兰西作品改编的《分裂细胞：黑名单》（Splinter Cell: Blacklist），目前正致力于开发一部全新的《刺客信条》游戏——不是《刺客信条四：黑旗》（ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag），以及以芝加哥为背景的开放式游戏《观赏犬》（Watch Dogs ）。她以前是程序员，但现在正在专注于游戏大制作的开发工作，再也没有回过头。（财富中文网）

    译者：任文科