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Podcasts Take Two
The state of women in the video game world
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Jun 14, 2013
Listen • 6:26
The state of women in the video game world
In an onstage demonstration of their fighting game "Killer Instinct," a male developer of the game faced off against a woman who had never played the game before.
Actress Aisha Tyler, host of the Ubisoft news conference, speaks during the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Theater on June 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry.
Actress Aisha Tyler, host of the Ubisoft news conference, speaks during the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Theater on June 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry.
(
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
)

In an onstage demonstration of their fighting game "Killer Instinct," a male developer of the game faced off against a woman who had never played the game before.

The annual behemoth gaming conference known as E3 was held in downtown L.A. this week. It's a chance for companies to show off their new games and generate buzz, but for Microsoft, things didn't go quite according to plan.

In an onstage demonstration of their fighting game "Killer Instinct," a male developer of the game faced off against a woman who had never played the game before. The guy quickly trounced the female gamer and at the end of the match, she started to express her frustration. 

"I can't even block correctly and you're too fast," said the female gamer.

To which the developer replied, "Just let it happen, it'll be over soon." Many in the audience were seriously offended by that comment. 

Microsoft has since issued the a statement apologizing for the ad-libbed joke. But it got many people wondering how well are women faring in the world of videogames. 

Fore more on this, we're joined now by Katherine Cross, a PHD candidate at City University of New York who's studying the impact of gender in online gaming.