[UPDATE: Since this article was published, the survey in question has now been modified to not specify a required gender for participants. Will "Arconic" Maiden of Evolution Studios noted on Twitter that "we love women, we want them to test Motorstorm too!" Was this an honest mistake? Let's hope so.]
Interested in Motorstorm Apocalypse? Sure you are. It looks great. Go read our preview from the Eurogamer expo if you’re not convinced.
Looks awesome, right? So wouldn’t it be even more awesome to get a chance to be an exclusive beta tester for that game? Of course it would! And surely they’re looking for a wide range of people to get the broadest variety of opinions on the new title? Right?
Wrong. It seems that Sony are particularly interested in the opinions of those under-represented underdogs of gaming culture, the 18-35 year old male. Oh, and you have to be British, too. Sorry about that.
Sound implausible? Here’s the survey prospective participants have to fill out in order to be considered. Note question number 2: “I confirm… that I am male aged 18-35 and either a British national or medium term resident.”
Given that participation in the testing session also carries a £200 cash incentive, there’s a big question mark over whether this is even legal under current discrimination laws.
Sexism is an ugly word, but this is the second time in as many days that potentially sexist issues have arisen surrounding high-profile games. The first was the discovery that one of the pre-order bonuses for Call of Duty: Black Ops—some kit for Xbox Avatars—would only work with male avatars. And now this. Are some companies really so short-sighted as to still believe that female gamers aren’t interested in games such as Motorstorm and Call of Duty?
Perhaps there’s a reasonable explanation for limiting access to the testing session to 18-35 year old males. They are often quoted as the most prominent demographic for video games, after all. But that’s not really an excuse to pretty much ignore the fact that there are plenty of gamers out there who happen to be female.
More on this as it happens.
(Thanks to Jen Allen of Resolution Magazine for the tip.)
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