Area 88 (CP System), 1989
Manami Matsumae
Today is International Women’s Day, so I will share something from a talented woman. Ms. Matsumae has been getting a lot of work recently since she became involved in Mighty No. 9.
Left to right: Kumi Yamaga, Manami Matsumae, Tamayo Kawamoto, Harumi Fujita, Junko Tamiya c. 1987 (courtesy Manami Matsumae, vgmpf.com)
Japan consistently ranks quite low among developed countries in gender equality indices despite having the 3rd largest nominal GDP in the world. I feel compelled to spotlight the work of Japanese women who had to fight tooth and nail to get where they did (and this was over twenty years ago!). Although it is not unusual to see women in the art team in game credits, it’s extremely uncommon to see any producing, directing or designing games. I wish I could say that is only true for Japan, but it’s not. How many women can you name in high ranking creative positions? There’s Kim Swift, of course, and … uh … um … well …
Yeah. Even Napple Tale: Arsia In Daydream was directed by a man. Let that sink in for a moment. While statistics about gamers may look promising, game development is still very much a boys’ club.
Fine, that’s all very depressing, but what can you do? Support independent games that align with your values. The post-publisher world of digital distribution has a lot to offer. Games are for everyone, but so is game development.
Thanks once again to 2ch-H at vgmrips.