IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Canada's First Female-Owned & Operated Game Company Starts In Vancouver

Posted July 20, 2010 by M.H. Williams

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes, long-time industry veterans, have announced today the formation of Silicon Sisters Interactive, a new Canadian developer that will create games for a female audience. The Entertainment Software Association says that female gamers currently account for 40% of the overall gaming audience and the demographic continues to grow. Silicon Sisters looks to cater to this market and create games centered around these players’ hobbies and interests. The company is comprised of an all-female design staff that understands the needs of the audience.

"We're not interested in 'pinkifying' games, which is how girl games are typically designed," says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters' CEO. "It's no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience."

The developer’s founders have a combined 18 years in the gaming industry. Bailey Gershkovitch is the former COO of Deep Fried Entertainment, chairs the Vancouver chapter of Women in Games International, and sits on GDC Canada’s Advisory Board. Forbes was an Executive Producer at Radical Entertainment, having delivered 11 top-shelf titles, and remains a advocate for female gaming preferences.

"The video game industry is experiencing a rebirth of sorts," says Kirsten Forbes, Silicon Sisters' COO. "PC online gaming is up, social networking has become pervasive, and mobile platforms are ubiquitous. Women are adopting games on these platforms in droves. It's time to get serious about delivering quality games into this burgeoning market."

Silicon Sisters’ development team is predominately female, and includes veteran designer Brenda Brathwaite as a consultant. The team is currently working on a pair of projects for PC and mobile platforms. Silicon Sisters will be attending Casual Connect, GDC Europe, and GamesCom to search for additional work-for-hire projects that match their corporate vision, as well as finding publishers for their internal brands.

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.