"In anticipation of this week's Women in Games Conference in Seattle, Next-Gen.Biz has produced a list and biographies of 100 women in the game industry who are making a difference..."

It is a fascinating read and a look at both where women in the videogame industry have been to where they are heading.

From the article:

While it is a known fact that the ratio of women to men working in the games industry is remarkably off-kilter, it is unclear what this data truly means to the game community. One widely-supported idea is that, by including the viewpoint and talents of women in the game development process, nothing is left to chance in terms of looking at the big picture.

A gender-inclusive approach to game design and marketing of games may ensure that most, if not all, considerations to producing games for myriad markets are not overlooked. Games are no longer produced for a niche market of players; they are produced for complex, over-lapping layers of demographically, geographically, socially and culturally-influenced consumer groups. Including skilled women in the game creation dialogue for these markets allows for maximum potential return in game design, production, management, sales and marketing for the growing masses.

Another idea is that women in the game industry have the extra advantage of understanding what types and genres of games female consumers will want to play. Increasingly, the game-playing trends and tastes of women and girls are playing heavily into market growth opportunity for game software and hardware companies. Entire divisions and company strategies are being built up around female players and their game play preferences.

To demonstrate the broad range of women in games who are today’s representatives and purveyors of these ideas, Next Generation has compiled their list of top women in games, from luminaries to lesser known members of the game community.

Be sure to read the complete 100 list over at Next-Gen.Biz