Local Family Prepares to Launch WomenGamers.com

RALEIGH — Computer games are a billion dollar industry, but it could be a lot bigger with the help of a new Web site developed by a Triangle family.

The Boinodiris women are serious about gaming, and their new Web site,WomenGamers.com, will be launched Wednesday.

The eCommerce Almanac reports that 43 percent of PC gamers are women. The WomenGamers.com Web site hopes to bring them together.

N.C. Statesenior Ismini Boinodiris plays games. She has worked in the industry and now is helping her mother and sister launch WomenGamers.com.

"I hope that the gaming industry takes a look and finds out that ... there is a huge female market already out there, and it's only growing," she said.

The site is not an online gaming site. It will offer articles, game reviews and suggestions for choosing games for your family.

"We are bringing in educators, psychologists, people in the community to give their input to this site about what is going on in the gaming industry," says entrepreneur Phaedra Boinodiris.

Boinodiris describes WomenGamers.com as "female friendly," but not just for women. As more women play computer games, the male-dominated industry may change.

"Its games are mainly marketed toward men," Boinodiris said. "The women that are portrayed in the games, if at all, are often portrayed misogynistically."

Boinodiris hopes more women will write and produce games, and so does her sister-in-law, a psychologist who contributes to the site.

"It's market driven, it's money driven so in some way that's the ideal and that's our hope," says Kathryn Wright, a clinical psychologist.

Boinodiris says the site has already received messages of good luck from gamers around the world.