HOTINRI THE MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 | Page 12

S ince 1984 the emergence of Atari video gaming began infultrating households worldwide. The internet has made unlimited connections possible and taken gaming to a new level. No longer are the days of beating your little brother or neighborhood friends, you have to prove your skills internationally. When you become the best in a certain game you are now called a professional gamer. Who knew that playing video games could become a profession? Well guess what it is. What was once thought of as a “boy thing” is no more. Women are breaking stereotypes and picking up the controller and dominating. A study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association in 2009, concluded that 40% of the game playing population is female, and women 18 or older comprised 34% of all gamers. The percentage of women gaming rose to 43%, up 4% from 2004. The same study shows that 48% of game purchasers are femaleu. I sat down with a woman who is putting her name on the list of pro-gamers and get an incite into her virtual world. Hi Vanessa, you are the C.E.O of Savage Gamers. What inspired you to begin Savage Gamers? Thanks for having me. I wouldn’t even call myself the CEO, I like to think of myself as the 8 handed, geaky, sweatshop worker. Yes I own the site but when I think of a CEO, I think of some dude in a huge comfy chair, smoking cigars and making bank. Its been tough. I pretty much wear all the hats from development, marketing, social media; the list goes on. I wish I could have other hands to help me, but creating a startup wi [Z]Y