Christa Phillips plays like a girl. And she's perfectly OK with that.
Known online as TriXie, Phillips serves as a goodwill ambassador for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox Live online game service. Her online group, GamerchiX, functions as a virtual Grand Central Terminal for women and girls who tread into the testosterone-steeped world of console gaming.
American society has evolved since the advancement of women's rights in the 1960s. But the world of video gaming has been largely stuck in a time warp with its frat house culture of sexual insults and put-downs.
"For some women, the minute they open their mouths, they get trash-talked or hit on or both," Phillips said.
The hostile climate has kept many women away from online gaming, she said. Microsoft says it doesn't track the gender of its players, but Phillips estimates that 10% to 20% of Xbox Live's 7 million players are women. The service lets players log into a network of gamers via the Internet to find opponents and teammates, and to chat using instant messaging or headsets.
Making women feel more comfortable makes good business sense: Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is trying to expand its audience and broaden its market reach.
"Microsoft wants to have the mass market console," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "To get there, they need women."
Phillips, 38, has run GamerchiX since June 2006. She was inspired by PMS Clan, an online group of competitive female players. Many of them compete internationally for cash prizes.
"I've heard it all," said Amber Dalton, who founded PMS Clan. "They tell you to go to the kitchen and get them a sandwich. Or they ask you if you're hot. You can also be targeted just because you're a girl. They all just start shooting at you the second they find out you're a girl."
Phillips said the group was "awesome for empowering women," but she thought Xbox Live needed a group that made online life easier for pros and newcomers alike.
"I wanted to create a safe place for all women gamers," she said. "It's a place where you can go to socialize and not have to worry about being harassed or hit on."
Phillips didn't come to the games industry to start a feminist revolution.
She began her career in 1995 as a part-time writer for the in-house magazine of game developer Sierra Entertainment. When it offered her a full-time writing job, Phillips quit community college to write for the company's marketing department, penning such lines as "CyberGladiators: Warriors Reborn as Hardware from Hell!"
