Reporting for Wall Street Journal, Yukari Iwatani Kane writes that there is a growing battle among game publishers for products aimed at female gamers.  Analysts think the move comes from the frustration publishers have felt in trying to continue to grow the core game market.  One analyst from Arcadia Investment cites that mainstream games have been the primary drivers of growth in the game industry in recent years.  Kane points out how the growth curve started with Nintendo’s achievements in creating mainstream fare for Wii and DS, including fitness and caretaking games aimed directly at women.

Wedbush Morgan Securities estimates that female players currently account for 40 percent of the game market, up from 12 percent estimated by research firm IDC in 2001.  A five percent increase in female gamers represents nearly a billion additional dollars in revenue for the industry, says Wedbush Morgan.  Among major publishers gearing up with Holiday fare to duke it out for female market share are Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft.

Read more at Wall Street Journal.