ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES - Petition for Playable Female Characters

With the upcoming release of Aliens: Colonial Marines, we see a variety of classic characters from the 1979 and 1986 movies. Having watched the first movie and second movie at a very young age, It was so inspiring watching a female battle and survive the horror of being hunter down by an alien. I still remember to this day the scene when she's fighting the alien queen, in what I thought was a mobile suit from Gundam Wing, as the alien tries to stab her with it's scorpion like tail and Ripley desperately tries to climb out of the hatch she opened but then gets gripped by the alien. The scene was truly epic for its time. The Queen's mouth still gives me jitters till this day!

When I heard the game was coming out, I was so ecstatic that I'd get the chance to play Ellen Ripley and kick some alien ass! However, none of the original characters from both of the first two movies are premiering in the new game. That's right, no one. Not even the person who happens to be the primary protagonist of the Alien franchise, Ellen Ripley. What’s even stranger is the lack of any of the other prominent female characters in the series, among them being Private Jenette Vasquez, Corporal Colette Ferro, and Corporal Cynthia Dietrich.

What’s almost ridiculous that it is laughable is the company behind the creation of the game Gearbox Software states,  

"You and your friends will become the most badass military outfit in the galaxy - the US Colonial Marines."... "Enlist in the Marine Corps: Bringing you a true sequel to James Cameron's classic Aliens..."... " An extensive upgrade system allows players to customize their characters to play the way they want.”

So explain to me why there can’t be a female character? Why can’t the game include the protagonist of the Alien movie? Just because the protagonist so happens to be a female? I had hoped Gearbox Software would make the conscious admirable choice of providing an Alien game that featured all the primary characters.

This oversight says two things about the choice they made:

1. They are excluding the potential for women gamers to play the game because it’s less likely to attract them and it sends a message that they are not very much interested in providing a game that hones the movie into a video game. 
2. The addition of a female characters would widen the audience of potential gamers because let’s face it, more than 40% of gamers are now women. 

Isn’t it about time we get games that catered to everyone?

Devoted gamer, Mellisa K, is petitioning for signatures to add females to the game before it launches. We can’t say we want more women to play games and not do something that allows them to feel they have the opportunity to do so. We aren’t asking for women rights. We are demanding diversity.  With diversity of women in games comes respect and integrity for the women who play them. If we allow more opportunities like in Mass Effect to truly allow gamers to be themselves, we break down the walls of segregation and open the doors to recognition. Hopefully, with enough signatures Gearbox Software will publish a video game that embraces this new ideology and accepts all types of gamers.

Sign the Petition to make a difference.