Like Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo keeps tabs on their audience to see exactly who is playing the Wii U. An interesting and unflattering statistic has been revealed.

Data collected by Nintendo senior marketing manager of licensing, Damon Baker, reveals that only 7% of the people who access the Wii U shop are female. Ouch!

However, Nintendo does seem to be trying to make their games more appealing to women. In an interview with Nintendo Enthusiast, Nintendo of Canada stressed the company's commitment to making games with strong female protagonists.

In case you haven't noticed, it is kind of a theme for us; the more recent prominence of female characters. Having female characters playing a role that we haven't seen often in the past, outside of Samus. And that leads us right back to Hyrule Warriors, seeing Zelda kick some serious ass is pretty impressive. It's not something that we've necessarily seen before from Nintendo. Female Nintendo protagonists are finally stepping into the forefront in their role in the game. Whether it's all the female heroes in Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta, the female characters in Super Smash Bros., or Samus in Metroid. Even Splatoon!

Nintendo of Canada

While only one of those new titles has a real singular female protagonist, it's difficult to overlook the effort being made to be more inclusive. While it's still too soon to tell if this well help attract female gamers, it's nice to see Nintendo making the effort.