Here's a letter I sent along to Bioware, using the information on this page:
 
 Hello.

I'm surprised, given the strong critical and player response to the female Shepard in Mass Effect, that Mass Effect 2 is still being marketed with only cursory mention of there being another gender option for the main character, and that the character is voiced by Jennifer Hale.  

Jennifer Hale's work was very strong, and she deserved the praise she got.  She sold her part better than most other voice work in video games up to now, and there are quite a few players, women and men, who think of Shepard as HER.  

It would only benefit the sales of Mass Effect 2 to have a kick-ass female trailer leading up to, or perhaps a little after, game launch.  Something that emphasizes the differences, focuses on the voice acting, and has her being just as tough as the male Shepard is, but utilizing scenes we haven't seen yet.

There is a SIGNIFICANT disenfranchised group of female gamers out there who are waiting for a mainstream producer to acknowledge their presence, and many cite the female Shepard when talking about portrayals of characters that they identify with or find empowering.  Be proud of the work you've done! Just imagine if Bioware was known as the company that lead the charge to open up this under-represented market.

Thank you for your time,
[yours truly]
 
This was inspired by my continued consternation mentioned in the first complete paragraph of the letter above, as well as this interview with Jennifer Hale at Destructoid.  This isn't a big deal to people who are getting the game anyway, and yeah, it's a slow process realizing there are people who would want to choose a female character (and it goes without saying that there are more important issues in this world in general), but why not give the process a push now and then?  I did manage to see the female Shepard for a split second in one of their latest videos, but c'mon.  Are the only female Shepard trailers going to be fan-made? 
 
(Don't watch this one unless you've beaten the first game):
 
 

Here's a letter I sent along to Bioware, using the information on this page:
 
 Hello.

I'm surprised, given the strong critical and player response to the female Shepard in Mass Effect, that Mass Effect 2 is still being marketed with only cursory mention of there being another gender option for the main character, and that the character is voiced by Jennifer Hale.  

Jennifer Hale's work was very strong, and she deserved the praise she got.  She sold her part better than most other voice work in video games up to now, and there are quite a few players, women and men, who think of Shepard as HER.  

It would only benefit the sales of Mass Effect 2 to have a kick-ass female trailer leading up to, or perhaps a little after, game launch.  Something that emphasizes the differences, focuses on the voice acting, and has her being just as tough as the male Shepard is, but utilizing scenes we haven't seen yet.

There is a SIGNIFICANT disenfranchised group of female gamers out there who are waiting for a mainstream producer to acknowledge their presence, and many cite the female Shepard when talking about portrayals of characters that they identify with or find empowering.  Be proud of the work you've done! Just imagine if Bioware was known as the company that lead the charge to open up this under-represented market.

Thank you for your time,
[yours truly]
 
This was inspired by my continued consternation mentioned in the first complete paragraph of the letter above, as well as this interview with Jennifer Hale at Destructoid.  This isn't a big deal to people who are getting the game anyway, and yeah, it's a slow process realizing there are people who would want to choose a female character (and it goes without saying that there are more important issues in this world in general), but why not give the process a push now and then?  I did manage to see the female Shepard for a split second in one of their latest videos, but c'mon.  Are the only female Shepard trailers going to be fan-made? 
 
(Don't watch this one unless you've beaten the first game):
 
 

I imagine it has to do with PR. The default shepard is male, after all, and video games are a male dominated audience. However, I agree with you that they should at least acknowledge that you can play as a female more than they have been.

" I imagine it has to do with PR. The default shepard is male, after all, and video games are a male dominated audience. However, I agree with you that they should at least acknowledge that you can play as a female more than they have been. "

I've read on these forums and others that some males do like to play as female characters. For them, it seemed to be the true role-playing experience. I need to venture out and play more diverse roles in games myself. Propaganda works and if they were so inclined to showcase the female version, I might be swayed. Nice letter, I wonder if they will respond.

I disagree that showcasing femShep would have a significant effect on sales. From a marketing perspective, I imagine doing so would even be considered antithetical to selling a product - not necessarily by virtue of her being female, but simply because it's fairly common and well-advised to associate your product with a singular, easily recognizable symbol, and the male default Shepard, like it or not, is exactly that. Why that symbol can't be femShep, instead of the male, has more to do with targeting certain market segments.
 
Now, if we're talking what's politically correct and what's not, that's another story. But purely in terms of selling their product as best they can, I think Bioware and EA are doing exactly the right thing for ME. You are, of course, more than welcome to your opinion, and I'm sure Bioware appreciates your enthusiasm and conviction as a fan.
 
EDIT: On an unrelated note, I am in what I guess is the minority (?) that really enjoyed Mark Meer's exaggerated heroism and found Jennifer Hale's work a bit flat.

Male Shepard is canon. So obviously they will put him in the trailers.

@Bigandtasty:

" @CL60: I thought they pretty much said there was no "canon" in the podcast here on the site, since there's a bunch of ways the game can turn out, including Shepard getting iced at the end.  "

As others have said, the issue has more to do with packaging and marketing than it does with any sort of attempt to reach out to a particular demographic. Essentially, the marketing team felt to have a sci-fi epic where you play a central, galaxy-saving character, it is worthwhile to have that character on the front of your box. So default "John" Shepard appears on the cover and in the advertising for the first game. That face is still being used as the promotional front of the game. 
 
Of course, the interesting comparison is how Dragon Age was packaged and sold. The rather striking red blood splatter image on white background I think is very effective and also side-steps the whole issue of having a central character having a default appearance, allowing you that sense of creating the hero. The fact that game has that much more customization in how the character looks (six possibilities between three races and two genders, rather than two genders of the same race) may have led to the decision to do exactly what you're talking about, providing multiple examples of what the lead character could be with no specific definition of what it should be. 
 
My fear, however, is that BioWare is too far down the well now as far Mass Effect is concerned to really about face. As an example, imagine two years from now we get our first trailer for ME3, and it shows geth boarding a ship or some other dramatic moment. All hope seems lost, until the crew of Normandy comes to the rescue, led by "Jane" Shepard. While the moment would be thrilling and fist-pumping for FemShepard players out there (myself included), it also could be disarming and jarring given the marketing thus far. While there is no official "canon" as far as how the games turn out or who Shepard actually is (the books are especially clever in writing around this), the commercials have established "This is what Shepard looks like. This is what he looks like, and when we announce the next game, this is the dude who'll be on magazine covers, in commercials, etc." 
 
One final note: I disagree that having a female Shepard would have a signficant increase in the number of interested players, regardless of their gender. I'd be interested in seeing, for example, if Metroid games have a siginifcantly higher number of female players, or if the Alien or Terminator film series have especially faithful female followings. They all include strong female lead characters in otherwise typical science fiction worlds, but I don't see that one aspect as pulling in a vast number of people who'd disregard it otherwise. My inclination is that anyone who is interested in violent sci-fi fare is going to be drawn into Mass Effect regardless of if the main character's gender or sexual orientation. The additional benefit of "Hey, I can be an ass-kicking chick instead of the meathead dude in all the commercials" is an additional boon I feel rather than a bullet-point that is going to encourage anyone who isn't already interested.

I agree that the male Shepard is canon just as the default settings for Mass Effect 2 will be canon, however that doesn't change the possibility of other portrayals.  This is an RPG and that means that the player is encouraged to make their own choices along the way with new and different results from what is official canon.  Highlighting those opportunites should have occurred to someone at EA/Bioware marketing during this big advertising push.  I know that I have played through the game three times and each time, Shepard is a female for me.  I like the idea of a strong woman in a command position and that's still a rarity in gaming.  So, when I see the trailers for Mass Effect 2, with the high polish they put into them, I can't help but feel as if I am watching another game entirely.  I have no connection to that Shepard.  I don't know if varying it up would increase sales or invite more female gamers to try ME, but I do believe it would have re-enforced the idea that this is your (the player) story to tell, not Bioware's.  It should feel like there is a difference between Mass Effect 2 and Uncharted 2, and that difference represented in the choices the player makes along the way. 

The behind the scenes 30~ min documentary that was included with my digital deluxe edition has seconds of jennifer hale's sentence or so on her character (as the recently released dev diary had only mark meer giving a sentence on male shepard). I'll try to upload said footage, it's only seconds long.

Male Shepard is canon, and I'm sure to the average consumer, having the main character be presented in two different forms representing each gender would be very confusing. However, it is definitely bad form on part of BioWare for not realising that the female Shepard is the only real way to play the Mass Effect games. Jennifer Hale is a tremendous voice actress, and does deserve recognition. With that in mind, the smartest thing they could have done for Mass Effect is to not feature Shepard in the promotional materials, like they did with Dragon Age. Instead, focus on Miranda, Jacob, Tali, Garrus and the rest of the crew.
 
Lucy Shepard ftw

BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk talks about this on the latest episode of Kotaku Talk Radio, so you could listen to that for some answers...

It would be confusing if they kept showing commercials of someone called commander Shepard, sometimes being a guy and sometimes being a girl.
 
And it might be kinda stupid, but having a main character that's a girl would turn off a lot of guys, and if they didn't know that you could actually have a guy or girl it might even stop them from buying the game.

" And it might be kinda stupid, but having a main character that's a girl would turn off a lot of guys, and if they didn't know that you could actually have a guy or girl it might even stop them from buying the game. "

I'm all for showcasing Jennifer Hale's work on the game, but I don't think its a big deal the game is being marketed that way.
 
I know many created a female character who's appearance is drastically different from the default Shepard look - but what about the male characters that feel the same way? My Shepard is old, balding gray haired man and every time I see the ME2 boxart I wonder who the hell is that guy?

Femshep lovers will have to wait some minutes, I have to convert/edit/upload said footage.

Why would they want to confuse consumers by referring to a male and female Shepard in their ads? They chose to use male Shephard and stuck with it. The option to play as a female is there if you want it. They don't advertise the ability to play as either gender, because that's not really a major selling point of the game. Nor should it be.

Strong female leads in any media format are always interesting, but in addition to that I enjoyed playing female Shepard in ME1 because well, the stock male character looks like Homer Simpson. 

" @ArchScabby said:

" And it might be kinda stupid, but having a main character that's a girl would turn off a lot of guys, and if they didn't know that you could actually have a guy or girl it might even stop them from buying the game. "

I don't recall anyone complaining about that with Beyond Good & Evil and Mirror's Edge. "

Enjoy: