I've known more than my fair share of gamers who refused to play games starring female protagonists.
One of my friend's dads, many years ago, who is a huge gamer (he owns every system, and plays just about everything), refused to play Silent Hill 3 because it starred Heather. He was a huge Silent Hill fan, but wouldn't even touch SH3 because of Heather.
Now, multiply that by potentially millions of consumers who feel the same way, and I can understand why execs would be skittish about the female protagonist in their new, multi-million dollar IP.
I absolutely love games starring female leads (Beyond Good & Evil is one of my favorite games of all times), so I was pleased as punches to see Horizon have a female lead. One that seems incredibly likable at that.
I hope the reactions to more games like Horizon (especially when they look as promising as this one does), becomes a regular occurrence.