Haha, lovely rant! Also being a female gamer, I totally feel your pain. I avoid the forums, but the thread that popped up yesterday on SIB got me thinking along these lines, too. But I remember when just about *every* video game romance had to be thought up and "played out" via fanfiction. It wasn't really until Baldur's Gate 2 (unless Ultima did it, first), that frequent party!NPC interaction was even really possible let alone allowing for romance options (and in that game, females were pretty much stuck with Anomen...which really just makes Alistair an Anomen Reprise in some ways).

Admittedly, romance is a big sell for RPGs (adds depth to any set of characters or story), but it's not the proverbial "what women want." I'm more likely to play something showcasing gratuitous violence *without* even NPC friendship options than I am the contrary (I frequently murdered my wives in Fable...you got less evil points that way).