Image courtesy of A*A*R*O*N
Following on from our previous post, Future Lab has a blog called Business and Games and they’ve just published a myth-busting list about Men and Women and video games. Read the full report and links to papers etc here, but below are some highlights.
Among older adults 65+ who play video games, nearly a third play games everyday, a significantly larger percentage than all younger players, of whom about 20% play everyday
Online casual games bring in 150 million women every month– roughly half the population of the United States
It found that the most hard-core players are female, that gamers are healthier than average, and that game playing is an increasingly social activity.
Gamers’ body mass index (BMI) tended to be lower than the US average – with many taking “proper” exercise more than once a week
The average game player is 35 years old and has been playing games for 13 years.
Sixty-three percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives.
Facebook gaming: Scramble which is the only game among the top three developers dominated by women(63%)
(“Facts ” may differ due to being from different sources.)
Source list as below:
PDF report by Pew Internet. “Adults and Video Games”
“Games Women Play” Sep 08 from the Edge
Online Gaming Popularity Grows Among Youngest and Oldest Female Segments in the U.S. ComScore report.
BBC 23 December 2008 “Battle of the Sexes” (detailed link here from Wiley interscience)
Industry Facts from Entertainment Software Association ESA
Women Embrace Casual Games from RedHerring “Casual Gamers Anything But”
BBC 17 Sep 2008 “Online gamers are not unhealthy“
Driving Force in Video Gaming: Women and Baby Boomers. Reported on PC World Aug 2008.
Demographics of the top 3 games on Facebook – from Bret on Social Games
Second Life demographics and usage – reported by Lost in Bananaverse
The demographics of World of Warcraft (useful but old 2005 data from Nick Yee
ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY 2008 SALES, DEMOGRAPHIC AND USAGE DATA (full report from ESA at Scribd)
Women are hardcore gamers from bNet in 2006
Women Gamers Outnumber Men in 25-34 Age Group – from GameDaily 2006
