Report: Two-fifths of American Gamers are Women:

Women comprise 40 percent of gamers in the U.S., a new ESA report found.

The Entertainment Software Association released the report, "The 2008 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry," during E3 last week.

"This new data underscores the fundamental principle that computer and videogames are a mainstream entertainment form, which captures the imagination of every segment of our society," said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA.

The study, based on a survey of 1,200 households with a PC and/or a gaming console, found that two-thirds of households play video or computer games, the average age of a gamer is 35, and that game-playing women over 18 are almost twice as numerous as boys 17 or younger.

In other words, the image of gamers made popular by satires such as those presented in South Park (pictured) are no longer accurate.

The survey also took note of parents' involvement in children's purchasing decisions, showing that 94 percent of parents supervise a child's purchase or rental of game, 88 percent of parents monitored their children's game choices at least sometimes, but only 63 percent of parents said they believe games are a positive part of their kid's lives.

Source: Ars Technica, WomenGamers.com

Permalink

Junaid Alam:
In other words, the image of gamers made popular by satires such as those presented in South Park (pictured) are no longer accurate.

...No rudeness intended, I could have told you this without the whole article proving it. Then again, I'm a bit idealistic (and obsessive) when it comes to gender equality, so stuff like this makes me happy.

Too bad no one in politics (read: Jack Thompson and his ilk) will read this.

Junaid Alam:
In other words, the image of gamers made popular by satires such as those presented in South Park (pictured) are no longer accurate.

Yeah, we need more pictures of girls who play games.

For scientific reasons, obviously.

Honest.

How many times have I said this myself?

Oh well, at least now I have a reliable source to point to.

As someone once said on WoW's general chat:
"Any time someone says no girls play videogames, there are at least 4 around to prove them wrong."

Gamers, maybe. But WOW players? I think South park was pretty damn accurate.

Plenty of girls in WoW actually, when i still played there were 4 in my guild of 19, which wasn't an exceptional amount from what i gathered from other guilds on the server.

While plenty of girls these days play video games, there still if of course a limit to the genre. Not a lot of girls enjoy FPS games (at least not the girl gamers i know), similarly i didn't see a lot of girls when i went to see Rambo 4.

Yup, WoW has plenty, especially on the RP servers for some reason.

Lt. Sera:
Plenty of girls in WoW actually, when i still played there were 4 in my guild of 19, which wasn't an exceptional amount from what i gathered from other guilds on the server.

While plenty of girls these days play video games, there still if of course a limit to the genre. Not a lot of girls enjoy FPS games (at least not the girl gamers i know), similarly i didn't see a lot of girls when i went to see Rambo 4.

Yes, but thats hardly two fifths.

Sure, the other 70 or so percent comes from DS, Sims and the likes.

Lt. Sera:
Sure, the other 70 or so percent comes from DS, Sims and the likes.

Sad, but most likely true. We gamers may like to think we're joined by Hardcore gamers without Y chromosomes, but these figures are just the market in response to casual gaming.

And in another shocking revelation, the sky is blue and grass is green (yes, you heard right, they're not brown).

In other news:

Lt. Sera:
While plenty of girls these days play video games, there still if of course a limit to the genre. Not a lot of girls enjoy FPS games (at least not the girl gamers i know), similarly i didn't see a lot of girls when i went to see Rambo 4.

Neither do plenty of male gamers I know, myself included.

whoopee. i don't really care about gamer genders. as long as you're not a hooting d!ckhole like those on Live, i won't make a big thing out of it. actually, i like girl gamers (granted, i only know like 2), i like having something in common with a person. the only problem is that it always has to get overly competitive cos there's always the few girls (come on girls, you know them too) that want to 1-up the "boys' club", and just end up killing whatever fun there was in local multiplayer. i've seen it personally.

They might be known as Pandora's Mighty Soldiers now, but to me PMS will always stand for Psychotic Men Slayerz. When I first heard about them, I mentioned creating a clan called Female Genital Mutilation, waiting for the inevitable fallout, then directing the attention of the morally enraged towards PMS while saying something (No doubt) witty about the hypocrisy of it all.

I'll be the first to call into question what the ESA considers to be a "gamer". Does playing a little bit of solitare on your PC constitute being a gamer? If so, one of my grandparents would be technically be considered a gamer, even though if you asked them, they wouldn't consider themselves gamers. Likewise, my sister who occasionally play a few console games from time to time definitely doesn't consider herself a gamer.

Suddenly haven't a bunch of female gamers hardly accounts for the clear lack of females in the core audience. I think it's rather obvious to myself and others, but when you walk into a Gamestop, it's extremely unlikely that you are going to see 60% males and 40% women. When I stroll every week into my Gamestop on campus, I'm lucky to see 10% females in the store.

Seeing as how females continue to be extremely underrepresented in the group of gamers who take their passion of video games seriously, I would say that the caricature that South Park came up with is still disgustingly accurate.

Yay, confirmation of what I've been saying for quite some time! "Yes, we're here. Get used to it,"

Granted, this number probably includes the girls who just have a DS to play Nintendogs and other cute little kid games. Which I don't think should really count against the South Park stereotype; it's just creating a new stereotype altogether. Now we have the fat lazy guys on WoW and the annoying Paris-Hilton like girls on their metallic rose DS Lites giggling at their CGI puppy.

Would this mean that my admittedly incredible FPS aim and reaction time will finally get me a date?

Nah. Too hopeful.

"Woopdee-fuckin'-doo" is the first thing that came to mind when I read this.

Yes, yes, you have a vagina and you play video-games. Good for you. Well done.

Junaid Alam:
In other words, the image of gamers made popular by satires such as those presented in South Park (pictured) are no longer accurate.

Sure they are, just imagine it's a woman instead of a man and you have an accurate representation of 90% of all female WoW players.