Core Gamers Mostly Male, Casual Gamers Mostly Female, Says NPD

[Therumancer]

Core Gamers Mostly Male, Casual Gamers Mostly Female, Says NPD

Core gamers were defined as those who play "core" games for five or more hours per week.

Market research firm the NPD Group (who you may know as the guys who provide sales numbers for games every month) has conducted a large-scale survey of American PC gamers, and come up with some interesting observations. The 6,225 members survey were split into three groups - Heavy Core, Light Core, and Casual. Heavy Core gamers play "core" games for five or more hours per week, while Light Core gamers still enjoy core games, but do so for less than five hours a week, and Casual gamers only play non-core games. The survey found that the majority of gamers in the two "core" groups were male, while the casual group was "overwhelmingly female."

Just FYI, In order to qualify as a core gamer for the survey, respondents had to currently play Action/Adventure, Fighting, Flight, Massively Multi-Player (MMO), Racing, Real Time Strategy, Role-Playing, Shooter, or Sport games on a PC/Mac.

The largest segment is Casual at 56 percent, with Light Core at 24 percent, and Heavy Core at 20 percent. Though Heavy Core is the smallest segment, they spend a significantly higher number of hours gaming in an average week, and have spent roughly twice as much money in the past 3 months on physical or digital games for the computer than Casual PC gamers.

Of all the participants surveyed, 51% were male and 49% were female. The survey also determined that 37% of all participants above the age of 9 identified as someone who played PC games, and the average play time per week is 6.4 hours.

A few interesting patterns were discerned about PC gamers spending habits too. 46% of respondents had visited a digital storefront to buy games in the last year, and "half of PC gamers who play digital and/or physical games on the computer are expecting there to always be a sale right around the corner," said NPD analyst Liam Callahan.

Source: NPD Group [https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/37-percent-of-us-population-age-9-and-older-currently-plays-pc-games/]

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What are they considering "core" games, that's a big question.

That said, yeah, girls tend to like their hidden object and adventure games and the like. Games which seem to wind up entirely under the radar of sites like this, and thus tend to not be considered when questions like 'the number of female protagonists' come up.

The thing is though if you chopped off some parts of that casual market and put into the core, the results might be a lot different. I'd point out that years ago "Adventure Games" like Sierra's "Quest" series were a big deal and you saw tons of these titles released by a lot of companies. For whatever reason the major companies stopped producing them although they have always been out there, albeit somewhat neglected, and it seems they are on the rise again. The "Nancy Drew" series which is a hybrid adventure game series has a truly staggering number of installments if I remember. I simply wonder what the results would be if you put those kind of adventure games (ignoring pure hidden object ones I guess back into the core where they were years ago.

I'd also point out that corporate greed probably has something to do with this trend as well. Things that start out being aimed at a niche market never stay there when the bean counters get involved, and inevitably die when they fall short of increasingly high predicted profit margins, or when a company decides it wants to stop supporting a product properly or ensure it's quality. I look at the minimum age of those in the study here and how MMOs were on the core gamer list and how Disney has cancelled numerous MMOs for kids or all age groups, "Pixie Hollow", "Pirates Of The Caribbean", and "Toontown" all of which apparently saw very limited support and were axed despite a fair number of players in their community. I believe Sony also killed "Free Realms". I'm not sure if there are any kid-friendly MMOs out there (no snide comments about WoW please) and if the study went that young it probably loads it a bit given the current environment.

 

[Dastardly]

The real question is, with all of the many casual games, and all of the casual gamers playing them, why do we still lean on this crutch of refering to this other class of games as the "core?"

Because: "Though Heavy Core is the smallest segment, they spend a significantly higher number of hours gaming in an average week, and have spent roughly twice as much money in the past 3 months on physical or digital games for the computer than Casual PC gamers."

They're the main source of income for the industry so off course they're its core.

That's not what that stat says. It says IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS.

Hardcore gamers spend in bursts -- ie, releases.

Casual gamers spend a little at a time, but seem to do it pretty often.

When you measure over a small amount of time, the burst is what will show. I'm not saying your conclusion is necessarily incorrect, but rather that's not what this statistic shows. You'd need to look at annual data.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

That comparison with movies is unfortunate considering that movies don't cost 60$ and that GTAV has a 2 BILLION dollar revenue putting it in the top three of best grossing movies of all time if compared with them.

It doesn't matter how much it costs when you are talking about the size of the audience. You don't need make a game that will please the majority of people, because the majority of people are not buying your game. Roughly 100 million people in the United States play games according to this survey. Only 33 million people worldwide bought GTAV. The Tomb Raider remake was aiming for 7 million units sold.

On the other hand, 68% of people saw at least one movie in 2012, or about 225 million. It will probably be about the same this year. The Avengers sold close to 100 million tickets, which isn't even the record. Selling 7 million tickets would only make a movie $57 million. That wouldn't be enough to make the top 50 this year.

This is why I pointed out the NISVS survey and the MRA reaction. Just because you have the numbers doesn't mean you know what to do with them.

Movies cost ten dollars, videogames cost 60$ and last MANY hours, you can't seriously make the comparison between sales and ignore the actual revenue.... It's like comparing car sales to smartphone sales. The fact of the matter is that videogames have become a very popular medium whether you want to accept it or not but it will never have the ease of access of movies so comparison between sales is myopic.

Are you intentionally ignoring what I wrote? Because what I wrote isn't complicated.

I'll try again.

You don't have to aim for a wide audience, because you only need to appeal to 2% of the audience to be a hit.

Got it?

And why do you keep bringing up MRAs? Why do you care so much about them?

Why do you keep bringing up feminists?

And I brought up MRAs here to make a point. Just because you have numbers doesn't mean you know what they mean.

 

[darkorion69]

Only two gender identity choice being possible in this study makes this too exclusionary for its findings to be accurately representative of the gender division in gaming. It is of additional concern that only core gamers were defined, whereas non-core gamers were lumped together; again in an exclusionary manner. If we are aiming to increase gender diversity in gaming, then we must find ways to be inclusive even in the terms with which we frame our discussion. Before someone claims I am jumping in as a SJW (Social Justice Warrior) here, please note that I am currently studying to become a Sociology Professor. As such I am only sharing my perspective on this topic to foster further discussion; not lecturing anyone on how they should post on the Internet.

 

[Thorn14]

To those saying "Who cares if there are hardcore or casual games, why must we have walls?": The fact that IAP are now becoming a common trend with seemingly little backlash is why I am against the fusion of the two.

Casual games tend to be free to play games that are designed to be played while on a bus or in a waiting room that try to siphon cash out of you through addicting gameplay but slow progress. See: Dungeon Keeper.

I don't want that crap in the type of games I play.

 

[Guerilla]

Are you intentionally ignoring what I wrote? Because what I wrote isn't complicated.

I'll try again.

You don't have to aim for a wide audience, because you only need to appeal to 2% of the audience to be a hit.

Got it?

I think we might be discussing different subjects. The whole point of my posts was to disagree with your claim that each game is a niche product which you tried to prove by comparing them to movies. They're not. It's like calling car models niche because they don't sell as much as smartphones. There's a different "ease of access" of products between different industries which explains the different sales, that doesn't in any way mean that a product is niche. Plus based on your logic each movie is niche too because only a very small percentage goes to see each compared to the entirely of cinema goers. What was your point?

 

[deadish]

Why is it I get the feeling at least one person is going to use this as justification as to why we shouldn't care about women in gaming.

What do you mean by "care"?

Complain on the Internet? Give click-bait SJW articles/videos page views?

Do you believe you are changing anything?

The game industry goes where the money is. What people "think" is irrelevant to them. Only what people pay is important.

 

[Dragonbums]

Why is it I get the feeling at least one person is going to use this as justification as to why we shouldn't care about women in gaming.

What do you mean by "care"?

Complain on the Internet? Give click-bait SJW articles/videos page views?

Do you believe you are changing anything?

The game industry goes where the money is. What people "think" is irrelevant to them. Only what people pay is important.

Not really. Plenty of companies have implemented products because people wanted them enough vocally. For instance McDonald's had no reason to implement healthy foods into their kids meals. After all the health nuts complaining about them aren't an active buyer of their product. They did it anyway and they got a new market. Now they have health nuts - who previously wouldn't touch their food with a 10 foot pole and regular consumers. Videogames seems to be the only industry where no matter how vocal a large minority gets they will find any excuse to not do it.

 

[prpshrt]

This is like saying HR core employees mostly female, male employees mostly there as a short term job while they're looking for something else. Almost sounds like gaming's being accused for being mostly male. Big deal if a hobby is enjoyed by more of one gender than the other.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Are you intentionally ignoring what I wrote? Because what I wrote isn't complicated.

I'll try again.

You don't have to aim for a wide audience, because you only need to appeal to 2% of the audience to be a hit.

Got it?

I think we might be discussing different subjects. The whole point of my posts was to disagree with your claim that each game is a niche product which you tried to prove by comparing them to movies. They're not. It's like calling car models niche because they don't sell as much as smartphones.

And you would be 100% correct if you said that. ... Except for the fact that Smartphones and model cars are not in the same market.

Model cars are a niche market. Comics are a niche market. Nitting supplies is a niche market. These are all hobby / entertainment that appeals to a tiny fraction of the population.

Mainstream TV is not a niche market. $100 million movies are not a niche market.

Plus based on your logic each movie is niche too because only a very small percentage goes to see each compared to the entirely of cinema goers.

More people saw Guardians of the Galaxy than bought GTAV. GTAV is the best-selling video game of all time. The average summer blockbuster needs to sell 25 million tickets to break even. That's domestically. The average video game is a hit with a fraction of that number.

On the other hand, a found footage horror film is a niche product.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Why our very own's Critical Miss made a comic strip that explained the situation perfectly by reversing the roles:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/comics/critical-miss/9834-Our-Little-Pony

Actually most guys would appreciate that...

Most men don't have to worry about being raped.

*Siiiiiigh*

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/04/male_rape_in_america_a_new_study_reveals_that_men_are_sexually_assaulted.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131007-sexual-violence-rape-teenagers-sociology/

You wanna try that one again?

... You are comparing women being catcalled on the streets to men in prison and claiming it proves the average man has to fear rape more than the average woman.

No, I'm not going to try again, because clearly you are too intellectually dishonest to deal with.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Why is it I get the feeling at least one person is going to use this as justification as to why we shouldn't care about women in gaming.

What do you mean by "care"?

Complain on the Internet? Give click-bait SJW articles/videos page views?

Do you believe you are changing anything?

The game industry goes where the money is. What people "think" is irrelevant to them. Only what people pay is important.

Which is why the makers of Saints Row said they would handle things differently after the issue of the representation of women in video games was brought up.

On wait. That doesn't prove you are correct. That proves you are 100% wrong.

A lot of the poeple who make video games are actually concerned with the quality of the product they make and if you point out that perhaps you shouldn't have women represented more as prostitutes than as playable characters, they will take that into account when making games.

Hell, SJW are helping make the world a better place simply by existing and causing the other side to go all Phelps. People on the fence see two sides, one saying, "Diversity is a good thing." and the other saying, "So and so needs to be raped if they think they can censor my video games." and they join the side of diversity. This happened in the gay rights debate, as people say the hatred comign from the Phelps clan and wanted to be on the other side.

 

[Guerilla]

And you would be 100% correct if you said that. ... Except for the fact that Smartphones and model cars are not in the same market.

Model cars are a niche market. Comics are a niche market. Nitting supplies is a niche market. These are all hobby / entertainment that appeals to a tiny fraction of the population.

Mainstream TV is not a niche market. $100 million movies are not a niche market.

Um... videogames and movies aren't in the same market either, you do know that, right?

Plus based on your logic each movie is niche too because only a very small percentage goes to see each compared to the entirely of cinema goers.

More people saw Guardians of the Galaxy than bought GTAV. GTAV is the best-selling video game of all time. The average summer blockbuster needs to sell 25 million tickets to break even. That's domestically. The average video game is a hit with a fraction of that number.

On the other hand, a found footage horror film is a niche product.

Dude I'm just following your logic and you're changing the subject. You said that each game is niche "because you only need to appeal to 2% of the audience to be a hit". The same applies to movies too considering how many people watch movies. So you point is what exactly?

 

[grassgremlin]

Here's a question.
Can someone who plays nothing but sports and call of duty swigging mountain dew really be called a hardcore gamer?

I mean, I know those people and last I check they are just about as bad as a casual, honestly.
I'd never consider them hardcore gamers because I don't consider call of duty an actual game.

Blasphemous that those people are compared to gamers and no nothing about the obscure snes, ps1 era jrpgs I love.

 

[Michel Henzel]

So the article takes about "interesting observations", but I have yet to find this anywhere. They only thing I see is confirming what we already know, that isn't what I would define as an "interesting observation". So where is the interesting part?

 

[Saetha]

Why our very own's Critical Miss made a comic strip that explained the situation perfectly by reversing the roles:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/comics/critical-miss/9834-Our-Little-Pony

Actually most guys would appreciate that...

Most men don't have to worry about being raped.

*Siiiiiigh*

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/04/male_rape_in_america_a_new_study_reveals_that_men_are_sexually_assaulted.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131007-sexual-violence-rape-teenagers-sociology/

You wanna try that one again?

... You are comparing women being catcalled on the streets to men in prison and claiming it proves the average man has to fear rape more than the average woman.

No, I'm not going to try again, because clearly you are too intellectually dishonest to deal with.

Did you even look at the studies? The second deals with students, and the first deals with the general public - neither of them say anything about people in prison, much less men and rape.

I mean, really? You're going to accuse me of intellectual dishonesty when you clearly assumed that I was talking about prison rape and didn't even bother to glance at my sources?

And I never claimed that men have cause to fear rape more. On the contrary, I think men and women have about equal cause to fear rape - women might have slightly more, but either way, the disparity's so small that making a big deal out if is pointless.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

And you would be 100% correct if you said that. ... Except for the fact that Smartphones and model cars are not in the same market.

Model cars are a niche market. Comics are a niche market. Nitting supplies is a niche market. These are all hobby / entertainment that appeals to a tiny fraction of the population.

Mainstream TV is not a niche market. $100 million movies are not a niche market.

Um... videogames and movies aren't in the same market either, you do know that, right?

Are you a Poe?

Video games and Movies are both entertainment.

Smartphones are communication devices.

Plus based on your logic each movie is niche too because only a very small percentage goes to see each compared to the entirely of cinema goers.

More people saw Guardians of the Galaxy than bought GTAV. GTAV is the best-selling video game of all time. The average summer blockbuster needs to sell 25 million tickets to break even. That's domestically. The average video game is a hit with a fraction of that number.

On the other hand, a found footage horror film is a niche product.

Dude I'm just following your logic...

No you are not. I don't think you are capable of following logic.

...and you're changing the subject. You said that each game is niche "because you only need to appeal to 2% of the audience to be a hit". The same applies to movies too considering how many people watch movies. So you point is what exactly?

If 2% of moviegoers saw a movie, it would make $50 million. Unless the film is a low budget, i.e., niche market film, it would bomb. $40 million wouldn't pay for the print and advertising for most movies.