ESA Study Finds Women Make Up Nearly Half of Gamer Population

[Abomination]

This just in, study ignores concept of there being different categories of games!

Here's an idea, let's see how much of each gender buys individual games. Then you can lump certain games together or by certain publishers/developers. Then you'll actually have some data someone can make use of.

At the moment the AAA developers are doing exactly what they should be doing - catering to their primary audience & paying consumer. At the moment indie or tablet developers are doing what they should be doing - catering to their primary audience & paying consumer.

Bejewelled is a game. Starcraft is a game. Halo is a game. Dragon Age is a game. Final Fantasy is a game. Farmville is a game. Europa Universallis is a game. Angry Birds is a game. God of War is a game. The Sims is a game. World of Warcraft. This is a terribly broad range of entertainment.

Did you know that women make up 50% of people who have a hobby!?

What a completely useless statistic.

 

[Caiphus]

It's great that women are playing games.

It'd be nice if the game industry could entice them to migrate towards the blockbusters now.

 

[Something Amyss]

I keep hearing that, but where the hell are they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but most communities are composed primarily of guys. Same thing with the industry itself. I keep getting told every user has just under 50% chance of being a chick but it doesn't really seem to apply when you look at the users, does it

Yes, it appears there are more men than women in a culture where you don't actually see most of the people involved and people operate under the assumption that anyone's either a male or "rubbing your face in it" (having a female name is often considered antagonistic).

Same could apply to the internet. People ask "where all da wimminz" but the fact is, you don't automatically notice the women in the first place. Throw in a culture that actively harasses, berates, and dismisses women, and....

... This coming from a 30-year-old "hardcore" female gamer, who has been the "core" demographic since the NES was released. Because apparently that matters to some people who aren't part of the industry it matters to.

Well, you SAY you're a core gamer, but I'm going to question you mercilessly, awaiting that single slipup where I can dismiss you as not a TRUE GAMER (TM). Meanwhile, I'm going to assume all the dudes in the thread are gamers, because, well...Common sense, duh!

...Okay, I'm being facetious here, but there might be a point in there. I don't know. I got bored with my own thoughts and my mind wandered.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

No methodology given means that anyone citing these statistics for anything has less than no leg to stand on. Seriously, this isn't a study; it's a publicity brochure. A real study would have clearly stated exactly who they surveyed and how, what questions they asked, how they defined their terms and why, etc.

As much as people here are getting defensive about the idea of the female gamer demographic in these figures skewing sharply away from $60 AAA titles, there's nothing in the figures to discount the possibility, every bit of data released on specific titles (CoD, EVE Online, Mass Effect 3, to name a few I've seen) appears to suggest it to one degree or another, and the lack of a breakdown by type of gaming (types of devices used, number of games purchased yearly, price ranges those games fall into, etc.) is a real weakness in the study that would render it useless in a discussion of any specific subset of titles even if its data was sourced.

 

[Caiphus]

This just in, study ignores concept of there being different categories of games!

Indeed. Not to be cynical or anything. Farmville is about as far removed from, say, Dragon Age: Origins or Far Cry 3 as Jersey Shore is from Les Miserables. Both are reasonably (well, sort of) legitimate forms of entertainment. But about as similar as light bondage and sticking your dick in a mincemeat machine.

Strained analogies aside, of course.

 

[lacktheknack]

What people seem to be missing out on when they condemn the "But they play Bejeweled" crowd is that the fact that the Bejeweled-playing crowd has little to no impact on the gaming industry we care about, the AAA and indie scene. They only affect the shovelware industry.

So the study doesn't really affect us.

And that's kind of disappointing.

I'm not saying that there are no girl gamers, obviously. Heck, watching Moonlight Butterfly cut into some dude who claimed that Dark Souls was too manly for women was one of this site's best moments.

 

[Yuuki]

"SO MANY WOMEN ARE PLAYING SOLITAIRE AND BEJEWELED, WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN BATTLEFIELD 4?"

^ That's the kind of retarded question that this ESA statistic is going to make clueless dipshits ask around the internet.
We don't need more people throwing this absolutely meaningless statistic around in gender/sexism threads because they have no concept of different categories of games, no concept of different genders (and ages) being interested in different games, and are happy to file everyone from a baby who plays on her dad's iPhone to a EVE Online Corporation Manager under "gamer".

Well done.

The problem is that people are constantly equating these magical "ESA numbers" to spout nonsense about some new Action games or how it's totally unfair that Call of Duty doesn't have a female main character and stuff like that.

Someone who plays Solitaire because that is what came pre-installed on your PC or was very cheap on iOS or someone who plays Farmville on Facebook because it's "Free to Play" and might be inclined to even pay once or twice and even someone who plays solely Wii Fit and/or Wii Sports on the console their grandchild gifted them because that's what came with it is wholly irrelevant to the $60 game model where publishers are counting on players buying 5-10+ games a year. They simply aren't their target market and they couldn't reach them no matter what they did short of turning their games into casual iOS Apps for $1 or Facebook games.
The same way including space marines, aliens and guns into a Facebook/Farmville-type game will likely not make the console audience suddenly take notice of it.

Thus the numbers are misleading and meaningless at best, outright lies to enact pressure on the market at worst. It's also noteworthy to realize that the "ESA" is mainly an industry lobby organization which has as main interest presenting said industry in the best light possible with members like Microsoft, Sony, Namco Bandai, Warner Bros., UbiSoft, EA, Capcom, Deep Silver, Nintendo, SEGA, Square Enix, Take Two and a bunch of "Social Gaming" layouts: http://www.theesa.com/about/members.asp
http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/06/03/96-percent-of-eve-online-players-are-male/

http://www.casualnews.com/the-demographics-of-social-games-surprise-or-not/

Spoiler

Thank you for making sense. 92% of Call Of Duty players and 96% of EVE Online players being male is a far more relevant and meaningful statistic, not this ESA rubbish.

The EVE statistic especially makes it quite clear just how interested women are in games of that sort (quite deep/complex) and CCP haven't even done anything to give women a reason not to play their game, it's just naturally turned out that way. I particularly respect this quote:

"Part of it is due to the theme of the game. Science fiction is an extremely male-dominated domain," she explained. Whatever the reasons, CCP is OK with EVE's current demographics. "It's not a goal for us as a development team to specifically increase the number of female players," Nordgren said. It's "more an indicator than something [to] strive for."

 

[Grabehn]

I wouldn't say "gamer" is the sames as "game-playing population" especially the definition of "gamer" in this study includes people that play cow clickers on FB. I know way too many girls that do that and call themselves "gamers" just to attract attention.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Well are we talking about console gamers, or mobile phone gamers?

There are so many kinds of games out there that it's really very important to get specific about this.

ESA might claim it's nearly half the population but I promise you that the demographic for a game like Battlefield or Warhammer 40k is not 50% female, not even close.

 

[Woodsey]

What does it take for someone to be qualified as a gamer though? I mean studies such as these usually consider someone who plays a bit of interactive televison a gamer.

I'm more interested in what percentage of core gamers are female.

Exactly.

I would bet money on this not making the kind of statement the news article seems to think it does.

 

[SonicKoala]

Well, the response here is extremely embarrassing to read to say the least. Today I've learnt that we have an entrance exam for people to gain the oh-so exclusive title of 'Gamer' with strict guidelines and rules, such as having played at least one well-known AAA title and having broken at least one controller - hours or money spent are irrelevant. I've also learnt that as a female that has not played 'casual games', I'm a statistical anomaly, and therefore don't count at all when it comes to marketing decisions. Because that 45% also includes hard-core female gamers, not just casual ones, but that's irrelevant. I mean, it's not like constant sexualization and targeting towards teenage boys (in an offensive way, I believe) might alienate these people from going into these games, right?

By the by, if a male owns an Xbox but has only one copy of COD for it and only plays it once every few weeks, is he a gamer? I mean, he's playing COD, a real game for real gamers, so he must be! But a woman playing Bejeweled every day and putting money into the game does not count, because it isn't an actual game.

Women gamers are definitely out there. Me, for one, including many people in this thread alone. Then there's the whole fake-gamer-girl test, but that's a whole other issue.

I wouldn't say the responses here are embarrassing - I would say that the responses here are exactly what you would expect from a website like The Escapist.

People here at The Escapist call themselves gamers, but that label carries with it significant weight - to call oneself a gamer in this context is to allude to what is a significant, noteworthy part of one's life. Many of the people here grew up with gaming - I've been playing games since I was 7 years old and got my first NES. Furthermore, I (and I'd say 99% of people here) would say that they have a deeper connection with gaming - to the culture, to its tropes, the industry and its related news, etc. I believe this is what people mean when they throw out descriptors like "hardcore", "core", "serious gamers", or whatever you want to call it.

What this study is referring to is all people who play games - therein lies the problem. When we talk about "gamers" at the Escapist or in most other online gaming communities, we usually mean a specific type of person. It often doesn't need to be said, because the definition is already implied and understood by the community at large. Studies like this are not in tune with that culture - they are talking about everyone who plays any sort of game. Thus, a discrepancy emerges - as some people have already commented, "where are all these girls?". The answer? They're there, sure, but not in the way that the study would suggest.

To say "women make up nearly half of the gamer population" to a frequenter of the Escapist - to someone deeply connected with gaming and its associated culture - is to suggest that the games they play on a regular basis (whatever those may be) are comprised of 50% women. That is simply not true. As the diagrams posted by user "Oban" suggest, there is a notable disparity in the amount of male vs. female players depending on what game or genre you are talking about.

My point is that you, nor anyone else, really, should lament at the reaction of so many people here. It just so happens that "gamer" means something notably different to an individual who invests a part of their life in gaming and gamer culture vs. someone who plays Bejewelled or Solitaire a few minutes per day.

And frankly, those people are justified - lumping all "gamers" together as a single mass of people is an erroneous categorization which blatantly ignores the various discrepancies and differences inherent in the gaming population.

 

[CrystalShadow]

So... Same results as the study someone else did in 2011 then.

Uhuh... Well, consistent at least.

 

[Bocaj2000]

I keep hearing that, but where the hell are they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but most communities are composed primarily of guys. Same thing with the industry itself. I keep getting told every user has just under 50% chance of being a chick but it doesn't really seem to apply when you look at the users, does it

Question asked and question answered. How many women do you really think want to hang out with guys who refer to them as chicks and see them as numbers? Ever think there might be girl gamers out there and you are simply isolated from them? I know I married one. I know my best friend is dating one (she plays in our DnD group). I meet girl gamers all the time. What's your problem?

ORC! I MUST KILL HIM! I MUST... I ... Um... sorry. I just don't see your kind around anymore. *ahem*

I agree with you though. In my RP club in college there are quite a few girls. I even dated two of them. One of them pumped more money into Magic in a single weekend than I have in a year, and the other did DnD with me when I asked her to. So not only are women common in gaming communities, but some are even more hardcore than us.

EDIT: After reading through I'm kind of disgusted on the elitism of "hardcore" gamers. Games are games, no matter what the type. Your Warhammer is no more superior than Bejewled. And if you really want to play semantics, then I'll say that you're not a true gamer until you play indie titles. And then my Interactive Media professor will say that you're not a true gamer until you go to an interactive art gallery. A game is a game. Don't be arrogant about it.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Now can we conduct a study that doesn't involve Call of Duty and Madden being at the top of the Top Selling Games list every year?

That way, we can get rid of the casuals that think they are "teh hardcorz" that classify themselves as "gamers?" That should be enough to even out the numbers.

Because, by my definition of the word Gamer, a person must play more than than the re-skinned sports/shooter game every year and actually engage themselves in a few or multiple genres. It's okay to play CoD and Madden, but you should at least enjoy and play other games like Starcraft, Nier, InFamous, Devil May Cry, The Last of Us, Sonic... I don't fuckin' know, play Scarlet Blade for all I care. Just play something other than CoD and Madden every once and a while!

 

[h4xor555]

I've been playing games since I was 5 years old, here I am 13 years later and I since then I've been loving games MORE!!!!

Sad how my parents are so AGAINST games. I have to play in secret all the time, I hate it. Can't wait till I move out or something!

 

[blalien]

I keep hearing that, but where the hell are they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but most communities are composed primarily of guys. Same thing with the industry itself. I keep getting told every user has just under 50% chance of being a chick but it doesn't really seem to apply when you look at the users, does it

I've read a statistic that about two thirds of women who play games online pose as men to avoid harassment. That should give you an idea of how messed up the video game community is at the moment.

It would be difficult for me to convey to you the kind of horrifying stuff that I've been exposed to when trying to play in public matches on Live. The screaming, profanity-laden 10-year-olds and 'you fag, you retard, you ni-' bro players are one thing. But the tidal wave of sexist-oriented stuff becomes targeted and relentless. Losing gets you 'back to the kitchen, delicious pussy'. Winning gets you 'I'm gonna cut your head off, ****.'

It's weird how some guys don't seem to be aware of how bad it is. I'm no delicate flower - I can deliver crude jokes and vent 'bad words' too. But it's so specific and unending that it just beats you down, until you start feeling dirty at the idea of even logging on. I tried playing without a mic, but that didn't help, because I would have had to change my handle as well as toss out my mic, not to mention the frustration of not being able to verbally coordinate tactics. Eventually I just gave up.

I don't play on Xbox Live anymore.

http://fatuglyorslutty.com/

My girlfriend, before we met, played a lot of World of Warcraft and MUDs. Some guys got ahold of her e-mail address somehow (she says she didn't give it to them), and the men in her guild flooded her inbox with dick pics. So she switched guilds and the same thing happened. Then she made a new character on a new server, and it happened again. Then she made a male character and played it for about an hour before saying, "this is stupid." And that was the last time she ever played a video game online.

I have to apologize on behalf of my gender. I think a lot of guys don't realize just how relentless and pervasive the harassment is for women.

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

Define core gamers?

Well the NPD currently classes it as someone who plays action/sports/shooter/racing game on an Xbox/PlayStation/PC/Mac for more than five hours a week.

And yes, we are all gamers. However we need to be categorized for marketing purposes. You can't make a game and just aimlessly target it at 'gamers'. You need to definite it's target audience more than that.

yeah, aren't you kinda targetting 'gamers' simply by virtue of making a game?
it's like targeting your book at 'readers'


on that subject, 'gamers' is a rather silly term when you think about it, especially when you start recontextualising it: 'yeah, I'm a booker, i love reading books whenever i can',
'real moviers only watch in their movies in HD',
'sporters are becoming increasingly common in society',
'you gotta distinguish thought between core fooders and casual fooders'.

 

[Something Amyss]

What people seem to be missing out on when they condemn the "But they play Bejeweled" crowd is that the fact that the Bejeweled-playing crowd has little to no impact on the gaming industry we care about, the AAA and indie scene. They only affect the shovelware industry.

So the study doesn't really affect us.

And that's kind of disappointing.

I'm not saying that there are no girl gamers, obviously. Heck, watching Moonlight Butterfly cut into some dude who claimed that Dark Souls was too manly for women was one of this site's best moments.

There's two issues here: One is the defense that they play Bejeweled as "they're not real gamers." While it's true that the Bejeweled players on't impact the AAA market much, the "real gamers" argument is going further than just saying "it doesn't impact us.

The other is that it's an immediate, reflexive dismissal of female gamers. Even if women don't dominate Call of Duty the numbers don't exactly break down the way people have portrayed them and "lolsolitaire" isn't doing that any favours.

 

[anthony87]

I keep hearing that, but where the hell are they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but most communities are composed primarily of guys. Same thing with the industry itself. I keep getting told every user has just under 50% chance of being a chick but it doesn't really seem to apply when you look at the users, does it

Question asked and question answered. How many women do you really think want to hang out with guys who refer to them as chicks and see them as numbers? Ever think there might be girl gamers out there and you are simply isolated from them? I know I married one. I know my best friend is dating one (she plays in our DnD group). I meet girl gamers all the time. What's your problem?

ORC! I MUST KILL HIM! I MUST... I ... Um... sorry. I just don't see your kind around anymore. *ahem*

I agree with you though. In my RP club in college there are quite a few girls. I even dated two of them. One of them pumped more money into Magic in a single weekend than I have in a year, and the other did DnD with me when I asked her to. So not only are women common in gaming communities, but some are even more hardcore than us.

EDIT: After reading through I'm kind of disgusted on the elitism of "hardcore" gamers. Games are games, no matter what the type. Your Warhammer is no more superior than Bejewled. And if you really want to play semantics, then I'll say that you're not a true gamer until you play indie titles. And then my Interactive Media professor will say that you're not a true gamer until you go to an interactive art gallery. A game is a game. Don't be arrogant about it.

Of course a game is a game, but is a person who occasionally plays Bejeweled while sitting on the crapper as much of a "gamer" as a person who owns several consoles or a gaming PC along with dozens of games collected over the years? Not a chance. I know it really sounds like it but it's not about arrogance or elitism or who's "teh hardcorz", it's about the level of interest and involvement in the community.

Or to basically steal what someone else already said:

"Kicking around a football does not suddenly make you a sportsman."

 

[lacktheknack]

What people seem to be missing out on when they condemn the "But they play Bejeweled" crowd is that the fact that the Bejeweled-playing crowd has little to no impact on the gaming industry we care about, the AAA and indie scene. They only affect the shovelware industry.

So the study doesn't really affect us.

And that's kind of disappointing.

I'm not saying that there are no girl gamers, obviously. Heck, watching Moonlight Butterfly cut into some dude who claimed that Dark Souls was too manly for women was one of this site's best moments.

There's two issues here: One is the defense that they play Bejeweled as "they're not real gamers." While it's true that the Bejeweled players on't impact the AAA market much, the "real gamers" argument is going further than just saying "it doesn't impact us.

The other is that it's an immediate, reflexive dismissal of female gamers. Even if women don't dominate Call of Duty the numbers don't exactly break down the way people have portrayed them and "lolsolitaire" isn't doing that any favours.

Don't be too general. I don't believe that "They're not REAL gamers lolamiriteguise" is nearly as pervasive as people would like me to believe.

Also, I thought that female gamers often ended up on a weird sort of pedestal. Clearly we've both seen some shit, just different kinds of it.