ESA Study Finds Women Make Up Nearly Half of Gamer Population

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

To be honest, I think we should be asking ourselves why we play games.

There's one thing I've learned from watching comedians and social critics and this lesson in particular comes from one Billy Connolly:

"I don't ask why anymore. I ask 'how' or 'what', or sometimes both, because when you answer 'how' and 'what'...you will never need to ask 'why'."

I've taken this lesson to heart and took it a bit further in my own philosophy. In fact, when asking questions about anything, I arrange the way I phrase my questions in order of relevance - in my case, this turns out to be alphabetical order.

How, What, When, Where, Which, Who, Why.

You'll notice 'How' and 'What' are first and second among the list, respectively, while 'Why' is dead last. This is because when you ask questions using 'how' and 'what', 'why' becomes meaningless. Asking 'why', from my point of view, tends to lead to quick and, perhaps, pointless answers.

Why do we play games? Because we can. Because we like them. Or, simply...because.

How do we consider what games are good games? How do we view games individually? How do we interact with other gamers?
What qualifies ourselves as 'gamers'? What does our tastes in games reflect about ourselves? What do we play?

You see, the questions we ask in this manner may be more time consuming and more complex, generally...but we can receive much richer answers because of this; and the richer the answer, the more valuable the knowledge and wisdom we can obtain and then share with others.

Just my two cents, though.

captcha: cream and sugar
Hmm, coffee does sounds good right about now, Captcha.

 

[chikusho]

I don't get how how most of you talking about women "not being core gamers" cannot realize why this is still incredibly important.
Playing a facebook or phone game is _A FIRST STEP_. That first step can:

1. Evolve into interest in more core experiences.

2. Improve acceptance of gaming as a legitimate hobby for the next generation, which means that:

3. Madly holding on to "core gaming" as a boys club will forever close a section of the medium off to half the population.

Time to evolve ideas guys.

snip

That's the kind of retarded idea that will keep games (and society) from developing in the future.
You are quoting those statistics as if they were an unchangeable observation in human nature, instead of a gradually changing number that will balance out significantly as time goes on. These ESA statistics are proof of this, no matter how anal you choose to be about it.

Consider: The numbers haven't changed in any meaningful way for two years since their last report. Maybe you just dont realize how unchanging they are.

Incorrect.
Today, an estimated number of 183 293 920 people play games, out of those, 82 482 264 are women.
2011, an estimated number of 180 844 000 people played games, out of those 75 954 480 were women.
An increase in 3% over 2 years in this case means an estimated number of 6 527 784 women began playing games. In America alone. That's significant.

 

[aba1]

Sigh.

Really? This is turning into a "well, girls aren't hardcore gamers so they don't count" argument? Seriously? If it's not the women part, it's the credibility of gamerd based on what they play. Why s elitist? It just makes you sound like a jerk. Even if someone plays Bejewled or Peggle or Farmville, they're gamers, because they're spending money in the industry. Is their money less important than COD or Halo or RPG players?

I'm sure big (and small) companies don't care if it's a 50-something housewife plopping down $10 for a new puzzle game every few months, or a 20-year old guy buying the latest AAA title - they're still spending the same amount of money, so they deserve the same kind of attention.

... 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.

Also... really? There are people on the Escapist who don't pay enough attention to realise that there are a lot of female gamers out there? We exist, people. In droves. We're not special.

Man it isn't a criticism to say some people are not part of the hard core gamer type crowd. Everyone has different levels of interest in things and saying many women generally are not interested in AAA titles isn't a insult it is just a observation. This article is supposed to give light on statistics about who is playing games but it is misleading because even though many women play games they often play the same basic free games and don't actually contribute to the core of the industry. Yes they are very relivent but not in the way this article is making the statistics seem and that is ok there is nothing wrong with liking bejeweled and other simple titles but making it seem like those are the people who are buying the latest assassins creed or running out to get watch dogs is just misleading to anyone who would be using this information.

It isn't like I am against women playing games either hell ideally I wish more women played games than men because then I would have more potential partners to relate with. As it stands now it is hard to find partners who share my interests.

 

[Lightknight]

Great, the ESA puts out yet another loudly proclaimed study that tells us nothing. They didn't say what they actually define a video gamer as in the study. In 2012 they had a question about whether or not they were even planning to buy just ONE game that year and less than 50% of the respondents said yes.

This is completely useless information and not necessarily indicative of anything.

 

[Paradoxrifts]

Because any material which is published by industry lobbyists must be interpreted as literal, scientific truth so long as you agree with what they're publishing.

 

[BNguyen]

The funny thing is, the gamer stereotype of it being for "teenage boys" is far more prevalent outside of the gaming community than inside. I read a survey today about the "ten most immature things that women dislike about men" and playing computer games was one of them.

Despite gaming being a billion dollar industry, including advertisements on the television played during major sporting events and such, it is still seen by the general public as being something for "neck beard virgins who live in their mothers basements" or in more polite terms "toys for boys".

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.

Define core gamers? I think this whole nonsense of your not really a gamer unless you insert X is silly. If you enjoy playing any video game on a regular basis, you are welcome to the gamer party.

I agree in regards to the social element. The whole "They are not a true gamer because they don't like COD" is pathetic.

But the issue is when you get people claiming that because X percentage of gamers are [insert demographic here], the Triple A industry should be changing the types of games they make to appeal to those people.

Activision and other such large companies do not make the kinds of games that the average Bejewelled and Angry Bird fan would enjoy, so suggesting that because they make up a large percentage of gamers, such companies should try appealing to them, does not make any sense.

Adult women make up 31% of the gaming population according to this study, and teenage males make up 19%. What would those percentages be for Halo, COD or Assassins Creed for example? I'd imagine it'd be closer to 90%+ of teenage males, to adult women (assuming you only looked at those two demographics). Using the percentages of gamers overall when discussing what direction developers take their specific genre of games, is nonsensical.

Side-Note: I will point out here that I am not in any shape or form suggesting people are wrong for wanting a particular demographic to be better represented. I am merely pointing out that using statistics such as these as a reason, is a poor line of argument. They are far too vague, and ignore the fact that liking one kind of game, does not mean you will automatically like another. So the statistics mean nothing when applied to specific things such as the Triple A gaming industry.

I really hate the idea that just because somebody enjoys something that a large percentage of the younger population enjoys somehow makes it "immature" to enjoy it.

 

[Warhawk137]

Great, the ESA puts out yet another loudly proclaimed study that tells us nothing. They didn't say what they actually define a video gamer as in the study. In 2012 they had a question about whether or not they were even planning to buy just ONE game that year and less than 50% of the respondents said yes.

This is completely useless information and not necessarily indicative of anything.

Well, that question can be taken a couple different ways, in terms of the word "plan."

I'm not actually planning on buying any particular game that's coming out this year. Will I? Probably, assuming something comes out that's reviewed well and that I'm interested in.

 

[Lightknight]

Great, the ESA puts out yet another loudly proclaimed study that tells us nothing. They didn't say what they actually define a video gamer as in the study. In 2012 they had a question about whether or not they were even planning to buy just ONE game that year and less than 50% of the respondents said yes.

This is completely useless information and not necessarily indicative of anything.

Well, that question can be taken a couple different ways, in terms of the word "plan."

I'm not actually planning on buying any particular game that's coming out this year. Will I? Probably, assuming something comes out that's reviewed well and that I'm interested in.

The whole study hinges on a number of ambiguous words. We have no idea how they're defining gamers and for all we know these are mostly iOS gamers or solitare gamers.

So the 45/55 doesn't necessarily mean anything.

 

[Lieju]

Consider: The numbers haven't changed in any meaningful way for two years since their last report. Maybe you just dont realize how unchanging they are.

Because two years is such a long time...

Seriously, there's nothing in gaming that inherently makes it appeal more to men than women, just like there's nothing in movies or books that do.

Considering that 2 years is about 1/10th of the years I have been gaming, it is a decent enough length of time.

What does that have to do with anything? I'm not following your logic, why would that make you assume there should have beena significant change during those 2 years if there was ever going to be one? (Must be my feeble female brain having trouble with math and logic again, but I don't see what how long you have played video-games has anything to do with anything)

 

[MammothBlade]

Considering the study above, women may be nearly half the gamer population but not necessarily interested in the same games as males tend to play.

I see no problem with that just as long as we don't judge anyone for playing a game not typically associated with their gender.

Well, I've seen my mom click away on Solitaire and Bejeweled. I can safely say that she is no gamer.

I say, if you never threw a controller into the wall or smashed your mouse, you are no gamer, just like messing around with fingerpaints in my youth does not make me a painter.

A player, maybe.

Nay, only casuals get mad! No true gamer would hurt their PRECIOUS. A true gamer has a temperance and patience unlike casual untermensch!

 

[FalloutJack]

Snip

I'm really not. There's never been a real and actual movement about that. You might have some people making the DUR-face with a comment like that, but the equivalent of a 'no girls allowed' club doesn't mean we have a massive turn-off about women playing games. Much like all the times where people think violence in video games will ruin us all (something I read about as a child in regards to the original Mortal Kombat), I would have heard. This was never a thing.

 

[AgedGrunt]

The whole study hinges on a number of ambiguous words. We have no idea how they're defining gamers and for all we know these are mostly iOS gamers or solitare gamers.

So the 45/55 doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Not sure I would say ambiguous, and the definition of gamer appears to be all-inclusive, so you just have to remember that when talking about them as an entire group.

A hilarious fact buried in there: 19% reported using their consoles for TV, and video games have caused gamers to take steeply less interest in watching any television. Did Microsoft even do its homework?

Another point to note, for all the rage over sports games at E3: they made up 15% of sales in 2012, far above most genres. It may have appeared obsessive but it's a big and diverse market (for consoles, anyway). Madden even beat Halo. You have to give that group of gamers credit when they are as big (or bigger) than yours.

 

[Kanova]

I don't count games like Angry Birds or other phone games as core games.

I am a gamer, I play
Skyrim
Mass Effect
Bioshock
Killing Floor
Mirrors Edge
GTA
Thief
BattleField
Diablo
Fallout
ARMA
Total War
StarCraft
Ectectect

Some woman who plays Bejeweled or whatever shouldn't count. Filthy casuals.

 

[Bocaj2000]

snip
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."

You're generalizing people who play casual games. Your argument is fallacious and unfair to the gamers that you criticize.

I have an uncle who plays more Farmville than I play World of Warcraft... and that's a lot. Is he a gamer? I knew a kid in high school who plays Call of Duty for a few hours per week and nothing else. Is he a gamer? What qualifies for your label? Is it the hours you put in? The amount of games played? The amount of years you spent being a gamer? I say that at this point in our culture, the answers are irrelevant. The label "gamer" will eventually be equivalent to the phrases "bookworm" and "cinema snob", but we're not there yet; as of now, the word "gamer" is equivalent to the word "reader" and "movie-goer". It's a person who plays games- big or small- often or rarely. That's my definition of the label, at least.

As for your analogy, I believe that it is a false analogy. I'd compare it more to watching sports than playing them. If I were to watch one golf game per month, but I still have the potential to be a sports enthusiast. Am I as hardcore as the hockey fan who never misses a game, owns a few jerseys, and memorizes stats? No, but that doesn't minimize my interest.

 

[Lightknight]

Considering the study above, women may be nearly half the gamer population but not necessarily interested in the same games as males tend to play.

Let's also not forget that the definition for gamer is entirely ambiguous/unknown here. The question could literally have been: Have you ever played an electronic game?

The increase of 40%/60% (men/women) in 2009 to 45%/55% may coincide directly with smart phone adoption rates rather than any kind of actual shift in console/pc gaming.

In 2009, 80% of women with a console claimed the Wii as their primary console (9% ps3, 11% 360). Making Wii console owners more female than male but also meaning that the AAA game market (ps3 and 360) only saw 18% of the target market being female. And, that's being generous with assuming that female gamers own consoles at the same rate that male gamers do.

So ESA has a little annual joke they play on the media where they release completely useless information and the media magically thinks it means something it doesn't. ESA only benefits from larger numbers in their study so they don't care if the results mean anything. So it's really much more silly to post their results than people think.

 

[Lieju]

You sarcastically said that two years wasn't much time.

I wasn't being sarcastic. I was saying that two years is relatively short time when looking at trends in the consumption of media.

I pointed out that it is a decent amount of time considering it is 1/10th of the gaming lifespan of someone who has been gaming for 20 years. The logic of it was pointing out that 2 years is far from insignificant.

I'm still not following your logic. What does your personal gaming habits have anything to do with whether we should expect a drastic change in how humans consume media in two years?

Also you are saying that two years is a really long time, and you (and me) have been playing games for ten times longer, so we have been playing games for a REEEEAAALLY long time?

If anything it seems to me your argument is against your point.
I mean, if your point was that you had only been playing games for a year or so but are totally a hardcore gamer, you could argue that a change in gaming habits happens quickly.