This could be because the big fans of the sports genre aren't active gamers... Anecdotal evidence, but most people I have met who buy Madden yearly pretty much only buy Madden yearly and only play it when there are friends around when a football game isn't on. It could be that the big fans of sports games buy them because they are big fans of the sports the games represent and only really play those games occasionally.
Active console gamers at 60/40 gender split, usage data & genre preferences revealed
- Thread starter Nirolak
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This could be because the big fans of the sports genre aren't active gamers... Anecdotal evidence, but most people I have met who buy Madden yearly pretty much only buy Madden yearly and only play it when there are friends around when a football game isn't on. It could be that the big fans of sports games buy them because they are big fans of the sports the games represent and only really play those games occasionally.
pokeystaples
Banned
It's weird to me that guys don't know they're playing with girls often.
Funny story, so me and me group of friends are playing online. A friend of a friend hops in party chat. Starts chattering about Rihanna and makes a joke. I finally pipe up and crack on Rihanna and he says, "you just don't know what it's like to be a black woman in America," in a joking manner. Everyone else in chat cracks up laughing because...I am a black woman. Lol. You just never know who's on the other end of the tubes.
Funny story, so me and me group of friends are playing online. A friend of a friend hops in party chat. Starts chattering about Rihanna and makes a joke. I finally pipe up and crack on Rihanna and he says, "you just don't know what it's like to be a black woman in America," in a joking manner. Everyone else in chat cracks up laughing because...I am a black woman. Lol. You just never know who's on the other end of the tubes.
Perhaps its because I grew up in a predominantly female family and it was a combination of long time rivalries with my aunt and sister that got me invested into this hobby in the first place, but whenever I see this stuff, after getting a typical Azure "lol" out, I really found (and continue to find) it impossible to believe that there were people out there who believed statements like this. I always thought it was ascended forum fuckery. :lol
RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
It's people coming to terms with reality versus their own reality.
I grew up not meeting any girls who played games. When I hit dating age women friends of mine were like "Yeah... Girls don't play games. You're going to have to dial that down if you want to date." My mother said it. Women told me women didn't play games. And the people I met reinforced that "reality".
Then I came to the Internet. There were women. And they played games. And it clashed with what I "knew to be true" and well, it kind of hurt. I thought I was a smart person, and if what I knew was wrong, well, that can't be right. I had to be right. Because if I wasn't, I was wrong and wrong is the red checks on a test. That means you're a failure. And how could I be a failure? All those women I spent time trying to date who didn't share interests with me, and here were women who did and claiming they had "always been there". But I didn't see it, so how could it be true!?!?!
Well, it's a selfish worldview and one a person has to change on their own.
I dunno. This is what I went through. I suppose it's just "growing up".
Freeman
Banned
Survey research... that explain why it has so many points that stick out from day-to-day experience, I don't think it is reliable at all.
Regardless, the numbers are actually funny, since this would mean all this outcry for equality has little purpose, woman represent almost half the market for traditional games and apparently most of those woman playing don't seem to care for all the drama. With this much female influence in the market it would make no sense for companies to pull some of the BS they do (like the AC female assassin thing) unless they were actively trying to sell less copies of their games.
Regardless, the numbers are actually funny, since this would mean all this outcry for equality has little purpose, woman represent almost half the market for traditional games and apparently most of those woman playing don't seem to care for all the drama. With this much female influence in the market it would make no sense for companies to pull some of the BS they do (like the AC female assassin thing) unless they were actively trying to sell less copies of their games.
SolidSnakex
Member
But shouldn't that still make them active? It seems like they'd fall under the light category.
I actually quite like the idea of doing a kickstarter to make this publicly available to everyone. Has such a thing been done before?
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Honestly, the large number of popular games that are barely more than shallow time wasters on consoles should preclude half the people on this site from being able to justify making fun of mobile games on any grounds but insidious in-app purchases anyway
My resident female gamer read this post aloud to me and I somehow knew it was you
Not sure if serious...
Not until we question the validity of the data for another twelve pages.
Freeman
Banned
Console games have plenty of that these days.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
It is a very odd sentiment, We've had a few consoles in he family and all of my sisters played them a fair bit, The whole girls don't play console games works on this crazy sentiment that that all these households owns consoles but female members of the family never actually touched them., All you'd have to do was think and you'd realise that mindset is quite flawed, especially after the wii and now smartphones where gaming is no longer looked down upon.
My grandmother bought a crapton of games for my brothers and I always got told girls don't play games. Fortunately I had an older brother who was nice enough to share his games with me. Eventually she got me a gameboy pocket. Growing up I hang around a lot of nerds so the girls did play games, sadly by middle school all of the ones I knew had stopped.
This data seems reasonable to me. I have a sister who is a light console gamer and a sister who is a medium level pc gamer. I'm probably the biggest gamer in my family.
This data seems reasonable to me. I have a sister who is a light console gamer and a sister who is a medium level pc gamer. I'm probably the biggest gamer in my family.
yeah i'm guessing it's based off club nintendo surveys(?). Still much higher than what I initially thought.
Interesting stuff, all around
Lone_Prodigy
Member
I grew up in a time where video games were marketed to boys and men.
Most of my friends are men, and most of them are gamers.
Most of the people on this forum are men.
Most of the people I encounter in online gaming are men.
Most of the people I meet at gaming events are men.
So, it's reasonable to expect that most gamers as a whole are men. Now obviously this study has a larger sample size and is therefore more accurate, but I'm disappointed that some are outright dismissing people's own anecdotal accounts. Instead, we should be questioning why the discrepancy exists. Asking about the data gathering process is perfectly valid. As the adage goes, "you can't believe everything you read on the Internet".
Most of my friends are men, and most of them are gamers.
Most of the people on this forum are men.
Most of the people I encounter in online gaming are men.
Most of the people I meet at gaming events are men.
So, it's reasonable to expect that most gamers as a whole are men. Now obviously this study has a larger sample size and is therefore more accurate, but I'm disappointed that some are outright dismissing people's own anecdotal accounts. Instead, we should be questioning why the discrepancy exists. Asking about the data gathering process is perfectly valid. As the adage goes, "you can't believe everything you read on the Internet".
Whether the data is fully accurate or not it's pretty obvious that lots of girls and women do play console games. The problem started when big budget games started being marketed towards 17-35 yo males exclusively and not only that but then PR was allowed to have influence early on in the concept and design phase. Now that didn't stop girls playing games but it certainly meant the diversity in our games suffered and continues to suffer as a result.
killatopak
Member
Wow.
Didn't realize there were more hardcore women players than men. I thought they tend to go to a more casual route.
This is a revelation for me.
I wonder what game they're playing that a lot of them are investing so much time? Fighters, simulators and stuff?
Didn't realize there were more hardcore women players than men. I thought they tend to go to a more casual route.
This is a revelation for me.
I wonder what game they're playing that a lot of them are investing so much time? Fighters, simulators and stuff?
It's not an absolute numbers comparison it's percentage relative to each population.
Same.
Yes truly, passive aggressive statements vaguely directed at people with legitimate questions about the data gathering is far better than questioning data that, while more believable from a anecdotal perspective, contradicts other similar surveys.
hurricanes
Member
Looking at the replies... *Sigh*
So much "I haven't seen a female gamer so this must be false" vibe posts. You know what, most of the female gamers(excluding mobile, >10) I know avoid to mention their gender and some avoid male gamers like plague because they couldn't talk to three in a row without receiving creepy/offensive messages.
So much "I haven't seen a female gamer so this must be false" vibe posts. You know what, most of the female gamers(excluding mobile, >10) I know avoid to mention their gender and some avoid male gamers like plague because they couldn't talk to three in a row without receiving creepy/offensive messages.
ActStriker
Member
Wait, what the fuck? Did you just discount the entire validity of polling and surveys as an indicator of trends?
Also it makes no sense, but it still happens. As long as it still happens despite data to the contrary, there is a justification for such an outcry.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Isn't it just more likely that you are your peer group are skewed in a particular direction? That's not a bad thing... most of us have similarities with our peers, and many of them do not reflect culture as a whole.
Again, my anecdotal life experience has plenty of female gamers in it. So many that I'm shocked by experiences like yours. So anecdotes are nice and all, but they don't tell the whole picture. We can be very very blind to the greater reality of society based on the self-selecting process of whom we choose to hang out with.... (same goes for me!)
you dare question the power of the infographic?
Necromanti
Member
Are you saying that you consider anecdotal evidence to generally be more reliable?
what are you, an anarchist?
Who paid for the study, btw?
TheBryanJZX90
Member
Skeletons
EEDAR presumably. They provide a certain amount of research for free every year that they feel is pertinent to the industry as a whole.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I remember being somewhat surprised seeing them on the back cover of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, but I realized that last gen was all about gaming personalities for a while.
I later learned they were formed by Ubisoft, but that was probably the first time I saw gamer personalities come into gaming. It was something I didn't want. Things like pro data in Virtua Fighter is cool, but this felt way different. It wasn't intended for me obviously.
This! ^^
And WTF at the people claiming they never met female gamers. How would you even know I am female if you saw my steam name over my Derpl's head, as I join your team in Awesomenauts? My boyfriend uses my female Mii when playing Mario Kart online - I am sure some girlfriends use their boyfriends Miis just the same, too lazy to change accounts for a quick round.
I was a gamer since I was 8. I was constantly at other kid's houses in elementary school, playing Monkey Island or Alex Kidd (a female school mate had a Sega Master System, the only one in class). I played Grandia - WTF at that ridiculous claim that girls only started playing RPGs when they got better looking. I read Nintendo Magazines. I was the first in the family to finish Super Mario Land (and mum was the first to beat Tetris in A and B mode).
I never talked to boys about video games as a kid, because they did not really want to talk to girls. There, I said it. Some more anecdotal evidence, from someone who will never be taken seriously as a gamer.
TheBryanJZX90
Member
I get the feeling that a lot of people that say "I have never met a girl who plays video games" could also just drop the (who plays video games) part.
I'm trying to think of some nice anecdotal evidence, since apparently one person's experience is enough to establish a trend.
The first time I played the Atari 2600 was at a girl's house. She was my next door neighbor.
The first time I played the NES was at another girl's house. She lived down the street.
I never owned a N64 myself, but I did play one at my high school girlfriend's house. She shared it with her two sisters.
Two out of three girlfriends in college played games before I met them. And this is still before smartphones even existed, so yes we are talking about console games. Mainly Dynasty Warriors and Soul Calibur. Plus tons of girls in the dorm I lived in.
My wife likes to talk about how much fun she had playing Resident Evil as a kid. With her friends from an all-girls high school.
I've never not known any girls that play video games. And it's not like I ever specifically tried to find girls that game.
I'm trying to think of some nice anecdotal evidence, since apparently one person's experience is enough to establish a trend.
The first time I played the Atari 2600 was at a girl's house. She was my next door neighbor.
The first time I played the NES was at another girl's house. She lived down the street.
I never owned a N64 myself, but I did play one at my high school girlfriend's house. She shared it with her two sisters.
Two out of three girlfriends in college played games before I met them. And this is still before smartphones even existed, so yes we are talking about console games. Mainly Dynasty Warriors and Soul Calibur. Plus tons of girls in the dorm I lived in.
My wife likes to talk about how much fun she had playing Resident Evil as a kid. With her friends from an all-girls high school.
I've never not known any girls that play video games. And it's not like I ever specifically tried to find girls that game.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Anecdotally it's FPS by far from what I've seen.
jim-jam bongs
Member
Which similar surveys?
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
It was a treasure trove at the time. I think we were only focused on our enjoyment and who we enjoyed it with. I remember DBZ was similar, we didn't find other people outside our group who liked DBZ, so it fit in our masculinity. We also played Grandia in a basement or inside a home. This was probably around the time when you didn't talk about video games because girls wanted a cool dude who was serious. And I think visiting places like Babbages was some of it, we'd make friends with the guys. I think it just felt suited because it was us and the games. I remember I would talk to the male employees the most about JRPGs.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
Wouldn't RPG's be the safest bet considering it's mot popular genre for females on consoles according to this and most RPG's tend to be timesinks in some respect.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Maybe, but I'm only going by what I see literally everytime I hop on PS Live to watch game footage. There's always girls playing Ghosts, and they're quite good at it. I've also noticed a lot of girls playing Outlast.
There was a thread on one a couple of weeks/days ago? It's even mentioned in passing by one of the mods on the first page.
There is one I remember seeing from 2010 where figures on consoles were like 70-80% men I think that one was from the NPD? Things could've changed since 2010 (and I hope they have), but such a rapid change should at least be acknowledged, studied and discussed.
And then there's the more specifically Nintendo one which said something like 80%+ of people who go on the eshop on Wii U are male. Again, this one is mentioned in passing by a couple of members in this very thread.
These figures are just off the top of my head and may be off by a bit in some cases, but the fact that in many ways these all contradict each other means it should be perfectly reasonable to wonder how each of these surveys got their figures.
thesolidshark
Member
Interesting results.
I actually share orthodoxy's curiosity in wondering how the data was obtained. It might not be as important to me as others, but for those who look at this as a victory sign or iron-clad proof in their beliefs, if the 'how' is uncovered, hopefully that leans in your favor.
And I think the "You can replace 'I didn't know that many girls or women play games' with 'I don't know that many girls or women'" stuff is harsh. I think we're all learning about each other's life observations in this thread, and it'd be nice to not see people being shit on because their experience or 'reality' doesn't match yours. That goes both ways.
I actually share orthodoxy's curiosity in wondering how the data was obtained. It might not be as important to me as others, but for those who look at this as a victory sign or iron-clad proof in their beliefs, if the 'how' is uncovered, hopefully that leans in your favor.
And I think the "You can replace 'I didn't know that many girls or women play games' with 'I don't know that many girls or women'" stuff is harsh. I think we're all learning about each other's life observations in this thread, and it'd be nice to not see people being shit on because their experience or 'reality' doesn't match yours. That goes both ways.
Actually its about ethics in gaming research methodology
There's some valid concerns with the results that we're seeing here.
Sports genre is completely missing from console figures. (was composed of apparently 85% male players the year before)
The study itself is at odds with Nintendo's online purchase figures, and with last year's numbers from Nielson.
I remember another study as well that had much larger ratio splits between the different platforms.
So basically, people who want this to be proof of a smaller gender gap are going to claim it as such, and people who don't are going to cling to the above as reasons its unreliable.
Everything carries on as it was before.
Sports genre is completely missing from console figures. (was composed of apparently 85% male players the year before)
The study itself is at odds with Nintendo's online purchase figures, and with last year's numbers from Nielson.
I remember another study as well that had much larger ratio splits between the different platforms.
So basically, people who want this to be proof of a smaller gender gap are going to claim it as such, and people who don't are going to cling to the above as reasons its unreliable.
Everything carries on as it was before.
TheBryanJZX90
Member
From reading the comments beneath the article, this isn't true. Sports games specifically were included in the results for consoles, it's just that they didn't make the top 5 for either men or women.
Which is completely odd, since sports is the 2nd highest selling genre, behind Shooters.
Vermillion
Banned
Interesting survey!
Much better than the last few in terms of what's important to gamers on this site.
Much better than the last few in terms of what's important to gamers on this site.
I think I remember something about how the Tales fanbase in Japan is something like 90% women...
I went to an EVO semifinal one year when they had it in Stamford, CT, and the only woman there was hired by Toyota to advertise the Scion XB. In the trunk they had a flat-screen in tate mode running Ikaruga of all things, so I was playing that and the lady was asking me about it saying how it looked much more interesting than the fighting games
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