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[Mory Dunz]

What's "Action" as a category?

I assume it includes Sports games. Not sure why though. Action is broad enough as it is.

 

[Kazerei]

What's "Action" as a category?

I assume it includes Sports games. Not sure why though. Action is broad enough as it is.

The author answered a similar question in the comments section:

Great question James: To provide some context, the genres utilized for Console, Handheld and PC (which is discussed, but does not appear in the infographic) come from EEDARs classification system, and were intended to represent 14 key experiences across the platforms, including: the 8 genres in the graphic, Strategy, Narrative, Sports, Macro/City Simulation, and Skill/Chance (e.g. card or board games).This was, of course, not an exhaustive list, but was intended to represent both the most common experiences and the breadth (from casual to core) of options available across platforms.

As for the rankings – these were based on respondents’ selections of their favorites (up to 5) for each platform that they actively game on (e.g. have played in the past month), and were ranked based on the percentage who selected the genre as one of their favorites. The main purpose of including the basic rankings was to show that out of the breadth of options available, men/women tend to gravitate towards the same types of experiences on each platform (which, as you mentioned, tend to be those best suited and represented in the space). Unfortunately space did not permit a full outline of the responses/options.

To give a sense of the weighting, the average percentages were as follows: Handheld (61%, 51%, 46%, 38%, 29%), and Console (53%, 48%, 39%, 32%, 27%). Differences between groups at each ranking averaged 3-4%, with men tending to have higher percentages across the board (they were more likely to choose the maximum number of genres). All other genres fell below 22%, with an average of 15%.

 

[KojiKnight]

Finally the myth that female gamers on consoles are 'unicorns' can be put to rest now right?

I'm really not all that surprised by these numbers at all. I married my wife who is a gamer, but she comes from a family of 4 sister and 1 brother who all played N64 growing up... who had female cousins who played SNES/N64/etc. My female cousins ALSO grew up playing SNES (don't have any sisters). I knew more female gamers than non-gamers growing up, including my mother AND grandmother (though the latter mostly played Monopoly on NES and Dr. Mario, still does to this day actually).

 

[Morrigan Stark]

The author answered a similar question in the comments section:

As for the rankings – these were based on respondents’ selections of their favorites (up to 5) for each platform that they actively game on (e.g. have played in the past month), and were ranked based on the percentage who selected the genre as one of their favorites. The main purpose of including the basic rankings was to show that out of the breadth of options available, men/women tend to gravitate towards the same types of experiences on each platform (which, as you mentioned, tend to be those best suited and represented in the space). Unfortunately space did not permit a full outline of the responses/options.

Ahhhh, that explains why sports isn't ranked that high. It does make sense that while sports games sell really well, it's rarely a "favourite genre" for most players. Many players might buy the new NHL game to play with friends but won't necessarily play it that much. Whereas fans of fighting games do love fighting games a lot and are more likely to rank fighting games as a favourite.

 

[GameGuru59]

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.

I think your perception of this varies heavily by region. I've lived in California, Georgia, and Alabama (grew up in GA). Growing up I can't remember a single girl who played video games. Not one. When I moved to California, I was shocked that the number of girls that played videogames was a non-zero number- but still relatively low compared to the number of male gamers. Also, my younger sister lives in California and plays games- likely influenced by her 3 older brothers. Today I tend to reside on either side of the Alabama-Georgia line depending on the school year. A few days ago, I found out my friend's girlfriend owned a Super Nintendo and played through Donkey Kong Country with him. Also, (now that I think about it) I have another friend whose girlfriend owns a Super Nintendo.

Also, almost all of the friends I have now have either stopped playing console games altogether, or play strictly sports games occasionally interspersed with COD Ass. Creed, or GTA. I feel as though this contingent makes up for a huge amount of console software. GTA 5 sold 35 million and is sure to sell probably 10 million more at least through its re-release. Super Mario Bros. had to be a pack in game to achieve those numbers.

I say all this to say that in CA, its more accepted for men and women to play videogames. Whereas in the southeast, gaming has a pretty big 'antisocial nerd' stigma attached to it. Therefore, men will only admit to playing sports or "mature" games and the like; whereas women either don't play games, used to play games and stopped, or don't broadcast that they do play games. I have yet to meet a woman in the southeast that just openly told me that she played videogames. The point is, somebody is going to have to do a truly in depth scientific study to really get at the true nature of the beast here. These market studies aren't cutting it because videogame playing isn't something people readily admit to, attitudes on the subject vary greatly be region, and the nature of what videogame playing counts as varies greatly by person. I guarantee you 90% of Americans under the age of 65 have played a videogame of some kind. Microsoft has packed in Minesweeper and Solitaire with Windows for decades. The problem is, that doesn't tell us anything.

 

[To Far Away Times]

Yea I remember when Nintendo released their gender numbers and how shocked everyone was at how anemic the female numbers were.

Most girls I know that play games latch onto a game or two (MGS, Earthbound, Kingdom Hears, etc) and that's their game. They get into the lore and everything, but don't really move past that one game. My GF's not really a gamer but she has no problem jumping in and playing Smash Bros or Mario Kart though. But I'd imagine quite a few guys get more "into" gaming though and cross that "nerdy" territory.

 

[primasaurus]

Wii U is predominately - like 80%+ - male according to Nintendo's own surveys,, I believe.

Wii U looks to be the manly console of choice

I remember a study looking at the frequency of visited porn sties via various consoles showed that the PS3 was the most used for porn, indicating that Sony gamers are the most prolific wankers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHapRM3TE8E

 

[Despera]

If those numbers are accurate then that's awesome.

Now we need percentages of those involved in the game development business.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Wii U looks to be the manly console of choice

I remember a study looking at the frequency of visited porn sties via various consoles showed that the PS3 was the most used for porn, indicating that Sony gamers are the most prolific wankers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHapRM3TE8E

You can consider install base. You can also consider PS3 doubled as the media center for a lot of people. I believe it was the single most used device for Netflix (or something like that). So the types of conclusions you can draw are limited. The PS3 also had a browser for longer (I think) and so forth.

 

[randomkid]

all this message board posturing and these tendentious parsings from undergrads too eager to share their PSYC101 bonafides, I bet you dudes go around braying that "CORRELATION != CAUSATION!!!" at every run of the mill social science finding you see too.

If finding a woman or girl around you who plays games on consoles and handhelds is like stumbling on a mythical woodland creature that says way more about your own circumstances than reality.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

all this message board posturing and these tendentious parsings from undergrads too eager to share their PSYC101 bonafides, I bet you dudes go around braying that "CORRELATION != CAUSATION!!!" at every run of the mill social science finding you see too.

If finding a woman or girl around you who plays games on consoles and handhelds is like stumbling on a mythical woodland creature that says way more about your own circumstances than reality.

I don't go "braying" anything until I've seen the actual methodology and detailed report of the findings. Because yes, that is what we're trained to do in our basic research method classes. There's a reason that's what is taught.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

It really is strange that some data comes out, that at the very least suggests "hey maybe your anecdotal experiences aren't actually representative of the world as a whole," and yet people still feel the need to come in here and tell everyone their anecdotal experience.

 

[Infinite]

I'm just going to put this out there, but I think if we went back to the late 90s and early 2000s. There would be more of a % for males with RPGs. I think the lack there of in the RPG department has caused this and they aren't considering specific genres of RPGs. If that statistic includes Dragon Age and/or Skyrim or even Fallout 3/NV then I'm baffled.

Anecdote but while I personally dislike the aforementioned games my girlfriend loves thems and own all of them and their sequels.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Interesting findings. Traditional publishers really do need to find a way to leverage what is a growing and attractive segment.

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.

There's this article from not too long ago, citing NPD and Nielsen, but it refers specifically to the core game segment and specific "supergenres." EDIT: They were only looking at the HD consoles too, on further inspection.
http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/19/gender-inequality/2/

It put the female/male split at 31/69, which isn't that far off the EEDAR study, all things considered. Although their Heavy Use segment, the top 10% of the core segment in total hours played per week (averaging 19 hours per week) skewed heavily male, which differs quite a bit from the EEDAR study. EDIT: Oh, I just realised how the data is being presented. They really shouldn't have organised their bar charts like that.

I could see a situation where while active players may be closer to a 60/40 split, but retail game sales may skew further male. RPGs as a genre tend to be more involved and lengthy.

 

[rdrr gnr]

It really is strange that some data comes out, that at the very least suggests "hey maybe your anecdotal experiences aren't actually representative of the world as a whole," and yet people still feel the need to come in here and tell everyone their anecdotal experience.

Conversely, there is also a segment of the gaming population that is so desperate for the medium to be more "progressive" or "egalitarian" than it might actually be that they willingly and enthusiastically embrace numbers that can be approached with reasonable skepticism. I don't think it's anywhere near 50-50, but it is also extremely unlikely to be 99-1 or whatever ratio is supported by one's own anecdotal evidence.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Whoa! There are more female heavy console gamers than male? That is truly shocking. Other numbers are in line with expectations.

Honestly, I have my doubts that this is true.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Honestly, I have my doubts that this is true.

You're reading that chart wrong, but the numbers are presented in a fairly misleading manner. The bars are presented relative to the genders -- not the hardcore category itself. So you get similar percentages (which makes sense) of much smaller population. If you compare it in absolute terms against the hardcore genre -- the gap becomes fairly large.

Edit: hardcore = heavy***

 

[BlackIronCount]

is this world wide data or US only, how many sample they use? the article only mention percentage.

 

[QuickSilverD]

It really is strange that some data comes out, that at the very least suggests "hey maybe your anecdotal experiences aren't actually representative of the world as a whole," and yet people still feel the need to come in here and tell everyone their anecdotal experience.

it is almost as if people based their understanding of the world based around their own experiences.

I wonder what the regional differences (if any) there are, I know a fair number of women, but I can't think of anyone of them who plays console games, wonder if they are playing in secret.

 

[Twiforce]

Great, now can we finally put that "women prefer casual (read: not real) games like Candy Crush" BS to rest?

 

[monome]

I need a stat of the percentage of Bayonetta 2 female players.

 

[Kaze2212]

I think what's happening here is, that video games are starting to become a bigger part of our culture like movies and books.

Now video games have become available on a lot of mobile devices. Candy crush, angry birds etc. all have brought video games closer to our society. (Even my grandma is playing candy crush now). Because video games have become more accessible to the average person, many people might have been inclined to try and look into the home console and hand-held market. (This started already with the Nintendo DS and the Wii becoming so popular with all family members)

I feel that the gender distribution in video gaming will start to even out in the next few years.
Sure, there will still be genre-specific gender disparity, but the same is also present with movies. Not every genre/game/movie has the same target audience.

So looking at this development I am not too surprised about these results.

(Sorry about the punctuation, but that isn't even one of my strong points in my native language - lol.)

 

[Lady Gaia]

Most girls I know that play games latch onto a game or two (MGS, Earthbound, Kingdom Hears, etc) and that's their game.

I hate to break it to you, but that's true of most men I know who game as well. I've worked its a lot of guys who play WoW pretty much exclusively. We tend to assume that others are like us and question anything that challenges this orthodoxy. For evidence, see this thread.

You're reading that chart wrong, but the numbers are presented in a fairly misleading manner. The bars are presented relative to the genders -- not the hardcore category itself.

There's nothing misleading about the manner in which the information is presented. As with all statistical information, you just need to understand what it's saying. The gap isn't that huge between the numbers:

0.4 * 0.69 = 27.6% of gamers are female and hardcore
0.6 * 0.65 = 39% of gamers are male and hardcore

Yes, the data shows there are more hardcore male gamers. That's not exactly news, but what is significant is that women make up a rather significant and under recognized segment of the market. If the industry didn't slight us routinely I could easily see the balance shifting to 50/50 over time.

 

[QaaQer]

I could see a situation where while active players may be closer to a 60/40 split, but retail game sales may skew further male. RPGs as a genre tend to be more involved and lengthy.

RPGs, at least the good ones, also emphasize relationships. Bioware is great at that.

Retail is what I'd like to know about. There is nice diversity in the digital realm, but looking at the shelves @ gamestop is kinda disheartening. It could just be my prejudices though, maybe females are into Shadow of Mordor, Advanced Warfare, Sunset Overdrive, WWE2k15, etc.

Great, now can we finally put that "women prefer casual (read: not real) games like Candy Crush" BS to rest?

There are some hardcore CC players, fyi. If you don't pay 2 win, it takes some real dedication.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Pretty sure there was a thread on this yesterday that was completely ignored. So it goes.

It's baffling how many people in here think women don't play video games. Why wouldn't they? Are video games supposed to be the "good ole boys club" and now we are all standing around with forced smiles as we accept gender integration? Seriously, this thread turned into something from 1434 A.D.

IIRC, this data doesn't really speak to the total number of women gaming compared to the total number of men. Maybe there's information out there from another source, but this article is only saying that essentially the same percentage of female gamers are hardcore/casual/etc. as male gamers.

Nevermind, I'm dumb.

 

[Haunted]

I had a bit of a unusual encounter the other day in Dota 2. Playing solo and being paired with a 4 stack - all women/girls using voice chat, communicating, joking around, having fun.


They carried me, ez win.

 

[mugwhump]

Not sure if serious...

I'm always serious
ellipsis

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Who the hell would use a console to look up porn

That's like mowing the lawn with your teeth