Women In Games: Challenge The Image

Many people assume that the average video game player is a teenage boy glued to the television or computer screen. Not many think of girls and women as gamers and we should because game players are not just male.

In 2003 the Entertainment Software Association conducted a poll with the help of Peter D. Hart Research Associates. They found that women 18 years and older represent 33% of game players. Adult women gamers currently outnumber male gamers aged 6-7 and that this demographic only makes up 18% of the game players. On a whole 40% off the game playing population is female. (Novack pg. 55) The Consumer Electronics Association reported in a 2006 issue of The New York Times that "among game players between the ages of 25 and 34, women far outnumber men. The survey also found that 65% of women in this age bracket play games while only 35% of the men do. (Brightman)

Nick Yee published a blog on the gender and age distribution of mmorpg (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) players. During his study known as the Daedalus Project: The Psychology of MMORPG's, he found that "male players tend to be between 12 to 28, while female players tend to be between 23 and 40." In 2007 the Casual Games Market report stated that 51% of their player market was female.(McCann)

Senior vice president of global sales and marketing for Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), Torrie Dorrell, claims that while women are playing games in significant numbers "what is lacking in the equation [is] women behind these games." (Reisinger)

So the question is, if women like to play games as much as guys, where are the women in the game industry and why is the game industry predominantly male? Stop by next week for an answer to some of these questions.

References

Brightman, James . "Study: Women Gamers Outnumber Men in 25-34 Age Group - Video Game Features, PC Game Features." Video Games, Video Game Cheats & Free Downloads. 17 Apr. 2006. 23 Aug. 2009 .

McCann, Shawn. "Not Just for Boys Anymore." Library Journal 15 Nov. 2008: 51

Reisnger, Don. "Just stop it already: Women do play video games | The Digital Home - CNET News." Technology News - CNET News. 9 July 2008. 22 Aug. 2009 .

Yee, Nick . "The Daedalus Project: Gender and Age Distribution." Nick Yee's HomePage. 1 Jan. 2003. 22 Aug. 2009 .

Novack, Jeannie. Game Development Essentials Second Edition. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008.