A survey of 10,000 households in the USA shows that women have a significant share in gaming, but not everyone agrees with the results.
What is this study about? On June 9, 2023, Mat Piscatella, director of the market research company Circana, shared some newly released data on who buys and plays video games in the USA.
The data shows that almost half of all gamers in 2023 are women: 47% of console players, 50% of PC players, and 54% of mobile players are female. In a second post, Piscatella provided detailed information about the shares of men and women across different hardware.
While the distribution among gaming PCs is balanced, the percentage of women among PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players is slightly lower, whereas it is somewhat higher than men among Switch players. You can see the exact breakdown here:
Where do the numbers come from? The data comes from Circana’s “PlayerPulse”, a monthly survey. Gamers interviewed come from a “nationally representative pool” in the USA, who are over 13 years old and have played video games in the past month.
The study collects demographic data as well as engagement, ownership, purchasing intentions, and social media usage from a rotating sample of approximately 10,000 households.
For some, the numbers are not surprising, as nearly half of the people worldwide are women, and: “Games are fun, people play games, women are people.” However, not all responses under the post are so positive.
No “real” gamers?
How are the reactions? While many gamers shared their own gaming habits or those of their partners, some reacted with skepticism, disbelief, and foolish remarks.
Some Twitter users questioned the validity of the numbers, the methodology, or their significance. They suggested that many women likely only buy the devices for their children or referred to supposedly comparable studies with different results.
From others came the almost predictable “No real gamers” remarks. They assert that women only play the typical female games. Something like Candy Crush or The Sims. Even Assassin’s Creed is apparently considered a female game now (via Twitter).
Some comments also complain that the evaluation of the numbers apparently only considered men and women, while non-binary individuals were not mentioned or asked how high the share of trans individuals is (via Twitter).
What do the results mean? The numbers shared by Piscatella are not only interesting for gamers who see their own perception either confirmed or questioned.
After all, Circana is a market research company, and the conducted surveys also aim to show manufacturers that women are a relevant target group (via Twitter). Thus, it could very well be worthwhile for developers to create strong female characters that women can identify with.
Some gamers expressed doubts based on their personal experiences: Where are all these gamer women, they have not encountered any on the internet or in games. However, others point out that the behavior in the comments – and in the games themselves – could be the reason why women may not always want to reveal themselves.
