And once again, a study has been published that focused on video games. This time, it is not about the terrible influences of video games, but about the distribution within the population: Which groups of people play the most, and what is the distribution between men and women?
Eye catcher: There are more adult female gamers than teenage males
One of the biggest highlights of the study is the finding that there are now more adult women who count video games among their hobbies than there are underage male players. Overall, the young men only make up 17% of the total player base, while adult women account for a substantial 36%, which is more than double! Fascinating… or maybe not?
Player distribution: Only a small difference between women and men
According to this study, men only have a slight edge in terms of their pure numbers, as women now make up 48% of the player base, and men only make up 52%. This may sound surprising to just about every reader, as a look at the servers of WoW, SWTOR, or WildStar reveals a completely different picture, which is why further clarification is needed: Any type of video game declares a person as a “gamer” – at least in this study. This also includes all mobile, smartphone, and Facebook games.
My opinion: I don’t find the results of the study surprising at all. It seems rather like an attempt to desperately find some sensational news. The mere statement “More adult women play than male teenagers under 18” makes me roll my eyes a bit. In a larger group of people, more individuals play than in a significantly smaller group. Well, who would have thought that! Since seemingly everyone who plays “Minesweeper” or “Solitaire” once a month has ended up in this statistic, I am not surprised at all. Just because someone eats salad once a month doesn’t mean they are a vegetarian.
That there is no distinction made between players who invest several hours in a game daily and “gamers” who play a round of “Snake” on their phone definitely does not reflect positively on this study. Nevertheless, I am glad that there is more engagement with the topic – even if no exciting results come out of it.
You can actually download the entire study (in English) here, provided by the Entertainment Software Association.
