She’s got game: Report says more girls are playing video games

[Ryan Goble]

Humm, we need to get some more people in this group. Frank, I'm sharing yet another one of your articles!
So one really has to wonder how self-serving this study is given that it was done by the Entertainment Software Association.

RRG:)

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She’s got game: Report says more girls are playing video games
By Amy Farnsworth | 07.02.09

Hand over that Nintendo Wii Controller boys, there’s a new gamer in town: Girls.

While the video game industry has largely catered to males, a report released Tuesday by The NPD Group says that 28 percent of females are playing video games on gaming consoles. That number is up 5 percent from 23 percent in 2008. The report, “Gamer Segmentation 2009,” attributes the rise of girl gamers to the Nintendo Wii, a gaming console that has drawn 19 percent more users since last year, according to the report.

Of the 65 percent of American households who play video games or computer games, according to a 2008 Entertainment Software Association (ESA) study, female gamers make up 40 percent of all players. And not all female gamers are young. The 2008 ESA study reported that 33 percent of women ages 18 and up play video games – surpassing the 18 percent of boys ages 17 and younger who play video games. Last year, Horizons blogger Matthew Shaer wrote an article about how women have been gaining some momentum in the traditionally male-dominated video game industry.

One reason for this demographic shift may be that more games are being marketed to appeal to females. But don’t think pink controllers or games about Barbie. Disney Interactive Studios has released a line of video games focused on fictional pop star Hannah Montana and real-life rockers The Jonas Brothers – titles that would most likely appeal to female teens or tweens. Meanwhile, Nintendo Wii offers games such as Divas on Ice, where you can dress your own figure skater and practice ice skating routines, and Imagine Fashion Party, where players compete in a fashion reality TV show to design the best couture. Another game that’s a top pick in the gaming industry among women is The Sims, a video game where players control characters in a virtual suburban world. CNN reported that more than 55 percent of women spend their time playing The Sims and that Nintendo DS games were also popular among this demographic.

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From: http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/07/02/shes-got-game-r...

[Ryan Goble]

This was orig. posted on Frank Baker's Media Lit Liseserve: This was an interesting response from Terry Dugas ([e-mail]):

Frank,

Thanks for posting this. It's a good example of how bad reporting works it way into established media. Here's the best example.

From the CSMonitor article: " CNN reported that more than 55 percent of women spend their time playing The Sims."

The actual quote from CNN is "Studies and sales data have shown that women are more likely to play hand-held casual games, such as the Nintendo DS, along with social oriented games such as "The Sims," where women make up more than 55 percent of players." That is, 55 % of the people playing SIMS are women.

Big difference from 55% of women play SIMS.

Even sadder is that the article makes no attempt to differentiate between "hard core games" (first person shooters, MMORG, role playing), "casual gamers" (WII, DS, flash games like on Kongregate), and "social gamers" like SIMS. The demographics are radically different for each type.

The gaming industry has spent millions of dollars trying to attract women to games. In fact, I've attended a seminar on the difference between male and female fighting styles for hand to hand combat games ("Mortal Combat"). It's a fascinating subject, if it's approached with no preconceptions.

Terry

[Adam Chunn]

Oh yea, girls are really getting into gaming. My girlfriend is a huge World of Warcraft fanatic. Video games offer us a chance to take a sort of "virtual vacation" to get away from the stresses of everyday life. Most games, usually pay to play unfortunately, even hold a special quality about them: you are able to learn a profession(s). As a human, orc, blood elf, night elf, troll, gnome (eww, darn anklebashers, LOL), dwarf, dranei, undead, etc, you are able to have a job(s) in that world, adding even more realism to it. In games such as World of Warcraft, surprisingly, you are actually learning some real world skills. Each server has its own economy, prices rising and falling throughout the year. One can learn to use the market to one's own advantage, selling high and buying low, a key economic term. Other games have such things that can teach us. Video games are not pure fantasy, but an amalgam of imagination and real world subjects, ranging from arithmetic to history and economics. Don't count video games' value out, future and current teachers!