There were plenty of raised eyebrows when it was announced that women had become the world’s dominant gaming demographic, with 52% of players’ female at the end of 2015. Many instantly responded by suggesting that this was primarily due to the rise of social gaming, which is driven primarily by the right choice of bingo sites and similar, free-to-access titles.
While there may be some truth to this, it does not tell the whole story about how the gaming market has evolved during the last decade. There have been gradual shifts in trends and playing demographics since the emergence of online gaming, for example, which in turn have influenced every accessible market sector.
So while some may have expressed surprise at the fact that females now account for 52% of all gamers, this negates the fact that this figure has risen steadily and consistently since 2010. An estimated 47% of gamers were female as recently as 2012, for example, so women have been increasingly influential in the gaming market over a concerted period of time.
In terms of channels, it is also wrong to suggest that this trend has only emerged due to the rise social and mobile gaming. In fact, research suggests that female players are becoming increasingly active across all gaming channels, including the previously male-dominated console and PC markets. An estimated four out of every 10 households in the U.S. own a games console, for example, with 42% of these having been purchased by women (in comparison with the 37% bought by men).
There have also been interesting survey’s conducted by analytical firm Superdata Research, which have found that female gamers in the U.S. also play more PC games than men. Although it is important to note that this sector does include social and online titles, 50.2% of all desktop players are women and this number is expected to grow further in the near-term future. RPG (role playing) games are particularly favoured by female players, with 53.6% of this market made-up by female players.
The emergence of female players represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of changing demographics, with the typical gamer now also older, college educated and likely to have a lucrative career. This is why experts are calling this the age of the casual gamer, referring to a core demographic of players who access games regularly but not out of obsession or an abundance of spare time.
This suits the female demographic perfectly, while women are also typically less impulsive spenders than their male counterparts. In this respect, the rise of online gaming and its proliferation across desktop and console platforms has empowered female players, offering them real-time access to freemium model games and diverse gameplay experiences.
We should probably expect this trend to continue too, with virtual and digital gaming becoming increasingly dominant within the sector.
Photograph by Bohed