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The Martlet (University of Victoria)
VICTORIA (CUP) - Female gamers already know they are not really an anomaly, but now the Electronic Software Association (ESA) has completed a study that confirms it.
Females make up 38 per cent of gamers, according to the study. Perhaps more surprising is the statistic that women aged 18 and older are a greater portion of the game-playing demographic (31 per cent) than the poster child of video games, boys aged 17 and younger (20 per cent).
Developers have certainly done something right recently to get women’s attention, because the ESA’s statistics revealed that females play an average of two more hours per week than they did only a year ago. Men and women are about equal in terms of average weekly play: 7.4 hours per week for women, and 7.6 hours per week for men.
It has long been suggested that women play differently than men, and enjoy different aspects of games than men. Social aspects and the ability to customize games are generally selling points to the female market. On massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, which offer a high degree of character customization and plenty of social opportunities, for example, the male and female population is closer to equilibrium at 58 per cent men to 42 per cent women.
But the female market is diverse. There are women who enjoy light, casual gaming, both in terms of the games they play and the hours they are willing to spend to advance in a game. Lighter games such as The Sims and puzzle games for the Nintendo DS cater to that niche market. The Nintendo Wii has been applauded not only for getting women more involved in video games but also for increasing the pool of gamers. The Wii’s titles appeal to those outside of the hardcore basement nerd coterie.

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