We’ve heard this before (and I still find it surprising) but Nielsen’s 3rd annual “Active Gamer Benchmark” study has found that two-thirds of online gamers are female. There’s a total US gaming audience of 117 million active gamers, defined as people that play for at least an hour each week. Fifty-six percent of those play online and 64 percent of those online players are female. That’s higher than the ComScore results of last week which put the figure at 52 percent. I suppose it means we can expect to see far more games, devices and consoles targeted at women – even if that does just mean making the box pink like the imminent PS2.
– Teens account for 48 million gamers, 18-24s for 17.5 million and, surprisingly, there are almost as many gamers aged 45 or over – 15 million active gamers.
– Looking a bit closer, the study focused on how an increasingly diverse gaming audience uses gaming different ways. Nielsen Interactive Entertainment senior VP Emily Della Maggiora: “We call them ‘family focused.’ This is a group that was once avid gamers; they have been playing games on average for 14 years, though now with life-stage changes — having a mortgage, kids, marriage — their focus falls on to their family. So, while gaming is still a part of their life, it is not consuming them, and they turn to games to relax and kill time.”
– While more women play online games, 70 percent of video gamers are male.
– Online card and puzzle games appeal to older female players who make up the majority of casual gamers.
– MMOGs account 64 percent of PC-based games. Mobile games are player by nearly one quarter of active gamers.
– Active gamers spend an average 14 hours each week on games consoles and up to 17 on portable devices. Most gamers own both.
– Ninety percent of games were bought in stores and just 10 percent online.
– As a share of people’s entertainment spend, video games make up about $16 of a $58 weekly spend. Video games account for an average 13 of 55.3 entertainment hours.
Related: In-Game Ads “Make Games More Realistic”: Study
— Disney Adds Video Player To Portable Line For Tweens
— Chicks and Joysticks
This article originally appeared in MediaGuardian.
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