14 DAY TRIAL // A new study from the ESA claims that more adult females play video games than young males under the age of 18, in the United States of America at least.
The study from the Entertainment Software Association shows that adult men still outnumber the other demographics, but that the spread is getting increasingly more varied year over year, with the number of women who play on consoles and mobile devices showing a steady increase.
Of course, the study (PDF) shows that women are more likely to play games on a mobile device like an iPhone or an iPad, and the upswing in percentage can be traced to mobile gaming more than PC or consoles.
“Our industry has a remarkable upward trajectory. Computer and video games are a form of entertainment enjoyed by a diverse, worldwide consumer base that demonstrates immense energy and enthusiasm for games,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA.
Why the ESA would confound core game statistics with casual ones is not exactly clear, since it’s a pretty big difference between Candy Crush Saga and The Banner Saga, and pretty much everyone actually interested in the results of the study is likely to be interested in information pertaining to the latter, rather than the former.
In any case, the “women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (36%) than boys age 18 or younger (17%),” the study finds.
Furthermore, the number of female gamers over 50 increased by 32 percent between 2012 and 2013, and around 58 percent of parents enjoy video games with their kids at least once a month.
“People of all ages play video games. There is no longer a ‘stereotype game player,’ but instead a game player could be your grandparent, your boss, or even your professor,” said Jason Allaire, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University and co-director of the Gains Through Gaming Lab.
Games have been getting more and more accessible in recent years, and the mobile front is the prime culprit for that, with games of increasing quality and complexity becoming readily available on platforms that people already own, such as smartphones or tablets.
No longer having to purchase a dedicated gaming device means that everyone has easy access to entertainment, and people who wouldn’t have crossed the barrier a few years ago are finding new ways to enjoy their spare time.
The boom of casual and social gaming on smartphones and family-friendly hardware platforms like the Wii or tablets means that the gaming industry is no longer geared toward the “lonely teenage nerd” stereotype that so often gets presented as the average video game enthusiast.