28% of all console gamers now female - Study

By Matthew Peters, GameSpotPosted Jun 30, 2009 12:45 am GMT

Industry-tracking NPD Group reveals women flocking to Wii, hardcore gaming on decline, online gaming stagnate.

According to a Nielsen Company study last April, almost 50 percent of all PC gamers are female, with hit PC titles like The Sims played primarily by women. The latest Sims iteration, The Sims 3, sold more than 1.4 million copies a week after its release, presumably bolstered by that aforementioned demographic. However, a new study by the NPD Group shows that female gamers branch well beyond the PC platform and now constitute more than a quarter of all console video gamers.

Does holding a Wii peripheral cause an irrepressible urge to strike a pose?

In NPD's Gamer Augmentation 2009 report released today, the industry-tracking group revealed new figures that show 28 percent of all console video gamers are female in 2009, up from 23 percent last year. NPD attributed the five-point rise to the Nintendo Wii, which it believes has attracted a large number of new female gamers. It reports that Wii usage has increased by 19 percent from 2008 for all demographics.

At the 2007 Women in Games Conference, Electronic Arts VP Sharon Knight said that the Wii is attractive to female gamers because of the console's accessibility.

"The Wii levels the playing field," she said. "You don't embarrass yourself--you can grab it and right away start having fun. ... [Wii games] don't require the same investment to learn and to master how to pick up and play [as other consoles' games]."

The NPD study also contained a few other figures on other gamer demographics. It found that "extreme gamers" played an average of 39 hours per week, down from about 46 hours last year. Even though the NPD Group found that extreme gamers have the lowest average household income out of all gamer demographics, they dole out the most cash to buy games. Extreme gamers purchased an average of 24 titles in the 2008 holiday quarter. However, the study reported that the demographic only makes up 4 percent of all gamers.

The amount of time gamers spend playing online has remained the same relative to last year, despite what the NPD calls a "focus of industry on more online gameplay opportunities." On average, 38 percent of a gamer's playtime was spent playing online.

The Gamer Augmentation 2009 study was conducted in January 2009 with more than 20,000 participants ages 2-65 and above and includes data from the 2008 holiday season. Survey data was weighted to portray gaming trends only within the US.

521 Comments

  • mackey12345

    Posted Oct 11, 2009 10:08 am GMT

    Does anyone really care that woman play games now? It's good, diversity is a hell of a way to go about life.

    I don't see a point in this whole study... Less most of these woman turn out to be pirates.

  • zzamaro

    Posted Jul 22, 2009 11:48 pm GMT

    wow, i'd like to marry a gamer girl

  • eldoucho

    Posted Jul 10, 2009 5:20 am GMT

    I would like to know how they do these studies... do they know how many males pretend to be female? It's saddening.

    Also, @razorfett Spoken like a true gamer. None of this fanboyism retardation, great games are where it's at. Gotta love the 360, PS3, and Wii!

    I, personally, would buy the 360 first though because I like most games on that console (I still can't believe I don't have a next gen console yet and it's 2009, so sad).

  • darklight4

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 1:34 am GMT

    razorfett147
    Point taken i retract my earlier comment i guess the Wii is a good start point for people new to gaming its easier to pick up and play and like you said if its worth playing go for it oh one more thing get yourself a PS3 theres soe stuff your missing out on MGS4 Killzone2 and more

  • razorfett147

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:01 pm GMT

    It's all good. I just don't agree with labeling a whole console as a blight on the face of the gaming scene. It's about the games....not the console. Always has, always will be. Ask Sony why the PS2 was such a runaway success......it sure as hell wasn't because it was technically superior to anything else on the market. I still play (and enjoy) my Xbox360, Wii, and PS2. I hope to add a PS3 to that list once money is available. Wherever there are good games to be played.....I'll be there. And I don't care what console it's on, because they've all got games worth buying that console for.

  • darklight4

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:31 am GMT

    @razorfett147
    first of all i have 17 years of gaming experience played thousands of games had so many consoles ive lost count. the hardcore gamer still exists and im proud to be one but i agree gaming is a hobby i do enjoy playing games that make me want to play them even when the console is off. so if i was too hard on your preciuos Wii i apologize just dont ever question my knowledge or experience of gaming i wouldnt do it to you but there are still subcultures in gaming hardcore,casual or part time gamer doesnt matter as long as people enjoy games the way they want i dont really care

  • MoonlightVamp99

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 11:16 pm GMT

    @ImBurning
    No, I did complete the article. Whether the number of people who participated were 300, 20,000 or 200,000 these kind of surveys still hold little weight. The fact the study omits any mention of the larger consoles, such as PS3 or Xbox 360 has the statistics lose credibility. "Most" play Wii or Sims. How many of those 20,000 people surveyed is "most"? How many of those 20,000 played any of the other consoles? Actually, how many of these people actually play games? Unless people who consider themselves gamers applied to complete this study, then it was probably just a guy walking along the street, asking 20,000 some questions. If that was the case, half of them probably don't even play! For a study that claims in its title "28% of all console gamers now female" the fact neither of the two biggest consoles get a mention is a grievous oversight. For a study that is supposedly about consoles, a lot of time is spent discussing only the PC and Wii.

  • tajirinere

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:41 am GMT

    what do we take away from this article? "So..."

  • Trogeton

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:00 am GMT

    WOW.. that's it.. my sister is one.. I thought it was about 40%

  • ImBurning

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 7:51 am GMT

    @ MoonlightVamp
    I would agree with you about a survey with 300 people holding little weight, but you obviously didn't finish the article. The study consisted of "20,000 participants ages 2-65," which I think is more than enough to reasonably apply to demographics. Also, it says nothing about female gamers only playing sims and wii, just that most do.

  • MoonlightVamp99

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 7:18 am GMT

    These surveys hold little weight when one considers how the numbers are calculated. Ask 300 people a bunch of questions and then work the percentages out and then from that small minority create a sweeping % to apply across the board. This is narrow-minded scope is exposed with only either Wii or the Sims being listed.

    Lumping people into an incorrect demographic to slap a label on it makes any facts or figures moot.

    I find it staggering the number of chauvinistic comments have been posted. It comes as no real surprise as the notion of female gamers seems alien to most people, gamers or not, which I think is really sad. A large percentage of the male gamers find the idea threatening; their pride and masculinity would be gravely wounded if they were to be beaten by a female.

    For anyone who hasn’t picked up on it by now, I’m a female gamer. I don’t play Wii and I don’t play Sims. So what does that make me? An anomaly to this survey? A social outcast as some vacuous cretin commented? You decide. don’t care about the statistics or other’s opinions of me. I am merely sharing an opinion from the demographic that seems to have you all p*ssing your pants and throwing your arms up in an outcry of immaturity. What is next? Someone shouting ‘cooties’?

    I’m a female gamer who loves FPS and violence, and I’m proud of it.

  • cockneyscouse

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 6:02 am GMT

    Does this statistic include transexuals? I often sit in a wig and high heels playing space invaders extreme.

  • steveguttenberg

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:14 am GMT

    I don't know anything about "totally x-treme gaming" but I wanted to congratulate Tigarian on a well-timed pun.

  • shabulia

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 9:31 pm GMT

    Of course the demographic for hardcore players is going down... when you make games that cater to the more casual player, that's going to be what sellls more. If hardcore games are on the decline, then hardcore players have less to play.

  • djcurry123

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 6:15 pm GMT

    One of my best friends is a hardcore gamer. She is actually better than me in Halo and other FPS games.

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 5:54 pm GMT

    What investment to learn? Most games on the Xbox 360/PS3 teach you how to play the game as you progress. If you can't handle pressing buttons then wtf are you doing when trying to drive a car!?!?!

    BTW, waving your arms around like a bee is on you is not gaming.

  • eal-zubieri

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 3:09 am GMT

    I am really suprise to see that ....?!

  • Zerobeam

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 2:10 am GMT

    I agree with Raykuza whole-heartedely. I was rescuing princess Peach and Zelda back on the NES, battling Robotnik (WTF is Eggman) across the Genesis, flying dragons on the Sega Saturn, twisting metal on the Playstaion, and waiting in line to purchase a PS2 when I probably should've been in school. I love video games and have always. To me, this isn't just some passing fad or what's "hot" right now. Video games are very important, and everytime some company decides to make some half-@ssed attempt just to appeal to casuals, is almost like them mocking what video games are. Now me personally, I don't have a problem w/ girls playing games, and i'm absolutely sure that there are hardcore girl gamers out there. But every girl (or person for that matter) with a controller in hand isn't a gamer, and to bestow the title of "gamer" upon someone because they play The Sims and Wii Sports just isnt acurate

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