Crashproof

Vanessa974

I do like MMOs but I don't like talking to people who I don't know. I like over hearing them and seeing them but unless I know them I most likely wont play with them.

That Girl Hates You

Aye but that includes a bunch of people I wouldn't consider real gamers and few of us would. Playing The Sims for an hour or two a week and having next-to-no interest in the games industry does not make you a gamer.

Most 'girl gamers' aren't gamers in the vast majority of gamer's opinions; they play crap girly games which they spend barely any time on and have no interest in the industry as a whole.

I would say the ratio (based on girls I know who REALLY play games regularly) is more like 85%-15% at the very very max.

Shimmergeek

We tend to assume that the male market is made up of Geektron Zormak the 3rd with +3 Enchantment spells to sway their female fantasy counterparts, but the truth is, the market is indeed made up of a larger percentile of 'casual'/'average' male gamers playing Mario Galaxy, Wii Fishing and Moto GP.

My query about the sample population they investigated was more to see the average age, location and the type of sample they selected to define these averages.

Statistics can be indicative, but they can also sway the results. To be fair, Kotaku readers and posters should participate in these samples - as we too should be considered in the definition of female gamers worldwide.

Although marginal, I think it's up to us to make a name for ourselves, make our gaming needs heard and understood - and most of all - changing the perspective that we are casual gamers. Even if our numbers are marginal, we'd stop being this mythical creature (the choice of a Unicorn reference would both seem too phallic and juvenile, but would somewhat be applicable in this case - no, this is not a 'my little pony' reference) that publishers just don't believe in.

There are too many closet cases out there. It's time to come out of the shadows and stay it bluntly: I am a gamer. A hardcore gamer. Recognize. *makes stupid homeboy move*

odd one out.

MKS

Jenstar

Also, I don't MMORPG. Too much of a commitment.

I probably play about 20 hours on an average week, but a good 10 of that is during my commute on the train.

antimony

Black Arts Viper

JamieA

Undeniably, there are many midcore & hardcore female gamers out there! It's refreshing for our industry to see that this stat is actually more likely on the conservative side when considering the number of hours, and the number of games that the female demographic plays and buys.

All the game developers who want to expand their reach to include more females in their demographic need to read this thread, as well as getting a copy of ESA's report! Stat! (no pun intended)

onomeister

Kovitlac

I play a lot more than 7.4 hours, but I can see how I'd play less during a busy week. I love puzzle games, but I also play RPGs and strategy games. Recently, I've been playing my PSP more too.

Puchi

SisterGrim

Okay, that's not fair since my playing games is part of my work. But yeah, I used to play a lot of The Sims and Civilization on the PC before. Now it's just the PSP and the Wii for me.

Cheena

I have a DS, which I play Pokemon and Zelda on while waiting for the bus. But I prefer my Wii, which I play Gamecube ARPGs, and VC titles. I'm not great at most puzzles and prefer action titles, easy/short rpgs (I've found most of them are long for absolutely no reason but to make you grind), and old sidescrollers.

VioletArrows

I have a DS and I love the Sims... but I guess I don't really consider women who ONLY play those "gamers." Maybe it's from personal experience? But I've been playing, you know, RPG and FPS games for years and I really think that there's a kind of female stigma attached to those, at least her in the traditionalist South. Like, it's okay to play casual games, but if you play any "real" games, oh em gee you're a nerd!!!!!111 I don't know many women who actually claim to be "gamers" for fear of that stigma alone.

rhinestonedarling

ohayou_kun

D Mitsuki

I actually dislike MMORPGs. The "social" aspect of "communicating" with other players is frustrating to me. I don't like FPSs, but am more the action/adventure/RPG type on Wii/GC. Oh, and LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Elite Beat!

Pammeh

That article marginalizes women a lot. I'm a guy, by the way.

pronounconnoun

DS ftl

cinamonspice

My most common platforms are probably the 360, & PSP. I do own all the consoles though and play them regularly. I do like MMO's, however I LOOOVE shooters. I need my blood and violence!

MorbidEclipse

My 360 gets the most of my playtime right now, though I did just recently run through KotOR I & II on my pc for old time's sake.

siempre

PsycheDiver

Ajh

I do put in some time with MySims Wii. At first I was bummed that you can't kill them, but now I find it relaxing, even if the cute little bastards are NEEDY.

I have gamed on the PC, the Amiga (Defenders of the Crown FTW!) and the 2600.

Never had a handheld; I don't spend much time on public transit or similar, plus my vision is so bad that I really can't game on any screen smaller than a laptop.

Evil Tortie's Mom

BugJar

s1ipstream

I'm a Microsoft fangirl. I do play the DS though. Not as much as my 360. And I agree with everyone who said Sims gets really boring after a while.

sooiee115

I rarely play my DS. I play the PSP more because of Final Fantasy Tactics. I utilize my PS2 for fighting games like Soul Calibur and Guilty Gear. And I've been blaying Rockband for the 360.

My gameplay time per week is way above 7.5 hrs. It's more like 20.

Reinbach

OK I play my DS too. It's the system I have the most games for; and I play my Wii. I like RPG, FPS action/adventure, strategy, platformers, fighting,..anything under the sun.

I wouldn't be your typical girl gamer according to this study though because left to my own devices I could sit there and play games for a looong time, especially when I get a new game. I could do that whole weekly estimate in one day and I have --(not during the semester haha...no) Oh and I have a PS3 at home (not on campus w/me) on a 40" sony bravia. I play games to beat them, unless it doesn't engage me enough. I loved Uncharted, and I still need to get DMC4!

shadowcat

Raw Wind

I must admit I'm rather disappointed by the prevalence of The Sims -- it would seem to confirm that many women really do just want to play house with Ken and Barbie. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's just so...stereotypical. I'm curious if this is due to gender difference or sex difference, but I fear we may never really know.

erlik

LemonproX

The good news is that the percentage is going up. The bad news in the article is that only 12% of the game industry is female. Hopefully we'll start seeing that percentage go up as well.

trina

this is so awesome.. when i first started commenting on kotaku - wow, has it been a year already?? - i felt like the lone chick battling an uphill swarm of testosterone and jubblies. now it looks like there are dozens of femmes on board. much thanks to kotakuites kim, maggie and tori for representing the better half :)

geekgrrl

SuperMaxZero

tattattakumi

_Ted_

Even with a heavy course load, though, I usually find ten or so hours to game.

I think I fall somewhere between casual and hardcore.

pinkpuppet

Chikebo

theherlihyboy

dowingba

Sihaya

Tiger-Fever

I have a pink DS (fat version) and played The Sims, though. But looking at my games library, I think I am more what seems to be considered "hardcore" (despite a lack of FPSs).

FranUnFine

Turkina

Xenobula

Now that we have *that* out of the way, I do use my DS occasionally, but mostly I'm a 360 gal who loves shooters. The only simulation game I can stand is Viva Pinata. Do you think I'm actually a man?

Chilly Hollow

Console wise, I play a lot of traditional consoles as well as my DS. Just depends on what game I'm playing, and the DS only gets love when I've got a new game. Time-wise, I'd say I'm either playing way more than that a week or almost nothing at all, depending on how evil my real life schedule is that week.

teraphony

FP mind in rewind

MKS

Shiryu

Guvnah

Now I play my DS every night for a couple of hours during the week while my boyfriend plays rock band or fiddles with his new PSP and I take over the 360 on the weekends when he's out of town.

I don't like FPS, mostly because I can't quite get the hang of the controls, although I did power through Bioshock because of the incredible story.

My mother is mystified by my new interest in gaming. I had a Sega as a kid, but didn't play alot. Now that I'm in my late twenties, I've discovered gaming and have to explain to my family that it's not a waste of time. I do enjoy the fact I can now kick my cousins' asses at a lot of games when they used to always win.

Calicomarie

evening-aura

As for WoW...Male gamers got pulled into WoW just as much as the girls. Just as much as a huge number of nongamers got sucked into it. Blizzard is making a lot of money off the entire human race. o_o

I think the phrase 'casual gamer' is crap. It's someone who plays games, but I would never call them a gamer. 10 years ago, we wouldn't have been calling them gamers. Chicks with 'casual' interests in owning a ds are the same as ones who played bejeweled and snake on their cellphones while waiting for their life to get more exciting or whatever.

And... I think the gender line within the real gamer crowd is imagined.

So they should stop 'catering to the female gamer crowd' with nightmares like bratz and barbie and I'll be able to sleep better.

akashayi

How do I contribute to the statistics? XD

Serenade

Don't forget to use your Pony Grenades to take out swarms of enemies!

[kotaku.com]

mrrobsa

razorangelwings

kavits001

Doesn't exactly fit me to a T though.

Kotae

armchairnixon sees you doing that thing there...

alaria

tawni

Antiterra

I don't do online gaming. I don't do PC gaming (for one I use a Mac) except games like I wanna be the guy or nifty flash games here and there. I don't play FPS's, I don't play the Sims, and I definitely wouldn't come within 50 feet of WoW.

What I do play is rhythm games. I am ADDICTED to rhythm games. I played DDR/ITG competitively for a while, even won a tournament. I've traveled across Canada to play those games. I play PIU, Beatmania, IIDX, Pop'N Music, Keyboardmania, Drummania, Stepmania, and the EBA/Ouendan series. I also love horror adventure games, like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. I used to sit up all weekend watching and playing those games. I'm a huge platform and RPG fan. I like the Mario and Paper Mario series. I like the old school FF series (VI was THE BEST, after that everything seemed to pale in comparison) and I loved Golden Sun. I love old school gaming. My NES was my first console and it's awesome. The SNES is my favourite console of all time.

I don't know if I'm typical, but I'd wager most gamers aren't typical, and neither are girl gamers. Especially not the sort we have in Kotaku :)

Tiger-Fever

Ajh

In everyday life I act like just about every other girl on the planet, putting on makeup, spending ages looking for pretty clothes online, and playing in the kitchen with recipes that need tweaking. But when it comes my gaming habits, I am rabid. I am counting the days until GTA4, just like other hardcore gamers (58 days, woot!) and I scream like a girl when I get the perfect headshot in Halo 3. Maybe I am an anomaly, even for other women who game, but I don't think I'm alone. I'm sure I'm not the first girl who shot a locust in the head, only to be inspired by the resulting gorey geyser to paint my nails the perfect shade of hemoglobin red... right?

Xandher

I have a question for all of these people saying "oh, looks like most of those female gamers are 'casual'". Are you defining casual by the amount of time played, or the types of games/platforms played, or some combination of both?

I ask because people seem to be saying that Sims = casual, and DS = casual, across the board. Is this really accurate? Would you call a total Sims addict who plays 20 hours a week "casual"? If so, why? Because that person isn't playing an FPS or other suitably "hardcore" game? And it seems like a majority of Kotaku readers own a DS, so why is it automatically casual? Am I a casual player if I enjoy Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright, Contra, FFTA, etc on my DS?

It seems like a lot of people think that the subject matter of the games you play determines whether or not you're "hardcore". By this logic, you're "hardcore" if you play any FPS (or TPS like Gears of War), games like Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden...you know, the "manly" games. Whereas you're a "casual" player if you play things like Mario, Rock Band, Professor Layton, Cooking Mama and yes, the Sims, no matter how many hours per week you play them. Games like Uncharted, Rachet & Clank, Oblivion, etc seem to inhabit some sort of grey area.

From a marketing perspective, I suppose that the number of gaming platforms you own also factors into the equation. Someone who games only 10 hours per week but owns 2 consoles, a handheld and a PC is probably a more valuable target and has more "hardcore" potential for game companies than someone who only owns a PC but plays WoW or Sims 25 hours per week.

The point of this long diatribe, I guess, is that there is room in this market/community for more than one type of hardcore gamer. And on average, female hardcore players may very well play different things than male hardcore players. The gaming community, especially developers and publishers, would do well to recognize this.

ach77

The main issue I get with my gaming gurl is that she wont play a game if I suggest that its a good one. If I say, "hey you really should give portal a try, its THE best game I've played in over a year", she wont touch it.

I think it might just be FPS in general because she gets motion sickness though, and she really does judge games by the cover First person? Must be shooter! Puzzle game? must be boring! , Warcraft? "Im not addicted" , then comes to bed at 2am after I go to bed at 11pm. Not addicted... MUCH.

gazz

She did complete Viva Pinata though....

CanaryWundaboy

You asked for Ponies, you got them!

Turkina

My sister's a big FPS fan though.

From a marketing standpoint these statistics are important. It means that there may be more attractive male characters in games to lure female players in. (Devil May Cry anyone?)

@And after this our exile: I know a gamer that plays Silent Hill and games like that, real big into the survival horror and well..just about anything bloody. She has a nice sized my little pony collection too.

Ajh

Pugcake

Candle

relic1980

Mainly, when I can play, it really depends on what mood I am in and how much time I have to play. If I get bored at work, I will find something casual to play. If at home, its my PS2 or 360 ranging from things like Bully or GTA to sports or fighting games. If I have tons of time, I will play WOW for a while or try to get into CS:S or UT. I am not very good with FPS due to mousing disadvantages, so I only play when I just really want to shoot things and don't care if I die.

LizC

MelodyKitn

...Could it mean that I got it wrong all this time? õ_o

Antiterra

NiteShado

I personally don't think I could be called a casual gamer with the amount of time and money I put into gaming. I've been heavily gaming since the late 80s and I know I can't possibly be the only one. But then again I'm sure that number of girl gamers since the 80s is diminishing all the time because of people having babies and not having time. I honestly put my gaming and other stuff I do over babies (luckily, so does my gamer fiancee), so will probably never will have kids. But that's probably good for this overcrowded world not to have more.

jeccaneko

So, no, I do not fit.

lilibat

Usually I play whatever console games I'm into and then add DS games on top of that. Right now I'm playing Crackdown (again!) and Halo 3.

As for PC games I only like RTSes. I am not a big fan of The Sims at all, at ALL.

Perky Peanut

She plays a bigger variety of games than I do though we tend to share interest in a bunch. Not much time for other games when there's WoW.

BaseVilliN

Infradead

DaiMacculate

I'm not the norm I guess. Since my husband works for Gamestop, we always have new games. He is always to busy to play so I always get to play them.

My DS is covered in dust...

Gamer_Girl

Pugcake

My DS is generally sitting idle , though when I get my copy of Professor Layton that'll hopefully change.

I used to play primarily MMOs (40+ hours a week) but these days i'm suffering a bit of burnout, so I've gone back to J-RPGs (like eternal sonata and blue dragon) along with some Portal / CoD x rounding it off with the odd japanese dating sim/Visual novel on my laptop in front of the TV for a change of pace.

Never really got on with the Sims.

CodeGrrl

Hollette

happycodemonkey

geekgrrl

Met like 1 or 2 girls at this hardcore SC2 tourny i went to one time. It still saddens me to get beat by a girl. Oh well times have changed ;).

Sinharvest

Atsumi

GameraTheGreat

i thought it would be closer to 8-10%...

Mabye gaming girls dont emphasise their presence...

Dude From Dubai

TheHun

D:

But I do admit, I won't lie: I am ADDICTED TO MY DS. And I probably spent more like 20 hours a week playing PS3. Well, ever since I finally got DMC4. D:

missusagi

hrunting

foxhound009

I'm sure marketers get something from this data, but I can only hope that more data on female gamers doesn't get us more condescending titles like "Imagine Babyz."

pandemicennui

foxhound009

SigmundTheSeaMonster

CyOps

I don't get WoW. I tried a 7-day trial once, and it didn't appeal to me in the least. I probably wouldn't have played it any more than I did if it were 100% free, much less am I inclined to pay money each month to play it.

baked ham

noliferuin (PSN+XBL)

graddy

gamadaya

Rubix42

_Ted_

Agies

I don't care. Not one bit.
If it's multiplayer, the list of things I care about is
1- Are you any good
2- Are you willing to learn
3- Are you going to have a good time
4- Are you going to spoil/enhance my good time

Mind you, this isn't directed at the content poster, more at these stat factories. Ovaries or lack thereof are not on my personal list of caring about gamers.

---And yes, I realize these are useful from a marketing standpoint. I'm just sayin'.

Setzer IIDX

onomeister

I play Xbox 360 mostly (got it the day it came out) and don't own a DS.

Then again, I also don't consider myself a "casual" gamer.

Atsumi

Come to think of it I think FFVII might be the reason I got into gaming... :-P

fanty

Old-school Sonic fanboy