Audience Research:
Demographics of Global Gamers:
In 2008, a study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 65% of teenage gamers are male, while 35% were females. This trend was said to “be stronger the younger the age group.” The study found that adult males were significantly more likely to play console games than their female counterparts, however on other platforms, they were equally likely to play.
But even in the console market, the gap is closing, as Nintendo reported in 2013 that half of their users were female, and another Pew study showed that more american women than men owned video game consoles (42% women to 37% of men.)
In 2013, Variety reported that female participation in video games increased with age, with 61% of women and 57% of men aged between 45 and 64 played games.) Along with this, a 2015 survey reported by UKIE showed that 42% of gamers in the UK are female.
An international comparison of gamer gender ratios showed these statistics for 2012:
Region/Country - Study - 2012 Ratio (female to male)
Australia - IGEA - 47 : 53
Canada - ESAC - 46 : 54
New Zealand - IGEA- 46 : 54
USA - ESA - 47 : 53
Europe - ISFE - 45 : 55
Austria - ISFE - 44 : 56
Belgium - ISFE - 46 : 54
Czech Republic - ISFE- 44 : 56
Denmark - ISFE - 42 : 58
Finland - ISFE - 49 : 51
France - ISFE- 47 : 53
Germany - ISFE - 44 : 56
Great Britain - ISFE- 46 : 54
Italy - ISFE - 48 : 52
Netherlands - ISFE - 46 : 54
Norway - ISFE - 46 : 54
Poland - ISFE - 44 : 56
Portugal - ISFE- 43 : 57
Spain - ISFE - 44 : 56
Sweden - ISFE - 47 : 53
Switzerland - ISFE - 44 : 56
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Demographics vs Genre in Video Games:
There are preferences between men and women for different genres of games on average. A 2017 report by a video game analytics company called Quantic Foundry, based on surveys of around 270,000 gamers, found varying proportions of male and female gamers in different video game genres.
The study itself didn’t attribute the cause of these differences in percentages to gender alone, and stated a correlation between game that each gender play and the features that discourage them from playing certain games.
The study also mentioned that some genres of games have some notable outliers, in which the average percentage of gamers and the actual percentage were very different.
The study collected that data and reported the following proportions of gamers within the genres below, and what percentage are male or female:
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Genre - Women - Men - Outlier games within the genre
Match-3 - 69% - 31%
Family or farming simulator - 69% - 31%
Casual puzzle - 42% - 58%
Atmospheric exploration - 41% - 59%
Interactive drama - 37% - 63%
High fantasy MMO - 36% - 64%
Japanese RPG - 33% - 66%
Western RPG - 26% - 74% - Dragon Age: Inquisition (48% women)
Survival roguelike - 25% - 75%
Platformer - 25% - 75%
City-building - 22% - 78%
Action RPG- 20%- 80%
Sandbox - 18% - 82%
Action-adventure - 18% - 82%
Sci-fi MMO - 16% - 84% - Star Wars: The Old Republic (29% women)
Open world - 14% - 86% - Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (27% women)
Turn-based strategy - 11% - 89%
MOBA - 10% - 90%
Grand strategy - 7% - 93%
First-person shooter - 7% - 93%
Racing - 6% - 94%
Tactical shooter - 4% - 96%
Sports - 2% - 98%
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Demographics vs In Game Activities:
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There are also differences between male and female for the primary motivators that drive these players to play video games. In 2013, a report by Variety indicated that 30% of women play more violent video games, such as Call of Duty or GTA, leaving 70% in the area of less violent, more “friendly” games.
Along with this, there has been persistent female interest in action/adventure games, as well as MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft and Second Life. A study published in the Journal of Communication showed that 61% of female MMORPG players play with a significant other, whilst only 24% of men did, a notable difference.
Quantic Foundry collected data for the primary motivators of playing games between males and females. While men were shown to be motivated by competition and destruction in video games, females preferred tamer ideals, such as completing challenges and immersion in digital worlds:
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Primary motivation - Description - Women - Men
Completion - Finishing everything, finding all collectables and locations - 17% - 10%
Fantasy - Immersion in and exploring other worlds - 16% - 9%
Design - Expressing themselves, building or customising things - 15% - 6%
Community - Socialising and collaborating with others - 10% - 9%
Story - Elaborate narrative, well-developed characters - 9% - 6%
Destruction - Blowing things up, creating chaos - 8% - 12%
Discovery - Asking "what if?", looking for novel outcomes - 7% - 6%
Competition - Competing with other players - 5% - 14%
Strategy - Decision-making and planning, balancing resources and goals - 5% - 8%
Power - Maximising power in the game, obtaining the best items - 4% - 6%
Excitement - Action, thrills, fast-paced gameplay - 3% - 6%
Challenge - Exercising personal skill and ability, requiring practice - 3% - 7%
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