Female video gamers have been a hot topic in recent months. In comments in an article by Destrolyn.Bechgeddig, a commenter made a point that the ratio of males to females in the gamer sector is 10:1. This judgement is supposedly made by standing in the local GameStop for an hour. We are in the age of technology, so just visiting a local establishment is no gauge of gamer population. I can not count the times I’ve purchased a video game online and had it shipped to my house or downloaded it to my computer or console.
Another aspect of debate in the industry is the types of games considered popular. Some people would rather play in traffic rather than sit through having to play a first person shooter. Some people hate the Grand Theft Auto series, while others revere it. Some will only play roleplaying games and look at nothing else, no matter what.
Travel in Time Back to 2003
In 2003, the ESA’s study, the gender ratio saw a divide by computer game player and video game player (in other words, console players). The ratio was more even for computer players than console players.
Just like the huge difference in gender ratios, age ratios were very different in computer game players and console players. 40.6% of computer gamers were 36 or older while 77.4% of console gamers were 35 and under. 37.9% of those console gamers were under the age of 18. What genre of games were these people playing most? The top three genres of 2003 for video games are, based on units sold:
- Action (25.1%)
- Sports (19.5%)
- Racing (16.6%)
The top three genres of 2003 for computer games tells a different story. The top three are again based on units sold:
- Strategy (27.4%)
- Children’s (15.9%)
- Shooter (11.5%)
See the complete article at GameSkinny.com on Change in the Gaming Industry.