Girls Got Game...who knew?

Who knew women played so many games?  No, not head games (we knew that!). But video games, a $7 billion-dollar industry.  I caught an article in BusinessWeek profiling Skunk Studios, the company that makes "casual games," a nifty market segment that wants less shoot and kill, more ease and breeze in their games.

Think more along the lines of Pac Man than Grand Theft Auto and you'll get a feel for this market. Turns out the market is huge; I was shocked at how many of my gender are getting their game on: according to the Entertainment Software Assn., 38% of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%).  You go, girls.

We were all surprised a few weeks ago when we came to find out not all MySpacers are 21. Nowhere near. Over 55 million of them are 25 and older--with adults 35-54 making up more than 40% of the site. Which just goes to prove something I tell clients (and frequently remind myself): Don't assume. Do ask (do your due diligence). Especially when important strategies, and expensive marketing campaigns, hinge upon your assumptions.

The answers--and we women--will often surprise you.

Comments

[David Reich]

Right you are. I was also suprised to learn, from a research report I saw online yesterday, that not only is the typical gamer a woman, but also around age 41.

Time to throw out those preconceived notions about video games just for the young. The young ones from 10 - 15 years ago who grew up with video games are now ensconced in middle age... and still playing games.

Similar to the surprises we got when we learned who goes to MySpace and YouTube.

David

[Ann Handley]

I can well understand those numbers. In fact, I went through a period where I was obsessively trying to beat its Skunk's Scrabble game. But alas...the obsession was short-lived. I went back finally to my real obsessions of email and blogging. Far more productive, I find.

[Gavin Heaton]

CK, you are so right about not making assumptions. Just because these games etc are designed for teenagers doesn't mean that those are the people who actually use/play them. In many ways, MySpace and online games tap into our evergreen desire for youth. So called "retro" games are popular not just for their outstanding game and interaction design, but also because they appeal to our nostalgic natures. Interestingly, I also recently heard that a large percentage of online poker players are women.

Ann, a friend of mine revealed the other day that she had to remove the Skunk game so that she could actually do her work and not get fired! She was shown the game by a friend and became addicted ... she knew it was bad when she turned around and saw the sun coming up!