A recent study has found that the amount of females turning to gaming on consoles and smartphone devices has steadily increased. According to a report published this year, women gamers actually outnumber teenager boys in the gaming population by a large 36%. This contrasts massively to an article released in 2009, which opened by remarking on how no female voice would be heard while playing Call of Duty or other such MMO (mass multiplayer online) games.
The gaming community and market place has always been perceived as a male zone, with various gaming companies and online sites catering to the male majority rather than the supposed female minority. What is more, in studies investigating gender representation in games, it has been shown that men have broader representation than women. As such, there has been an obvious and vast gap within the industry that has needed to be filled, and which today, seems to finally be getting recognition. The once black abyss of female gaming has slowly been filled and catered for by social gaming, something which has exploded onto our technology in recent years.
With users reluctant to leave their homes without a phone, tablet or laptop, consumers are spending more time looking for unique way to network on the move. The issue of usability and difference between the two sexes has fuelled mass debates and studies, with various academic papers taking the stance that men prefer violence and women prefer social. Using this analogy, there is the basic assumption that women are less likely to play console games and more likely to socially game on their portable tech.
Due to this surge in female gamers craving there next fix, companies are bringing their games to them, moulding and adapting their games into apps for convenience of use.
If these afore mentioned trends continue, then it seems that male dominance within the gaming community and industry could become nothing more than a memory, something which many female gamers are eager to see. One thing that’s for certain is that while ever the demand for social gaming is there, the market will fill and distribute these mobile games.
Originally published October 7, 2014. Updated November 29, 2022.
