BBC Creative Research and Development have just released a stellar research report on gamers' habits in the UK — how people from six to 65 play, what they play, why they play, and how they got to playing. It's a real eye-opener — and chock full of stats-candy in sweet charts.
Contrary to popular belief, the gender split between gamers is
fairly even across all age groups. Although female gamers never
overtake their male counterpart, the figures are particularly
even in the youngest and oldest gaming groups. Between the
ages of 16-35 the ratio of males to females is slightly higher, but
the stereotype of a large gender gap in gamers – in any age
group – is untrue.Females and males do however display some different prefer-
ences in gaming categories. Simulations and MMOGs perform
equally well with males and females, while RPGs and Strategy
fare only marginally better with males. Females then show
strong approval for Music/Dance, Puzzles/Board/Quiz, and
Classic games. Males show strong approval for Action-
Adventure, Racing, Sports, and First Person Shooters. Simula-
tions and MMOGs seem to be key to attracting audiences of
both genders equally: Sports and Shooting category games
generally hold the lowest appeal for females, although it should
be noted that this doesn't mean they have no appeal: 12% of
females play First Person Shooters.
