Recent studies have claimed that the percentage of females playing video games has seen a sharp increase in recent years, with the latest report from Entertainment Software Association (ESA) putting them at 41 percent. However, these studies seldom dig beyond these figures to see what kind of games are being played by different genders or even various age groups. Now, game analytics consulting company Quantic Foundry has published results of its own survey, which was geared towards breaking down the player base by genre.
Before we get into the figures, let’s get a few things out of the way. Quantic Foundry surveyed over 270,000 gamers worldwide (sample details here) using a “Gamer Motivation Profile,” which is a short 5-7 minute survey that generates a “personalized report of their gaming motivations, and see how they compare with other gamers.” Based on this, and other demographic variables, the company then broke down the data.
In our full sample, 18.5% are female gamers. We also ask gamers to list specific game titles/franchises that they enjoy playing (up to 9). By sampling gamers who mention a specific game title/franchise, we can generate a profile of that game’s engaged audience.
Now, we get to the core. In the chart below (open in new window to enlarge), the percentages refer to “the proportion of gamers within each genre that are female.” As Quantic Foundry explains, “69 percent for Match 3 games means that of the gamers who mentioned a Match 3 game in the data, 69 percent of them were female. The 69 percent does NOT mean that 69 percent of female gamers play Match 3 games.”
Based on this, Quantic Foundry says Match 3 family/farm sim players are most likely to be female whereas tactical shooter and sports game players are least likely to be female.
For the full study and findings, make sure to head over to the source link below.
[Source: Quantic Foundry via Game Informer]
[Image credit: Quantic Foundry]
