There has been a massive increase in the number of women and girls attracted to gaming in the last decade, and according to recent studies, half of the global gaming population is now made up of females. However, their increased participation in gaming has removed the preconceptions and stereotypes around female gamers and their playing methods. As a game-loving female, you are free to explore every playing method under the sun.
Many are of the opinion that women and girls are only interested in cozy and simple games like the popular Candy Crush, Animal Crossing, or Mario, but that is far from the truth. While it is a known fact that a majority of females love to play the above-mentioned entertainment games, that does not make them less of a gamer. These women also engage in complex fast-paced action titles in online slots, competing with males who previously dominated the gaming landscape but currently, any game that catches your attention can be thoroughly explored, your gender notwithstanding.
Platform Preferences by Gender
The general gaming public prefers PC gaming relative to other consoles which gives PCs massive popularity as 71.4% users continually leverage them for their gaming experience. However, this position has been greatly challenged in recent times as mobile gaming rapidly gains popularity with the boost in the mobile games development sector. If this trend prevails, you may witness the figure change in the near future but PC still reigns supreme for now.
When the talk is about platform preferences among the genders, male and female gamers have their differences. According to Nicola Davidson – a game content writer with 15 years’ experience, male gamers cannot do without PCs but the case is different for females who constantly go for console gaming.
There is also an observed slight inclination towards mobile gaming by females up to 0.5%. When you conduct a comparison between males and females on PlayStation and computers it will reveal that women have a 7.5% propensity to go for PlayStation than their male counterparts who are 5.7% more likely to play on computers.
Studies carried out on the global gaming public have revealed that the reason for the rise in the number of female gamers is increased access to multiple platforms which makes gaming more convenient than what it used to be in the past. As a female, when your device allows you to land on any gaming site with ease, games are just a click away from you.
Genre Preferences by Gender
Davidson conducted an in-depth study into game genre preferences by gender and the outcome is quite interesting and enlightening. According to the research result, compared to the females, male players are 13.6% likely to go for the Action genre which is not far from what is expected. On the other hand, the females are the complete opposite with a 16.8% preference for games from the casual genre.
This obviously aligns with the increased availability of a wide variety of casual, short-term games that are easily accessible on mobiles and consoles which are the preferable gaming platforms for ladies. Some of the games preferred by ladies include puzzles, quizzes, quizzes, strategies, social slots, find hidden objects, and many more.
This rising availability of casual games is partly responsible for the reason why the number of female gaming enthusiasts is increasing by the day. With that said, it is important to note that both genders favor both fighting and strategy genres equally.
Character Representation
Character representation within a game and outside also influences how the women population views certain games and the same goes for the male population. When a gamer sees a relatable character in a franchise or a single game, they tend to engage with the game for a long time and the same goes for any character whose background tale they wish to explore.
Usually, female protagonists in video games have been somewhat limited as they were previously focused on attracting the attention of a younger male audience. This is the reason lead protagonists often come across as muscular alpha males, however, they can occasionally feature a female supporting act who often gives the impression of being oversexualized or depicting the banal “damsel in distress,”
With that mentioned, it is worthy to acknowledge the fact that the status quo is beginning to change albeit slowly. A good instance is the classic 90s icon, Lara Croft – with her miniature waist, tiny hotpants, and huge chest. In 2012, the female tomb raider finally transformed into a more convincing but aspirational and relatable lead protagonist. After Lara Croft, the number of female protagonists and characters in video games has been on the increase but that has not stopped female gamers from feeling that most female characters and protagonists are oversexualized.
Female gamers don’t just want to see a case of featuring a token female, what they want is strong characters and protagonists playing meaningful roles just to change the age-old belief that females can only play supporting acts in games. Important to note that slot machines for real money gambling also feature female characters frequently.
Even with all the recent success recorded in games with solo female protagonists, many game developers still entertain fears that the chances for success in games featuring female leads may be very slim. But then, games like The Last of Us have proved them wrong as non-stereotypical characters, like Abby and Ellie became so popular that the game still reached record sales and won multiple awards.
Nicola Davidson’s female players' survey revealed an encouraging trend in insights into female representation in games over the past half-decade. Nevertheless, this feeling that females are well represented is still in a minority of just 36%.
Do Women Play Slot Games?
You must have been wondering whether women have an interest in playing online slots and the answer is an unequivocal “yes”, in fact, Davidson’s research revealed that women have a penchant for slot machines and lotteries which has not ceased to surprise many. According to some of the female writer’s submissions, bettors who often hit gaming facilities are female homeowners. This demographic is allegedly aged 55 to 60 and reportedly, they are likely to be college graduates with annual remunerations of over $55,000.
Important to note that the increased number of women gamblers has inspired game developers to go into massive launching of female-specific products. Even the hybrid platforms these days include games that are considered to be more suited to women.
Wrapping Up
An intensive analysis of gender demographics and trends in gaming shows that women and girls are neck-deep into gaming activities and are even showing signs of overtaking their male counterparts. However, gender preferences vary with platforms and genre and the issue of character representation in online games which tends to favor men have continued to raise heated debates among the gaming public but the narrative appears to be changing, albeit slowly.