In 2007, female gamers accounted for 38% of the total gaming population. Actually, more than half (55%) of online gamers are women who spent about the same amount of time as men playing. But, what a new research study reveals are the benefits of being a female online gamer: they are more social, popular and even have a healthier sexual life.
GameHouse's recent study, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows that women who play online games socialize at least once each day in person, are more active on social networks, have a serious relationship, works out more and have more sex than a woman who doesn't.
This positive behaviors are especially perceived at the mobile social gamer segment, those who play through their mobile phone, smartphone or tablet computer. Again, made of more female than men, they are consideres to be highly engaged, younger, more educated and more affluent users. This characteristics are even more remarkable with freemium games customers, the current hot-trend in the gaming industry, where in-app purchases (IAP) account for 72% of App Store Revenue (read more).
As the growth of iOS and Android mobile devices continues to explode, so as their technology and the facility for users to be connected, the amount and variety of app games available at the market has been enormously increased. Between so many choices, the ones preferred by women are those which bring not only fun, excitement and stress relief, but also allow figuring out things socially. Casual and role-playing games provide users engaging and creative experiences through reality integration.
Specially, being fashion one of the favorite trends these days, developers inside the video game industry are creating a huge amount of online dress up games in order to delight fashionistas around the world. Most of them provide users the chance to create a personal avatar, be the protagonist of their chosen storyline and develop their own original and sophisticated style.
Why do many women all around the world enjoy this kind of online games, furthermore for being another interactive entertainment, is because their great possibilities for self-expression. Sadly, some people still believe in wrong ideas and, while trying to offer harmless games about "girl stuff", they fail in sexist concepts and determinate it as only shopping, dating or trying to look "hot". These attitudes are being criticized for gender stereotyping as they offer a bad role model, leaving one only professional chance for players, “mobile models” that must reach the highest top of the fashion social race.
Sadly, this simplistic concept agrees with the portrayal of women through the story in television, film or advertisement. Female roles have been commonly misunderstood and limited to dangerous icons such as relative powerlessness, limited range of occupations, lack of respect for women’s abilities or unattainable imposed standards of beauty.
Emphasizing the positive change that video games can make in society, developers need to delight the female-half of their customers in order to succeed. Most important of all is getting rid of old prejudices and accepting the reality these days. That way they can offer enjoyable chances to online gamers for being truly creative and making something their own, without lacking truly female essential characteristics of self-improvement, job self-sufficiency, educated, resolutive, sophisticated and highly socialized.
