Tech News
Survey: More girls than boys own videogame consoles
By Stevie Smith
Sep 26, 2007, 14:24 GMT

While it has often been labelled as a predominantly male-oriented pastime and industry, a new survey regarding the purchasing and ownership of videogame hardware suggests some serious trend bucking across male and female gender association has take place.

The survey, conducted by advertising agency JWT, claims that male console owners in the United States are being surpassed in number by female enthusiasts. More pointedly, JWT’s "Denizens of Digitivity" survey returned that 44 percent of the women polled said they owned a home console such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox, or PlayStation. By comparison, only 39 percent of men said they owned a home console.

The survey, which was carried out between September 07 and September 11, only sought the feedback of approximately 1,000 people and perhaps cannot be seen as completely indicative of genuine gender trends. However, it does exist to further strengthen the idea that the established view of videogames players as being 18-to-34, single, and male can no longer be considered as accurate.

Indeed, a related MediaPost report indicates that a JWT trend newsletter from 2006 offered that female gamers are on the increase, and that while girls tend to lean away from games centring on violence, their demographic presence through the dance and music genres are leading to women increasing their collective foothold in the market.

"The idea of gaming being just for the 18-34 male set is now out of date," commented Ann Mack, JWT’s director of trend spotting. "You’re seeing women playing games like ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ and ‘Guitar Hero’ – women under 35 who want to do something fun and social."

Other figures returned by the survey revealed that women are also more likely that men to own a digital camera, while men below the 35-year-old mark are more likely to use Wi-Fi at home and also connect to the Net while on-the-move. Digital dependence is also covered by the survey, with only 55 percent of those polled saying they could live without the Internet for a couple of days, while 58 percent say they could happily be deprived of the Net for an entire week.

In terms of the growing influence of women in gaming, Ann Mack suggests that the demographic-busting Nintendo Wii and its innovative motion-sensing controllers have contributed significantly to videogames being seen as a more socially motivated experience that spans all genders and all ages.