The small differences between men and women: Do they also exist in gaming?
Gender-typical clichés abound – even in gaming, but are there really clear preferences among women that differ from those of men? Do women play different games than men? Do women find out about games differently than men? Fortunately, there are studies that address this issue, so unfounded stereotypes are not spread unnecessarily. The Gamer Consumer Insights come to the following conclusion[1]:
Yes, there are differences, but they are marginal on the whole. Not only is the split of gamers almost 50/50 as far as women and men are concerned, but women mainly don’t play different games than men. Small differences do exist, however:
- Women and men prefer to play on smartphones, but the numbers of male PC and console users are significantly higher than those of women.
- Women and men find new games primarily through friends and family. However, women more often use social networks to find information, while men are more likely to visit gaming sites for this purpose.
- In terms of game genres, women have a broad interest in game types, while men tend to specialize. Women try more genres, but prefer puzzle games especially on the smartphone, men rather strategy games. On consoles and PCs, action adventures dominate for women and shooters for men.
- Men also spend more money on gaming, especially on PCs, i.e. on hardware and accessories. However, this could also be due to the fact that advertising for these products appeals more to men than to women.
Conclusion: There are indeed small differences, but they are becoming smaller and smaller. The fact that more and more successful games such as Overwatch, Uncharted or Horizon, but also The Last of Us have female protagonists, also brings more and more women to gaming. So the trend is clearly that women and men are more similar than different when it comes to gaming.