Report: Adult Women Gamers, Now Double the Number of Under-18 Boys

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Best Known for its VideoGame Rating System, Issued its Annual "sales, demographic and usage data" Report on Thursday, Chock Full of Statistics about Console, PC and Mobile Gaming. The Numbers are All Worth Poring Over but, this Year's Report Highlights a Particular Demographic Explosion: Adult Women, whose Gaming Ranks Now More than Double the Long-Sought-After Demographic of Boys Under the Age of 18. According to the ESA's Measure of 2013 Sales, Women Ages 18 and Over, Now Constitute 36% of All Measured Gamers, Compared to Boys Under the Age of 18, Who Represent 17% of the Total Population.


This Measure Shows a Further Increase from Last Year's Count of 31% to 19% (and that 2013 Measure Only Counted Boys 17 and Younger, Meaning the Total Boost May be Even Bigger this Year). While Males still Hold the Total Gamer-Population Lead at 52%, that is a Drop from Last Year's Count of 55% and the Survey's Count of "frequent game purchasers" Found that Men and Women Split that Category Neatly in Half. The Report also Notes a Giant Boost in Women Gamers Over the Age of 50, a Group that Grew 32% in 2013. However, the Report Didn't Break Down the Gender Divide in Genre Preference or Software, Possibly because the ESA Doesn't Track Sales Figures on Digital Platforms like the iOS App Store and Steam.


This also Puts its Estimation of 2013's Top-Selling Computer Games in Doubt; the ESA's Tally Currently Counts 7 Versions of The Sims 3 (including Expansion Packs) in its Top-20 List, which we Estimate Would Change if Download Figures were Included. The Report Stated that, "casual / social game" Use Jumped Up 55% in the Past Year, but Again, Thanks to a Lack of Data, Readers were Left to Wonder How Much of that was Directly Impacted by a Rising Older-Woman Demographic. To Fill in those Cracks, a PBS Report Pointed to an Early-August Study by Mobile Advertising Company, Flurry Analytics, which Found that, Women Players Spent Over 30% More Money on Mobile Games via In-App Purchases than Men.




Info Sources:

http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2014.pdf

http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/female-adults-oust-teenage-boys-largest-gaming-demographic

http://www.flurry.com/blog/flurry-insights/mobile-gaming-females-beat-males-money-time-and-loyalty