The stereotype of the average video game player as young, nerdy and male is out of touch with the reality, according to reports by CNet and CNN.
According to the Interactive Game Developers Association, 40% of all video game players are women. The Entertainment Software Association says the 38% of gamers that are female spend an average 7.4 hours a week playing games.
The number of women that enjoy playing games may not be reflected in the gender make-up of the industry that makes them, however. According to another IGDA survey, just 12% of game industry workers are women.
The reason may be a feeling the games are still geared more towards men than women. Sony Online Entertainment surveyed the women participating in game developer courses run by arts institutes in the US – 60% said they believed male dominance in the industry was a deterrent to women pursuing a career in gaming.
"Women are out there in significant numbers playing MMOs, action games, first-person shooters. What is lacking in the equation are women behind these games," Sony Online senior vice president of global sales and marketing Torrie Dorrell says.
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