Into the Minds of Women Gamers

Over the past three years, we've witnessed a massive shift in who plays online games. With the huge popularity of games on Facebook and the rapid uptake of smartphones, games are now played by almost everyone.

The two biggest changes have been in gender and average age of the game player. The average age of the Australian online gamer is now 34 and they are almost as likely to be a woman as a man with the gender split at almost 50:50. This infographic from Gamehouse, one of the largest online games developers in the US, gives us a detailed look at US women game players. Apart from the fact that they apparently have more sex than their non-gaming counterparts (was this report authored by a man, perchance?), they are also more active and more social. Interestingly, they don't play games online to socialise, however, they play to relieve stress and to have a break from busy lives.

The report mostly confirms what we already know about women gamers - that they are more likely to have children under 18, that they are older and that they tend to play in the evenings, after the kids have gone to bed. It also confirms one of the most obvious things about games and play - they make players feel smarter and happier!