Women are elbowing out men in the online video game space, making up nearly two-thirds of all online gamers, a new study found.
Some 64% of U.S. Internet gamers are female, according to Nielsen Entertainment’s third annual Active Gamer Benchmark Study. Of the 117 million active gamers in the U.S. this year, more than half (56%) play online games. Active gamers—players 13 and up who own a gaming device and play games at least one hour per week—spend upwards of five hours a week playing games. Teenagers led the group, comprising 40% of active gamers who average about seven hours of game play per week. Adults 45 and older make up more than 15 million, or nearly 13% of the group, the study found.
“We see everyday how important online gaming is in terms of connecting people and bringing communities of gamers together,” said Emily Della Maggiora, senior VP-Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, in a statement. “From a simple battle in Halo to a more immersive communal experience, online gaming has the power to unite gamers across the street and/or around the world.”
Last month, Nielsen gave attendees of The L.A. Office RoadShow Hollywood event, a four-day entertainment marketing conference in Hollywood, a sneak peak into other details of the study (PROMO Xtra, Sept. 20, 2006).
While the number of female gamers is growing in online games, men still outpace women in the video game space two to one, Nielsen Entertainment said. The findings give brand marketers further insight in how to reach consumers whose attention is drifting from traditional media via product placement deals.
Gamers are loyal. The majority of active gamers say they usually pre-order a title or buy it the first day of its release and choose role-playing games, the study found. On average, active gamers bought four games over the last six months, the study said. Of that number, 90% of gamers bought games in retails stores, where 10% bought games online, it said.
Active gamers spend $58 a month on entertainment, $16 of that amount on video games, Nielsen said. Gamers spend about a quarter of their time (13 hours of our 55.3 hours) playing video games, the study found. Music follows video games as the second most popular activity among active gamers, according to the study.
Nielsen surveyed 2,200 active gamers 13 and older online in July. Each participant owned a gaming device and play games at least one hour per week.
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