Whether you’re a teenager or a man in his early 30s who grew up on classic video game consoles like Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and PlayStation, there is something about gaming that you may not know – and that your mother may not want you to know! Namely, that adult women are now the largest single demographic of gamers. In fact, adult women significantly outnumber teenagers, and come second in total numbers only to ALL male gamers combined – adult and minors, alike. This change in gamer demographics is no small footnote; it has the capacity to fundamentally change the gaming industry, and is already being felt, both in console and mobile gaming markets. But how did this come about?
The Emergence of Mobile Gaming and Its Impact on the Industry
With the explosion of the iPhone onto the market in 2007, and subsequent launches from competitors far and wide, an entirely new industry was born: mobile games. Available through app stores, often for free, these relatively simple games gave up much in terms of performance and graphics to their computer and console counterparts, but more than made up for these shortcomings in playability, accessibility, and fun quotient. Put simply, because mobile games initially weren’t very good on a technical level, they had to be stripped down to their core elements – and in the process, they became really appealing.
This new gaming industry attracted a whole new demographic of gamers. Moms, grandmothers and adult women started flocking to these new mobile games (and, with the rise of Facebook around the same time as the smartphone, social games as well). By 2010, these women accounted for 40 percent of all game players; now, in 2015, that total is up to 48 percent. Teenage boys by comparison? They account for just 17 percent of video gamers. These numbers illustrate two things: 1. stereotypes aren’t always based in reality (in fact, they usually aren’t); and 2. the video game industry has changed radically, and perhaps for good. So what’s in store for the future?
Game Companies Everywhere are Starting to Make an About-face
We can expect two major developments in mobile (and console) gaming in the near future. The first will be the industry-wide adoption of these new female gamers.
In-game ads will become more egalitarian, if not outright female-centric, and games themselves will start to be tailored to female audiences. Though it may be some time before scantily clad female warriors are absent from games altogether (and in fact, may never be), we can expect more female protagonists, more titles developed with the casual gamer in mind, and a greater implementation of advertising and digital sales into mobile and console games. Post-transaction sales (that is, sales made after the game is purchased or downloaded) are now a staple of the video game industry, and with adult women (i.e., individuals with disposable income, unlike, say, teenagers) now the largest gaming demographic, this tactic is only going to become more pervasive.
The second development, and one that is already taking place, is the further encroachment on console gaming by mobile and social media titles. With Snapdragon’s advanced mobile technology capable of producing beautiful, real-life graphics on mobile hardware, gamers are no longer reliant on consoles for titles that are visually resplendent and rich in gameplay. In fact, many console titles, such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, have already made the jump. In the very near future, the line between console and mobile gaming may be indistinguishable, even to the hardcore gamer.
It’s a New World Out There – Embrace It
Women gamers are here to stay and the gaming industry must and will change to reflect this new consumer demographic. So face it teenagers and young men – your moms are now hipper than you!
Thumbnail image from shutterstock.com
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1Fi5DzS via small business marketing company
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1v6wMCi
No comments:
Post a Comment