Female Gamers on the Up

Females make up 47% of the total gaming population according to a recent survey conducted by Digital Australia.

The national survey using the Nielsen Your Voice Panel and conducted by Bond University questioned 1252 households and 3533 people across Australia.

Since 2005, female gamers have risen from 38% of the gaming population to 47% in what is seen widely in the digital world as imminent gender equalisation.

Gaming is now an outlet for men, women and children alike.

According to the study, 92% of all households surveyed owned games and gaming devices which is a steady growth from figures released in 2005. Consoles (PS3, XBox & Wii) and PCs are the main gaming devices used.

The study stated that current increases in gaming and digital technologies by both men and women is due to a greater adoption of digital media.

People are using digital media as a means of entertainment, relaxation and for educational purposes (90% of parents who play computer games use them to help educate their children).

The computer games industry is growing at a phenomenal rate.

According to the NPD Group Australia, games hardware and boxed software totalled $1.7 billion in the Australian Games Industry and is forecast to reach $2.5 billion by 2015 which is a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%.

With gaming increasing amongst males and females at an amazing speed, the industry will continue to expand.

Other interesting facts to arise from the recent survey include:

- The average age of video game players in Australia is 32 years, up from 30 in 2008.

- 75% of gamers in Australia are aged 18 years or older.

- 94% aged 6 to 15 compared with 43% of those aged 51 or older play video games.

- The average adult gamer has been playing video games for 12 years.

- Nearly 1 in 5 gamers play social network games.