{"id":20058,"date":"2010-08-06T19:29:16","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T18:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=20058"},"modified":"2010-08-06T19:29:16","modified_gmt":"2010-08-06T18:29:16","slug":"game-demographics-she%e2%80%99s-young-she%e2%80%99s-practiced-she%e2%80%99s-good-she%e2%80%99s-not-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/game-demographics-she%e2%80%99s-young-she%e2%80%99s-practiced-she%e2%80%99s-good-she%e2%80%99s-not-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Demographics &#8211;   She\u2019s Young, She\u2019s Practiced, She\u2019s Good, She\u2019s Not Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n         google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the <strong>opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> <\/span><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> \u2013Mark Poppin,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/span><\/span><\/strong> <strong> <\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20065\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-1.jpg?resize=332%2C223\" alt=\"Untitled-1\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-1.jpg?resize=332%2C223 332w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-1-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cListen, you moron! I am here to stay and if you don&#8217;t wanna\u2019 be in my life, you&#8217;ve got two choices. Move out or Ring out! That&#8217;s it! End of File!<\/em>\u201d <strong>\u2013 Lt. Jordan O\u2019Neill (Demi Moore), G.I. Jane (1997), Caravan Pictures<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>When we were growing up, our parents used to tell us to go out and play in the street.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>They meant it!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today, entertainment is at our kids\u2019 finger tips \u2013 computer video, game systems, standard TV, premium TV, mobile phone entertainment, music, and online Website options.<\/p>\n<p>Nielsen Research says that about 5 percent of all U.S. family entertainment dollars is spent on video games.\u00a0 With video game households that percentage jumps to 9.3 percent of the monthly entertainment dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Video gaming families also tend to spend more of their entertainment budget at home, rather than activities like eating out, shopping or basic TV cable packages.<\/p>\n<p>But the stereotype gamer has gone the way of the dizzying array of gaming options.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no longer our kid and his buddies barricaded back in his room firing rockets\/mortars, jackin&#8217; cars, showing off their skills on his Xbox or PS3.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not locked away online with World of Warcraft and a gazillion other MMOG players.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s sorta\u2019 ticked that he and his buds don\u2019t dominate video gaming.<\/p>\n<p>As we saw at E3, Wii has been a game and gaming image changer.<\/p>\n<p>Our daughter got real serious when the Wii was introduced and now plays a lot of tennis and works out every day.<\/p>\n<p>This year, hardware folks announced their version of the Wii controller and showed off their off-the-couch games.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, both of the kids also have a ton of social media game sites they can choose.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re never without their smartphones and stash of (mostly free or super cheap) one-person and multi-player games.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Queen of the Games<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s surprising is over half of the adults play video games, according to Pew Internet research.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20064\" title=\"Untitled-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-2.jpg?resize=418%2C196\" alt=\"Untitled-2\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-2.jpg?resize=418%2C196 418w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-2-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 2 \u2013 New Regime \u2013 <\/strong>Females \u2013 young and old \u2013 have become major influences in the types of games that are played online and offline with smartphones.\u00a0 Game publishers need to pay more attention to the volumes rather than the \u201cexcitement\u201d of the game for the best return on investment.\u00a0 <strong>Source &#8212; ESA<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In fact, four out of five young adults play.<\/p>\n<p>Pew found that 53 percent of American adults age 18 and older play video games and 21 percent play every day or almost every day.<\/p>\n<p>Among adults, computers are the most popular gaming device, while young adults prefer consoles.<\/p>\n<p>Still, video gaming is a teen activity with 97 percent playing.<\/p>\n<p>But when it comes to the new category of social gaming, the average player is a 43-year-old woman.<\/p>\n<p>So if some kid hollers at your son, \u201c<em>Your mother wears combat boots!\u201d <\/em>He can take the dude down a notch or two, <em>\u201cYeah and farm boots and Prada and gad, is she in terrific shape !!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lightspeed Research found that nearly half of social network users play games and women are playing more casual games than men.<\/p>\n<p>As you would guess (hope), males\/females play totally different games.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20063\" title=\"Untitled-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-3.jpg?resize=406%2C432\" alt=\"Untitled-3\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-3.jpg?resize=406%2C432 406w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-3-281x300.jpg 281w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 3 \u2013 Distinctive Difference \u2013 <\/strong>Even the most fanatical gamer understands that males are different from females.\u00a0 And the difference really shows up when you look at their gaming preferences.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Nielsen Company<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The ladies though are a lot like Lt. O\u2019Neil, <em>\u201cJust treat me the same. No better, no worse.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Twenty-eight percent of females who are online play games like FarmVille, MafiaWars, Bejeweled, Insaniquarium.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to playing games, females are more active on the Internet doing <strong><em>everything!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The mobile smartphone gamer segment jumped dramatically in the number of female players.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Heavy Gaming<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More than one-third of the ladies play games several times a day.<\/p>\n<p>Thirty percent play 30-60 minutes, while 4 in 10 participate in social games 1-5 hours a week.<\/p>\n<p>In the social gaming arena, Facebook is the leading destination with 83 percent of the ladies heading there to play weekly.\u00a0 In fact, half of the female gamers surveyed by PopCap said they only log onto their social sites to play.<\/p>\n<p>Info Solutions Group projected that about 100 million folks actively played social games.<\/p>\n<p>Research also showed that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>More      than 60 percent of social gamers say on average, they play more than half      an hour at a time, 10 percent 3 hours or more.<\/li>\n<li>Facebook      is the most popular destination for social gamers &#8212; 83 percent play games      there compared to MySpace (24 percent), Bebo (7 percent), Friendster (5 percent).<\/li>\n<li>Social      gamers spend 39 percent of their time on social sites playing games,      compared with chatting with\/messaging friends.\u00a0 \u00a0Half      (49 percent) only go to the sites to play games.<\/li>\n<li>The most popular games are      Farmville (69 percent play once a week or more), Bejeweled (65 percent      once a week or more), Texas Hold\u2019em Poker (63 percent) and Cafe World (61 percent).<\/li>\n<li>A little over half (53 percent)      of social gamers use gaming virtual money.<\/li>\n<li>More than 80 percent of      social gamers play social games with friends, family, colleagues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We\u2019ve watched the intensity of their game play and agree with Sgt. Cortez, <em>\u201cHey, O&#8217;Neil! I&#8217;d go to war with you any day!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>While women may have been attracted by the Wii, the other consoles \u2013 Xbox, PS3 \u2013 have seen online gaming increase, most of the game play is still offline.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20062\" title=\"Untitled-4\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-4.jpg?resize=378%2C191\" alt=\"Untitled-4\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-4.jpg?resize=378%2C191 378w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-4-300x151.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 4 \u2013 Offline Play \u2013 <\/strong>If you look at the numbers of interactive computer games, you might think that when people play their console, computer, smartphone games they are always competing against someone else.\u00a0 The truth is, most of the gameplay is offline.\u00a0 <strong>Source &#8212; NPD<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The single player and mobile games are just a good way to creatively waste time.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Older Gamers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pew Internet\u2019s recent study found that the new game consoles, new social sites and new games also appeal to senior Internet users.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re online doing the same things the younger adults do as well as the kids.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20061\" title=\"Untitled-5\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-5.jpg?resize=433%2C494\" alt=\"Untitled-5\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-5.jpg?resize=433%2C494 433w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-5-262x300.jpg 262w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 5 \u2013 Aging Gamers \u2013 <\/strong>People who grew up on the Atari game systems aren\u2019t ready to retire to the rocking chair.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019re playing and seriously.\u00a0 Research has also shown that gaming improves hand-eye coordination, exercises mental capacities and are good for the older gamer.\u00a0 <strong>Source &#8212; NPD<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Age makes a big difference in the way folks play.<\/p>\n<p>Young adults (18-29) prefer their game consoles (75 percent) and online computer play comes in second (63 percent).<\/p>\n<p>Older adults (29-45) prefer computers for game play (73 percent), compared to 53 percent who prefer console game playing.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the older adults like their single person, offline gaming \u2013 35 percent on mobile phones, 25 percent portable gaming devices.<\/p>\n<p>NPD and Nielsen attribute the Wii with its sports and fitness games as having been the systems that reintroduced older adults \u2013 55+ \u2013 to video games.<\/p>\n<p>Pew found that nearly a third of them play games every day, keeping them physically and mentally active.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Young Males Rule<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even though young males have seen the mystery stripped away from their dark, dingy video games, they still haven\u2019t lost their mastery over the mysteries of technology, according to recent studies by ICOM.<\/p>\n<p>Research shows that when folks want to know about techie stuff \u2013 mobile devices, games, game systems, TV sets, heck just about any electronic gadget \u2013 they\u2019re the first person to be asked.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20060\" title=\"Untitled-6\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-6.jpg?resize=404%2C234\" alt=\"Untitled-6\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-6.jpg?resize=404%2C234 404w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-6-300x173.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Figure 6 \u2013 Point Person \u2013 <\/strong>The young gamer fanatic may have lost his position as the most important for the game developers but they are very important for other PC\/CE\/communications manufacturers.\u00a0 They are the first people folks turn to for recommendations on products\/services.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Giant Realm<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And why not, cripes, they\u2019re usually the first person to buy into the new technology, the new product.\u00a0 Yep\u2026young males stand in those long lines late into the night when it\u2019s cold, rainy, miserable, you know \u2013 sucky!<\/p>\n<p>Not sure if that kind of loyalty makes them terribly bright; but what the heck, they get their hands on the new stuff first!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s great that they still command some portion of their universe because when it comes to using their game console, they can only hope their moms aren\u2019t around.<\/p>\n<p>One person you just don\u2019t cross \u2013 at least where we live \u2013 is the lady of the house.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20059\" title=\"Untitled-7\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-7.jpg?resize=196%2C228\" alt=\"Untitled-7\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Whenever our son thinks he has a say in things, his mother just looks at him and repeats Master Chief Urgayle\u2019s words, <em>\u201cThe ebb and flow of the Atlantic tides, the drift of the continents, the very position of the sun along its ecliptic. THESE are just a FEW of the things I control in my world!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yep\u2026we\u2019ll wait our turn!!!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"># # #<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<div><strong>By  G.A. &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken<\/strong><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>President<\/strong><strong> Marken Communications, Inc. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong> <a href=\"mailto:Andy@markencom.com\">Andy@markencom.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,6],"tags":[4028,4025,4027,3827,4026],"class_list":["post-20058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-news","tag-female-gamers","tag-game-demographics","tag-older-gamers","tag-online-games","tag-social-gaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}