Are computer games being taken over by women?

[karl]

Picture a typical computer gamer and what do you see? A spotty adolescent boy locked away in his bedroom? Get with the programme. Forty-nine per cent of gamers are now women - despite the best efforts of some male gamers to keep them away.

If it hadn’t been for my brother Chris, I might never have got into computer games.
Back in the 1980s, he owned an Acorn Electron, which somehow got handed on to me when he left for university, and I spent my early years playing titles such as Killer Gorilla, Vegas Jackpot and Repton.
The gameplay was primitive – left, right, up and down, controlled with a temperamental keyboard – but there was something magical about taking a boring old cassette tape and seeing it transmuted into apes and princesses and faraway lands.


Full story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/10086627/Are-computer-games-being-taken-over-by-women.html

[Horatio Nelson]

49% is less than half. So not much of a shocker there.

[WickedWeekend]

Sexist. Some people just can't accept that women can be gamers. The woman who wrote this article is like, "Oh yeah. I'm a gamer girl. Surprising, isn't it?" I couldn't be bothered to read the rest of the article because it clearly puts gamers in a box.

[Jess]

So what if there are women gamers? Not really surprising.

[zeebo]

While I think it's great there are female gamers, your statistic isn't true. Just over 20% of gamers are girls (I've seen this statistic a few places); However this number is increasing.

[ShatteredWings]

Dude. There are women playing video games.
AND WOMEN ARE GETTING EDUCATIONS TOO.

Imagine that.

Why is this news?

[PinkFloyd]

I don't really see a surprise. I ran into al least 20 female gamers on Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox Live today.

[Silicate Wielder]

My older sister is a gamer, so I'm not really surprised by this.

[Human]

That's fabulous, I don't really see why it's news
Although I think the statistics must be wrong, if I enter a game on xbox live (almost any game) I'd only see a female gamer every couple of game lobbies.
So from personal experience I'd disagree, and the industry is definitely not being took over by women, if you consider the reality.

[Bath]

Yes I Am Girl. Yes I Play Video Games (:

[Twilly F. Sniper]

Not too surprising. Girls wanna play too apparently.

[Unique Physique]

Not really surprising, but there does seem to be a slight stigma against female gamers - or rather serious female gamers. I'm a girl and if I tell someone I'm a gamer, they usually think I mean some sort of fluffy or casual game like the Sims or Mario or something - when I tell them I'm a Metal Gear Solid fan they act all shocked.

I don't play video games online, but online gaming forums tend to be 99% male and they will either treat you favourably for being a female - or front this obnoxious elitist "tits or gtfo" attitude, particularly the more established members. You'd think they're just immature adolescents, but men in their mid 20's on these forums are just as bad (not saying all people on gaming forums are morons, but the morons are unfortunately very noticeble!)