Study Shows Near Equal Split Between Female and Male Gamers

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Fun facts about the video game industry

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) released a report titled "Essential Facts About the Computer and Video game Industry" that's filled with sales, demographic, and usage data. According to the report, 59 percent of Americans play video games with an average of two gamers in each game playing U.S. household. Some 51 percent of U.S. households own a dedicated game console, and of those that do, most own two. As for the gender breakdown, 52 percent of gamers are male and 48 percent are female. However, things get interesting when you examine the breakdown by age.
"Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game playing population (36 percent) than boys age 18 or younger (17 percent)," ESA states in its report (PDF).
Also interesting is that the number of female gamers age 50 and older increased by 32 percent from 2012 to 2013. ESA didn't provide any reasons for the rise, but we'd guess it has to do with accessibility, such as playing games on tablets and smartphones.
Not surprisingly, casual and social game play on mobile devices and online went up "significantly" as well. Among the most frequent gamers, social games are now the most popular, increasing in popularity by 55 percent from 2012 to 2013.

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