Slashdot Mirror
Girl Gamers More Hardcore Than Guys
TheClockworkSoul writes "Scientific American reports on a study published this month in the Journal of Communication, which found that women who engage in a role-playing game online actually commit more time on average than the male players do. The authors surveyed 7,000 players logged in to EverQuest II (PDF), and found that the average age of the gamers surveyed was 31, and that playing time tended to increase with age. Interestingly, however, the female gamers not only tended to log more time online (29 hours per week versus 25 for the males), but were also more likely to lie about how much they really play."
Girl seeking WoW player
Anyone left in EQ is hard-core by definition. Why didn't they study WoW?
Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
-kfg
Which really begs the question; is it better to date a gaming girl or a 'normal' girl? Considering that many gaming girl's I've seen are quite cute and hot too.
Not that I have dated any gaming girls, but it might get boring after a while if both just played games. I never usually go anywhere, but I always kind of liked it when a gf dragged me out to city or to a bar (which is great just together). And it's fun to watch while she would play, or watch me while I'm playing. That probably wouldn't be the same if its just a normal thing. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind traveling in WoW or taking a round of MW2 or L4D with a gf.
And now we know why, they are all in the games.
And considering my own voice chat experience in MMO's, I am not all that surprised. Some seem to spend more time in game socializing.
But I have been told several times not to reveal their gender to others, or that they didn't want to use voice chat in PUG groups.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Also, we put up with alot of gruff from the army of fat male nerds that populate most video games. Most assume that girls can't play as well as men, which is not particularly true, in my experience there are an equal number of bad female and male players. For me personally, I go out of the way to see that I'm not just mediocre at a game I love, but that I excel in it. That way, if someone says HURR YOU'RE A GIRL, I can say "So what? I kicked your ass last night in RvR"
Sure baby, I'll give you my phone number...in Hex
Just because girls waste more time on MMOs on average than boys doesn't mean they're more 'hardcore' gamers.
Most assume that girls can't play as well as men
Is this actually true? I've seen a lot of not-so-nice stuff, to downright stalking, in online games directed towards female players, but I've never seen the "oh a girl, she can't really play well" line.
For what it's worth, my Steam friend list (mainly L4D centric) has a bunch of female players, and they're all better than average, some very much so. Then again, the most skilled one of them also hangs out at 4chan, which, I guess, kinda proves the point of TFA.
If there are plenty of you playing, what makes you think that the publishers and marketers are doing anything wrong?
In other words, it seems to me there are two assumptions.
1) That girls don't game, because games are aimed at guys.
2) That girls don't game, because the marketing for those games is aimed at guys.
If the first assumption is false - that girls like games with swords and guns and stuff that's outside the horrible "girl gamer" stereotype of Cooking Mama and The Sims - then why must the second assumption be true? If girls accept the games, won't the accept the marketing for those games in the same way? And in fact, isn't their use of these games proof of the same?
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
Housewives.
Most female players I've known have been housewives, and were able to put so much time in compared to their spouses because their spouses were out working.
I used to be at home during the day because I worked at a newspaper where our hours were 8am to 8pm Mon, Tues, Fri, 8am to 6pm Weds and 8am to 12pm on Thurs so always had Thursday afternoons and Friday off as that's when the paper went to print. On those Thursday afternoons and Fridays I recall many times speaking to female guild mates who were in their mid to late twenties and early thirties playing because they'd done the house work and had nothing else to do. They'd play for hours in the day and continue to play with their partner when their partner got home.
MMORPGs are mainstream. Shmups are hardcore. Come and talk to me again when you find girls who can one-credit Ikaruga.
Circumcision is child abuse.
Maybe more of my friends would play. Maybe I would play different games. Maybe I'd have a character who doesn't have to run around scantily clad with huge breasts. These are things we do complain about (and are reasons some of my other female friends won't start playing). And there are plenty of games I won't even look at because these images are all that constitute the marketing of the game. I'm just saying the games could milk more money out of their players by focusing some energy on us girls!