GDC08: Gamer genders, in graph form

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 21st 2008 at 6:00AM }

We were amused by this graph from Sony's PSN presentation. According to their internal data, 92% of registered PSN gamers are male. Only 4% are female! It looks like hardcore gamers are still predominantly testosterone-driven. Should we be depressed, or disturbed, that there are as many female gamers as those whose genders are "unidentified"?

Tags: female, gdc08, gender, male

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

ZenGaijin @ Feb 21st 2008 6:04AM

Damn, thats a staggering majority.

Oh,crap I'm finally apart of the majority, cool I guess.

......FIGHT THE POWER!!!

Stef Geiger @ Feb 21st 2008 6:06AM

The "unidentified" ones are likely the same morons who neglect to indicate their sex on facebook.

Pointz @ Feb 21st 2008 6:12AM

Unidentified is dog's, tranvestites and Michael Jackson.

Laggy @ Feb 21st 2008 8:27AM

Does Bubbles count as another one, or is he playing on MJ's account?

David @ Feb 21st 2008 9:28AM

She blinded me with science?

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 21st 2008 12:19PM

SCIENCE!!

Psaakyrn @ Feb 21st 2008 6:15AM

Unidentified as in yes.

Corey B. @ Feb 21st 2008 6:21AM

The Green Pac-Man that is the male demographic will snack on the females and the crazy unigenders!

Nigeria @ Feb 21st 2008 6:23AM

I've found identified:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sk7dSPG7kE

Danny @ Feb 21st 2008 6:36AM

Unidentified: Males who are too lazy to fill out optional parts of forms, and males who sometimes like to pretend that they're female.

ClarkyCat @ Feb 21st 2008 6:49AM

Unidentified - Female gamers that don't want to be stalked because female gamers are so totally NOT attention seekers; IMAFEMALEGAMERPLEASELOOKATMEANDSHOWERMEWITHLIFEAFFIRMINGCOMPLIMENTSANDSEXUALPROPOSITIONSSOIWONTCRYWHENILOOKINTHEMIRRORATNIGHT! Ahem.
Women don't have the mental capacity to appreciate videogames. Scientific fact. No *actual* proof for it, but it's scientific fact.

qo_op @ Feb 21st 2008 7:06AM

Ron Burgandy: "Its Science!"

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Feb 21st 2008 10:29AM

Heh, was just thinking of this Anchorman quote. Also, this statistic does not surprise me at all. Most female gamers are so very aware that they're playing in a male-saturated field that it becomes a part of their hobby.

Pankster @ Feb 22nd 2008 1:40PM

Jesus, and you wonder why the female numder is only 4%. If male gamers aren't constantly asking us our ASL OMG UR A REAL GRL!?!??!?!?, they're telling us our level 40 druid isn't as hardcore as theirs. You guys are retrarded :/

LeChuck @ Feb 21st 2008 7:09AM

I'm guessing the unidentifieds are mostly girls trying to avoid being hit on by lamea**es.

Sam @ Feb 21st 2008 7:13AM

Females = Males pretending to be females.

Unidentified = The real females that don't want to be stalked/harassed, or otherwise wnat to admit that they are female gamers.

FOXHOUND @ Feb 21st 2008 7:21AM

"You sound hot, are you hot?"

James @ Feb 21st 2008 7:45AM

What a sausagefest. I'm glad when I play my Wii at least half the people I'm playing with are girls.

(waits for someone to take my post seriously)

Ethan @ Feb 21st 2008 9:07AM

So you do three-player then?

x876543 @ Feb 21st 2008 8:21AM

The graph also shows that males are more stupid compared to females. Hence why females don't normally buy the PS3. Now I'd like to see the Wii stats of gender, to bad they don't exist.

Jtenma @ Feb 21st 2008 8:45AM

Of course males are more stupid than females, that's why females bought only a Wii.

...wait.

Jtenma @ Feb 21st 2008 8:42AM

I've heard that there are "NO GIRLS ON THE INTARNETS" some place....

samfish @ Feb 21st 2008 9:07AM

What's a...FE...male?

FOXHOUND @ Feb 21st 2008 9:14AM

They're the things that get me a beer, cook me pie 'n steak, and clean the floor. They're clumsy folk too... always trippin' down the stairs and hitting their face on the doorknob, usually after mouthin' off during my tv time! >:O

/pig

Jtenma @ Feb 21st 2008 9:16AM

OMg GOD. LOLOLOLOLBBQ

FOXHOUND I literally lol'd srsly dude +1!!!!!111!

LOL @ "make me a sandwich" attitude!

Co @ Feb 21st 2008 10:45AM

I find it humerous when I talk to females and they mention a Playstation or Xbox as "that stupid thing my husband's always ignoring me for".

On the flip side, I enjoy talking to the hot chicks in the Wii/DS section about what our favorite games are.

This graph does not lie, and should just include the Xbox brand up at the top as well for good measure. Also not a lie: the people that will inevitably reply to me saying "oh me and my chick play together on the 360 all the time brah" are the exception, not the rule.

Donald @ Feb 21st 2008 9:10AM

"Joanna, fire."

ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 21st 2008 11:21AM

+1 for XKCD reference.

Vejadu @ Feb 21st 2008 10:20AM

This is misleading -- this data only represents gamers who play online on the PSN. This doesn't include platforms like Wii and DS, where there are far more female gamers, or online games like MMOs and casual web games.

GRANTED @ Feb 21st 2008 10:29AM

how is that misleading? it says, "registered PSN gamers."

what's misleading is that my girlfriend plays on my PSN account, thereby avoiding the registration process completely. males are the dominant gamers in most relationships, thus there's no reason to set up another account.

Mitsuo @ Feb 21st 2008 12:38PM

You know the females could just put themselves as males to decrease the chance that guys will go, "OMGWTFBBQ! A FEMALE!" and then proceed to ask for ASL and other things.

waynski1457 @ Feb 21st 2008 10:06AM

hermaphrodites (lady-man ladies)
even you must be in to you too

FOXHOUND @ Feb 21st 2008 10:24AM

LOL, of course... the skit from FAMILY GUY came to mind.

Jo: Uh, Mrs. Garrett, can I ask you something?
Mrs. Garrett: What is it Jo?
Jo: Um... is it alright if your penis and vagina touch each other?
Mrs. Garrett: What?!
Jo: Yeah, I kinda woke up this morning and they were sort of touching each other.
Mrs. Garrett: You have both?!
Jo: Yeah, doesn't everyone?
Mrs. Garrett: No!

waynski1457 @ Feb 22nd 2008 4:59PM

lol, i love family guy, but my comment was a reference to flight of the conchords.

Simstim @ Feb 21st 2008 10:20AM

unidentified is the furry population duh

Pointz @ Feb 21st 2008 10:27AM

Aliens filled out the unidentified section.

Then they said to Sony, "take us to your market leader" and proceeded to fill out a Wii survey.

In that respect only 10 females have a PS3.

GRANTED @ Feb 21st 2008 10:31AM

i'm pretty sure you used "in that respect" incorrectly, seeing as it doesn't refer back to anything relevant. also, math tells us that the number is closer to 400,000.

Lianne @ Feb 21st 2008 11:20AM

I have a feeling there are more female gamers on the 360, and there are most definitely more female gamers on the Wii and DS.

ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 21st 2008 11:23AM

Just to add into the pile of facts: only one 1 of 25 game developers is female.

Pointz @ Feb 21st 2008 12:26PM

@ GRANTED

It was a rough figure

go4broke @ Feb 21st 2008 12:51PM

I call BS. All this means is that two people living together the guy is more likely to put his name on the hardware. However in most households of 35 and under gaming is a social activity that both sexes participate in and frequently the couples buy games for each other.

Frankly this is a BS statistic and the fact that Sony is putting it up there without qualifying its statement is just plain stupid.

32_Footsteps @ Feb 21st 2008 1:37PM

So... what they're saying is, the hermaphrodite audience for gaming is the same as the female audience for gaming?

Personally, I think that percentage raises a boatload of questions. Even the most conservative estimates of female gaming I've seen hovers in the 20-25% range. This is both from personal experience and credible surveys done in the past (I personally trust the ones that tilt closer to the 50/50 mark - I know a ton of female gamers).

So there's the chance that their methodology is really screwed up. But then again, this is just who identifies their gender on PSN... there is the chance that the PS3 is just that heavily tilted towards men in terms of marketing and sales. I know some like to dismiss the idea of marketing towards women (strangely, they're usually the anti-Nintendo fanboys...), but it is kind of odd that Sony is effectively ignoring half the population.

Kristina @ Feb 21st 2008 2:52PM

There are so few females represented in the graph because we're smart enough to know not to buy the PS3 for at least a couple years.

Lekko @ Feb 21st 2008 4:32PM

That's a lot of Pat.

Pedobear @ Feb 21st 2008 10:44PM

Statistics seem reasonable to me. If I go play online right now, about 90% of the people I will end up playing with are guys.

luag @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:43AM

Maybe the ladies are playing their NDS.

Random goodness @ Feb 23rd 2008 11:30AM

Wow only 4% women huh? I knew there weren't that many woman who were gamers, i guess it just sruprises me because I'm a woman who loves video games, and my apartment along with the majority of my friends are female gamers as well..maybe it's only 4% because femals are perhaps more secrative about their gaming???