Ruling the controller: The rise of female gamers

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When UW-Madison senior Alison Manley is in need of some relaxation, she turns to her television. But instead of channel surfing, she turns on her PlayStation 2 and spends some time immersed in the world of role-playing and fantasy games.

She’s not the only one. According to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2010 consumer survey, 40 percent of all video game players are women. Perhaps even more surprising is that women over 18 years of age form a greater proportion of the game-playing population, comprising 33 percent of gamers, than boys age 17 or younger, who are only 20 percent. In other words, the stereotypical picture of a gamer as a white, awkward teenage boy has been blown out of the water.

But what types of games do these “gamer” women play, and why?

The ESA found that 42 percent of female gamers play online for at least an hour per week. Of all those games played online, half are board, puzzle, trivia or card games; but what about the rest?

Many gamers and developers assume women shy away from first-person shooter games in favor of games such as “Cooking Mama” or “Sally’s Salon,” which are feminine-looking time management games for women.

Manley is not a fan of such games. “It seems like the ones that I end up gravitating toward are the RPGs [role-playing games], the quests, the science-fiction based, but nothing to do with domestic-sort, cooking or cleaning,” she says. “Where’s the fun in that?  If I wanted to do that in my spare time, I would clean my bathroom; my house would look a lot better.”

Amanda Ochsner, a freelance writer for video game websites and graduate student researcher for UW’s Games Learning Society group, says she and other female gamers she knows also prefer RPGs that allow character customization and choice, allowing the player to adapt the game to his or her own preference.

One of her favorite games, “Mass Effect,” exemplifies the variety of options that allow a gamer to create a nuanced, realistic character. “Not only do you get to choose what [elite human commander] Shepard looks like, but you get to choose his or her background, various events from the past, and then you really get to emphasize choices a lot in the game,” she says. “So, what does this character do in certain situations?  Is Shepard more compassionate?”

“I sort of identify with this character I’ve created,” she adds.

Manley also likes fantasy and science fiction games because they allow her to get outside her normal daily activities. “The RPGs give me the opportunity to do something that does not come up in my real life, like slaying dragons or shooting out energy beams from my hands.”

How is it that women are increasingly picking up controllers and becoming addicted to the gaming world? Ochsner thinks this could have happened thanks to games like “Guitar Hero,” which serve as a sort of gateway drug attracting women and other non-traditional gamers.

“They’ve gotten a lot of people in general who didn’t play games before to be willing to try them out,” she says. “Because as long as you can get over the sort of initial embarrassment at how wacky it is, there’s pretty easy modes where pretty much anyone who’s willing can jump in can be fairly successful and work their way up.”

The “everybody can do it” mentality is just one reason more women are playing video games. Other theories have arisen as well, including the popularity of family game nights, health reasons and social and work benefits.  While multiplayer games play an important role in social skills, single player games also improve social skills and overall wellbeing.  Studies have attributed positive effects like the ability to grow and maintain emotions, pride and self-esteem to gaming.  Popular game consoles like Nintendo’s Wii and the Xbox Kinect also allow users to incorporate motions beyond just fingertips into gaming and can even promote interest in other games and sports.  Another study  found that gaming helps strengthen the ability to translate information into decisions quickly and accurately, which is a desirable skill in the workplace.

With this changing environment, Ochsner says the traditional definition of “gamer” is becoming obsolete.

“The idea that gaming is a ‘guy thing’ I think is really starting to be outdated. You might still see it in the media, in certain places, but, in general, I think people are realizing that gaming is fun for everybody, everyone can do it,” she says.

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