How Men and Women Discover and Choose Games in the West: Similarities and Differences

[Septimus Prime]

https://newzoo.com/insights/article...19&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Gender article

On the surface, there are clear differences between the ways women and men learn about new games. For women who game, social circles are key, with 45% of them discovering a game through friends or family, and 20% through social networks. These shares are lower for men; 32% and 16%, respectively.

In contrast, men are likelier to discover new games via online video channels (29% vs. 16% for women) and review sites (19% for men and 13% for women). It seems, then, that men give more value to reviewers and online influencers, while women look more to people they know directly. Interestingly, similar shares of men and women discovered new games through advertising (both television and online).

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When it comes to gameplay, there are some differences in what appeals to men and women that are worth highlighting. For example, more than half of all the men we surveyed found the following important when deciding to play a game: completing objectives and achieving goals (55% of men vs. 49% of women), challenging strategic aspects (51% of men vs. 39% of women), player/character progression (50% of men vs. 38% of women), and exploring worlds and storylines (50% vs. 37%).

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There was just one factor that women found more important than men: games that are easy to quickly pick up and play (53% vs. 48% of men). It is also the most-common thing women find important when it comes to reasons for playing, and the only gameplay factor over half of female respondents chose. Still, men also find it important for games to be easy to pick up and play.

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What do you think? Does this ring true for you?

I think I discovered a lot of games from ERA and my work Slack.

 

[JCHandsom]

It rings true for how my sisters play games vs. how me and my brothers play games

 

[ClickyCal']

A little surprised at the low exploration/story level with how a lot of those games match more easy to pick up ones.

 

[Deleted member 4552]

A little surprised at the low exploration/story level with how a lot of those games match more easy to pick up ones.

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It's inflated by mobile.

 

[SapientWolf]

It's bizarre that the answers are so close but the game choices are so different. Maybe the theme of a game is more important than we think.

 

[Jessie]

Lmao they did not have to call me out like this with Candy Crush and The Sims.

 

[Hey Please]

I wonder how much of this is directly tied to enduring engendered gender roles and consequent biases that seeped through (depending on the age group).

 

[.exe]

I definitely value games that are easy to pick up and play. It needs to be a banger of a game for me to justify a slow or heavily tutorialized introduction.

 

[Shudouken]

Kinda surprised by the low scores in socialising.

 

[Chopchop]

Kinda surprised by the low scores in socialising.

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For women, socializing in a game is always a coin flip between finding a normal person and a creepy asshole. And unfortunately, a lot of guys in online games change from a normal person into a creepy asshole the second they realize they're talking to a girl.

A lot of women I know in games are extremely reluctant to speak up online in any way until they're very comfortable around you.