University of Cambridge, Computer Science Lab (Cambridge, May 2005)

1. Women and Game
Culture:
Do girls play games?
Aleks Krotoski
University of Surrey
A.Krotoski@surrey.ac.uk
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/~psp1ak

3. History of women and gaming
• Proud beginnings
– Ada Lovelace
– Grace Hopper
– Donna Bailey to Roberta Williams

4. In the beginning…

5. Later…

6. Or…

7. History of women and gaming
“Girl Games”
– From Barbie to Mortal
Kombat
– The Sims
– Massively Multiplayer
Online Role Playing
Games
– SingStar, Dance Mat
and EyeToy
– Quake and Halo 2?

8. Result of gendered entertainment?
• Proliferation of “boy” genres
– Shooters, sports simulations
• Magazine ads

10. Result of gendered entertainment?
• Proliferation of “boy” genres
●
Shooters, sports simulations
• Magazine ads
• Fewer female players
• Less access to technology which may
benefit their futures (Home Office, 2001)

11. Current Player Demographics:
Girls and games
GB Males - Active Gamers
10-14
32% Number of
Active
30-35 Population Gamers
GB Males - 15-17 UK UK
All 17%
13% Sex Age (000s) (000s)
10-14
22% 15-17 Male 10-15 2,357 1,818
30-35 9%
16-19 1,240 780
26% 25-29
15% 18-24 20-24 1,753 785
18-24 23%
25-29 24% 25-29 1,871 771
19% 10-14 15-17 18-24 25-29 30-35
30-35 2,538 844
GB Females - Active Gamers Female 10-15 2,181 788
10-14
16-19 1,235 279
32%
20-24 1,767 355
GB Females - 15-17
All 8% 25-29 1,910 436
10-14 30-35
15-17 30-35 2,553 562
21% 9% 23%
30-35 Male 10-35 9,758 4,999
26% 18-24
19% Female 10-35 9,646 2,419
18-24 25-29
25-29 24% 18% Total 10-35 19,404 7,418
20% 10-14 15-17 18-24 25-29 30-35
GameVision: Dromgoole, 2004

12. Current Player Demographics:
Girls don’t play games?
•Men play 12.34 hours per week
•Women play 9.22 hours of play per week
Hours of play per week
20
18
16
14.2
14 12.7 12.7
11.7
12 10.4 10.2 10.1 9.6
10 8.4
7.8
8
6
4
2
0
10-15 16-19 20-24 25-29 30-35 10-15 16-19 20-24 25-29 30-35
Male Female
GameVision: Dromgoole, 2004

13. Current Player Demographics: Girls
don’t play games?
Girls:
• Preferred console
is PS1
●
Bargain purchaser,
relies on
recommendation or
existing IP
Boys:
• Preferred console
is PS2
●
New games, sports
games, FPS

14. What women want
• A social life
• Something worthwhile
– Something they can learn from (Graner Ray,
2003)
– A storyline with good characters
– Nothing that forces them to learn a completely
useless skill

15. Social Life (internet)
+ worthwhile (learning + story)
+ a familiar medium (PCs)
Massively Multiplayer Online Games
(MMOGs)

16. MMOGs: Who?
Fantasy-based games:
12-20%* (like
Dungeons and
Dragons, 5-15%)
The Sims Online: 60%**
5-6 years older than
men*
Kids*
Steady relationship
(60.3%)*
(*Yee, 2002a, 2002b; **Lewis, 2004)

17. MMOGs: How?
Men introduce them
Play with romantic
partner (69.5%)*
• learning bonus: boost
RL bonds and solve
RL problems
New Mums

18. MMOGS: Why?
• Open-ended
• Relaxation of traditional objectives
• Real-Life (RL) communities and relationships
– More likely than men to:
• Interact with the same others
• Engage in group activities
• Perceive online friends and more like themselves than their
offline friends
• Disclose personal information about themselves to online friends
• Stay dedicated: they don’t swap titles, or they migrate to new
ones together
• Be satisfied with their game
• In-game repercussions: help shape the world!
– More likely to hold powerful leadership roles
– Direct activity, diplomacy and in-game politics

19. MMOGs and the Self
• RL limitations for “self-
actualisation”
– Possible selves, career,
leisure
– Taylor and EverQuest –
mastery, social
involvement and
exploration without fear for
safety
• Sherry Turkle and the
MUDs – Identity
Laboratories

20. Deterrents & Solutions: They have
to change - not us.
• Play:
– “something a woman is not” (Turkle, 1985)
• Marketing and its malcontents
• Products that don’t “speak” to a broader audience
– Economics
• Bargain bins and the hardcore gamer
– Time
• “interstitial” gaming
• Work:
– “male” culture
– Quality of Life

21. Is the games industry a place
for gender diversity?*
• Demographics
– Art and Design: 91% men; 9% women
– Programmers: 98% men; 2% women
– Senior Management:95% men; 3% women
– Sales/Marketing/PR: 74% men; 26% women
• Applicants per year???
*From Chicks and Joysticks: An exploration of women and computer gaming,
commissioned and published by ELSPA 2004

22. Is the games industry a place
for gender diversity?*
• Methods of recruitment
– 42.9% advertise in specialist magazines
– 64.3% recruit through specialist agencies
– 14.3% approach schools, colleges
• Job disparities due to gender
– £353.57 less at starting salary
– £6,738.03 pay gap
– 0.4% women hold Lead, Director, Management
positions versus 1.2% of men
– Slower promotion times (approximately 6 months)
*From Chicks and Joysticks: An exploration of women and computer gaming,
commissioned and published by ELSPA 2004

23. Is the games industry a place
for gender diversity?
• All signs point to no.
• Future research:
– What would a broader appointments drive do
for games industry diversity?
– How can girl games scholarships increase
female participation in games courses?
– How can an increase in role models in the
games industry increases female participation
in games courses?

24. Summary
• Women have been involved since year dot
• Pink games work for kiddies but not for
grown-ups
• New technologies are pushing the gender
divide
• Industry diversity is rubbish

25. Women and Game
Culture:
Do girls play games?
Aleks Krotoski
University of Surrey
A.Krotoski@surrey.ac.uk
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/~psp1ak