Gameworld: Older women rule ... the casual games market
By Lisa Baertlein Thu Sep 28, 6:28 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, Sept 28 (Reuters Life!) - Contrary to popular belief, teenage boys are not the masters of the entire video game universe.
"Middle-aged" women rule the $458 million
According to separate studies from casual game publishers RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq:RNWK - news) and PopCap Games, 70 percent of casual gamers are females over the age of 40, most of whom use gaming as a way to ease stress.
That's a big difference from the console gaming market -- the video game industry's biggest and highest-profile segment -- which is dominated by competitive, testosterone-fueled young males.
Self-help author and life coach Jennifer Louden, 43, was skeptical about the touted benefits of video games when RealNetworks hired her to help the mostly male company understand its customers.
"I almost didn't answer them. I thought, 'Video games? Creepy," said Louden, who added that her view quickly changed after talking with the female gamers.
"Women play for self care, in all different flavors and variations. They were so aware of what they were doing and why. They know what games to use for which situations," she said.
For example, some women played to be less aware of chronic pain. Others used the games to cope with insomnia, while a veterinarian said she played word games before going to bed and sleeping on a problem that had her stumped.
Top casual game titles include puzzle, word, time management or skill games like "Bejeweled," "Bookworm," "Diner Dash" or those based on Mahjong or Sudoku.
Louden said women compared their play time to meditation, saying that game sessions gave them the sensation of being surrounded by a cone of silence.
"The message was, 'It's mine, it's fun and it's just for me," said Louden, who prefers taking on her daughter in "Diner Dash" to solo play.
Like many women, 35-year-old billiards champion Jeanette "The Black Widow" Lee juggles motherhood and a career.
Lee sees both sides of the casual game business: She plays a couple times a week and has been involved with making virtual pool games for about five years. Her latest project is a partnership with online game site King.com.
Unlike the complex console and PC games preferred by male gamers, casual games are simple to pick up, she said.
"I don't want to use all the brains I have to learn to play the game in the first place," said Lee, adding that casual games are challenging to master and not for the simple-minded.
While growing, the casual game business represents just a small sliver of the overall North American video game pie.
DFC Intelligence forecasts that the North American casual game market will contribute $458 million of the $13.3 billion it expects the whole industry to generate this year.
Yahoo Inc., Time Warner Inc.'s AOL and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet division each offer casual games from their site while video game publishing giant Electronic Arts Inc. runs Pogo.com, where users play games, earn badges and socialize.
DFC Intelligence analyst Alexis Madrigal compared Pogo to offline institutions like country clubs or athletic clubs, which provide members a sense of community.
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