Report: Adult women gamers now double the number of under-18 boys

[Silver]

""Greencheese;1485538]I'd be interested to see the breakdown of money spent as well. Most female gamers I know would fall into the iPhone category, spending a few dollars here or there but staying mostly free while males gamers seem to be more of the ones buying consoles and the $60 games plus subscriptions.""

My husband and I each have a WOW account costing approximately us $300 a year for the subscriptions. The initial purchases for each expansion were about $60 each, so that's $120 every 2-3 years times 3 expax's. Plus...we change servers and factions and names sometimes, and that's about $30 each time. And of course we have to buy some of the "special" mounts for $15-30 each.

I once bid on a rare WOW "pet" on Ebay. It was a kite I really really wanted. I bid $120....but lost. It sold for almost $180. I still want that kite.....

[FUEGO]

We are (sometimes) avid gamers. I just bought a used playstation 3 for $125 and it came with a few good games and I spent $4 more for 2 more games off ebay (downloadable content!). That $4 equates to dozens or maybe hundreds of hours of nail biting fun and entertainment. We put the kids to sleep, then DW watches the wonderful scenery of God of War as I save the world from destruction.

DW is more of a classic gamer and rocks the 1989 Tetris on our original 8 bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Some day she may upgrade to our Super Nintendo (in all its 16 bit glory!).

Gaming was one of the things on my "Early Retirement Goals" list, and I'm finally stepping up to the challenge.

From a cost perspective, it's incredibly cheap entertainment if you buy games and systems that are a few years old. There are so many games out there that I doubt I'll ever catch up to the latest and greatest games anyway.

[Bestwifeever]

Now we are going to have to say re Internet trolls , "he's really a middle-aged woman playing video games in her own house" vs the "fourteen-year-old boy in Missoula" comment.

[Dreamer]

I have played Wii Fit games with my kids and granddaughter. I don't play any other type of games. I can't figure out what you are even supposed to be doing in them and I am definitely not fast at trying to play them. I think that I read that they are supposed to be good for you though (maybe mental focus).

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamer I think that I read that they are supposed to be good for you though (maybe mental focus).

Sounds good to me!

[MichaelB]

Here's another ARS article, this time reminiscing back to some Sierra On-Line games. These I remember playing (am I dating myself here?) Gallery: Taking a look back at some choice Sierra gaming moments | Ars Technica

They highlight Space Quest but I recall King's Quest being the first to use the "Quest" title. At the time I thought the graphics were excellent but looking at the screen shots now, they're just primitive!

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Here's another ARS article, this time reminiscing back to some Sierra On-Line games. These I remember playing (am I dating myself here?) Gallery: Taking a look back at some choice Sierra gaming moments | Ars Technica They highlight Space Quest but I recall King's Quest being the first to use the "Quest" title. At the time I thought the graphics were excellent but looking at the screen shots now, they're just primitive!

I think I still have King's Quest around here, somewhere!

[photoguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver I once bid on a rare WOW "pet" on Ebay. It was a kite I really really wanted. I bid $120....but lost. It sold for almost $180. I still want that kite.....

On a whim, my wife bought a pack of wow trading cards. I'm not sure why she picked it up as she never played the card game. The deck happen to contain a rare red rocket mount. I think it was this one:

http://www.amazon.com/X-51-Nether-Ro.../dp/B001FI3ZMQ

She sold it on ebay for $290 !!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Here's another ARS article, this time reminiscing back to some Sierra On-Line games. These I remember playing (am I dating myself here?) Gallery: Taking a look back at some choice Sierra gaming moments | Ars Technica They highlight Space Quest but I recall King's Quest being the first to use the "Quest" title. At the time I thought the graphics were excellent but looking at the screen shots now, they're just primitive!

In terms of old games, the only one I think I miss is star control. That was a lot of fun in the dorm rooms.

[sailor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO From a cost perspective, it's incredibly cheap entertainment if you buy games and systems that are a few years old. There are so many games out there that I doubt I'll ever catch up to the latest and greatest games anyway.

You are not the only one with this thought: xkcd: Cutting Edge

[flyingaway]

I like to play video slots at casinos, which costs more than playing video games at home. There are also slots online for fun I also play.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor You are not the only one with this thought: xkcd: Cutting Edge

Nice. I actually saw that comic a while back and thought "hey, that's exactly what I do!". I think having three kids between 2005 and 2012 also severely cut into my game playing time. Occasionally we have to be grown ups I suppose. Glad that ER is permitting me the time to regain the passions of my youth!

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB They highlight Space Quest but I recall King's Quest being the first to use the "Quest" title. At the time I thought the graphics were excellent but looking at the screen shots now, they're just primitive!

Any Gold Box gamers out there? I used to love these things. They came out in the late 80's and early 90's and I think I played them up through the mid 90's. All dungeons and dragons franchised games.

We played D&D as kids and I was really into reading the Dragonlance series of books so playing the games from the virtual worlds I explored in print was pretty amazing at the time (and still would be, I suppose).

[MichaelB]

My first game console was a Magnavox Odyssey. It was pretty good at the time. My favorite games were Alien Invaders and Tron. I even set a world record (uncredited) for Tron, but only because I discovered a flaw in the program and was able to run up the score effortlessly, which is probably why it wasn't credited.

Then came the PC, Quest series games, and finally Leisure Suit Larry, and the world as we know it changed forever.

[FIREd]

I wasn't much of a gamer until I got the iPad. I don't play many shooting/action games, I tend to prefer sims and puzzle games.

[GTFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Any Gold Box gamers out there? I used to love these things. They came out in the late 80's and early 90's and I think I played them up through the mid 90's. All dungeons and dragons franchised games. We played D&D as kids and I was really into reading the Dragonlance series of books so playing the games from the virtual worlds I explored in print was pretty amazing at the time (and still would be, I suppose).

Yep, that would be me. Played pretty much every D&D PC game out there including all the old Pool of Radiance SSI games, I've always been a huge fan of RPGs. Some of the games done by Bioware, Black Isle and others are still the best RPGs I've ever played. Stuff like Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment etc. Even the first Dragon Age although it's more of a hybrid in the new style now (like Mass Effect series).

Have also done some of the current MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter etc. Lots of free content available in some of these! Probably will get back into that next year after I retire, I've been taking a break from PC gaming for a bit. I mostly do single player instances in those, way too much twitch combo reflexes needed to be good at multiplayer for this old gamer.

[Indigo Mule]

Not just women over 18, it's women over 50 who are the fastest growing segment. (According to the version of the article someone linked for me elsewhere.)

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTFan Yep, that would be me. Played pretty much every D&D PC game out there including all the old Pool of Radiance SSI games, I've always been a huge fan of RPGs. Some of the games done by Bioware, Black Isle and others are still the best RPGs I've ever played. Stuff like Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment etc. Even the first Dragon Age although it's more of a hybrid in the new style now (like Mass Effect series). Have also done some of the current MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter etc. Lots of free content available in some of these! Probably will get back into that next year after I retire, I've been taking a break from PC gaming for a bit. I mostly do single player instances in those, way too much twitch combo reflexes needed to be good at multiplayer for this old gamer.

I loved BG1+2, icewind dale, and neverwinter nights too! Never really got into the MMORPGs though. Mostly because I think they would be like crack. After 1 hit I might become addicted and not be able to live an ordinary life away from the drugs.

[Klubbie]

Reading this thread makes me smile!

Avid gamer, but nowhere close to ER to enjoy the hobby the way I like. I keep looking at my insanely long backlog of games and hope that I still want to tackle that pile when I eventually FIRE in another 25-30 years. I'll work through it when I can until then and surely add to it. Even if I never added another game to my collection I'd probably have about 5 years worth of games to get through, and by that point would want to start replaying them.

Anyways, in terms of what I enjoy, I am on the nerdy side and grew up loving Final Fantasy type games. As an adult I've moved away from the JRPG genre some and enjoy more Western RPGs. I absolutely love the Mass Effect series and plan to do one more playthrough with all the DLC before tiring those games.

I also love games like Skyrim or Fallout where I can just wander around aimlessly for hours away from the main plot exploring. Tons of fun.

I can also get hooked on some online multiplayer as well. I put more hours than I care to admit into Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. I used to have a group of friends that would play "Zombies" mode on Call of Duty religiously. We never played CoD itself, just the zombies survival mode. I still fire it up and play solo from time to time, but the online multiplayer days appear to be over in the short term.

[mickeyd]

I've never understood gamers nor the attraction to such games after puberty. I know, I know...it's an age thing. My DS (age 33) has an excellent job (requiring a TS security clearance), wife and family life. Yet he plays into the night at times (according to his DW)...

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd I've never understood gamers nor the attraction to such games after puberty. I know, I know...it's an age thing. My DS (age 33) has an excellent job (requiring a TS security clearance), wife and family life. Yet he plays into the night at times (according to his DW)...

I view those games as a temporary escape from reality.