A recent study on the demographics of gamers has found that the stereotype of the core gamer audience being made mostly of male loners is false, where the core gaming audience is now 40% female, with women spending more time gaming than male participants. The study also found that gamers were on average healthier than the general population, although the data for this part of the study was gathered through self reporting by the participants in the study.
Picture a typical player of a massively multiplayer game such as World of Warcraft and most people will imagine an overweight, solitary male.
But this stereotype has been challenged by a study investigating gender differences among gamers.
It found that the most hard-core players are female, that gamers are healthier than average, and that game playing is an increasingly social activity.
Despite gaming being seen as a male activity, female players now make up about 40% of the gaming population.
The study looked at gender differences in more than 2,400 gamers playing EverQuest II.
The participants, who were recruited directly out of the game, completed a web-based questionnaire about their gaming habits and lifestyles.
In addition Sony Online Entertainment, Everquest's creator, gave the US researchers access to information about the players' in-game behaviours.
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