The common assumption that most gamers are teenage boys has persisted since the 1990s. At that time, first-person shooters were the most popular genre, so it was pretty accurate back then. But today, the average gamer is 35 years old and 40 percent of them are women and girls. Even more progressive, if you glance at the lists of the 20 bestselling games from the last few years, only a handful revolve around graphic violence, which typically attracts males. The majority are adventure games, puzzles, sports and ones that are particularly thought of as girl games: rhythm games and casual games, etcetera. Most games that are popular among females are Nintendo Wii games or games for the handheld Nintendo DS, whereas guys prefer consoles such as Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation.
Females also tend to like games that allow them to be creative and engage their problem-solving and strategic skills and that allow interactive and cooperative play. With this information in mind, games that are particularly enjoyable for females include Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, The Sims, World of Warcraft, and the new X Factor games for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii consoles.
The Sims became popular among women because it focuses on individual citizens in the virtual world, which allows more human interactions.
World of Warcraft is popular because it is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Women are probably drawn to it because it allows them to form teams with other gamers, creating friendships through the process.
In The X Factor, women get to face the judges, graduate from auditions, and earn a spot in Boot Camp to try to make it all the way to the Live Final.
