Are women over-represented in video games?

[DonFerrari]

HylianSwordsman said:

DonFerrari said:

I can say that my wife although never having faced the "it is only for boys" and playing some with her relatives as a child doesn't like to play VG at all even after several invites... but she likes to play phone games. Tastes are more personal than obligated. hormones and everything else that biologically diferentiate men and women are also inside mechanisms of pleasure we have and the type of game/entertainment we would prefer.

But that's the thing. Phone games are usually shallow and dumb and whatever she's playing on the phone, there's almost certainly a more in depth and engaging equivalent on consoles. I could see the hormones making you like fashion and certain creative things a bit more, but it couldn't make you like phones over consoles, hormones don't make you like one electronic device over the other. It just means she might not like God of War and might be more into Animal Crossing, while some games will appeal to both genders like Mario Kart. The idea that an entire entertainment medium like games is something that only one gender wants to really get into just seems absurd to me. It would make as much sense to say that guys don't read long novels because there's not enough action in reading or something. Guys might like more spy thrillers on average and girls more romance novels on average, but they both read plenty, and the classics appeal to both, like Harry Potter or whatever. The same should go with games. The fact that so many girls turn up their noses at any game deeper than some bejeweled clone or dress the Disney character shovelware on a phone makes me think something is wrong.

I have bought plenty "everyone" game to play with her, she simply doesn't like it.

phone games may be shallow and simple, but that is what her and the majority of women like. There is very easy to check numbers, those researches that come with 50/50 gamers (sometimes even more women) also make it very clear that if you were going to look at console or AAA it would make like 80% males.

Hormones also explain the type of game your brain will preffer.