[RnBaddict]

A study with over 2,400 EverQuest II gamers shows that the most hard-core players are female, that gamers are healthier than average, and that game playing is an increasingly social activity. It must be a big different with the typical impression of MMO players, reported by BBC News.

The details are as below:

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. They received an in-game item as a reward for taking part - a condition which has led to some questioning of the results.

In addition Sony Online Entertainment, Everquest's creator, gave the US researchers access to information about the players' in-game behaviours.

Gender bias

The results showed that, although more of the players were male, it was the female players who were the most dedicated players, spending more time each day playing the game than their male counterparts.

Lead researcher Scott Caplan of the University of Delaware said the result demonstrated how out-of-date stereotypes can be.

"In many cases, stereotypes reflect what I would call a 'cultural time lag'," he said.

"What we think about men and women and videogames may have been true 10 or 15 years ago, when there were mainly console video games or single-player games.

"But what were seeing now is that games become social, and as these online games become communities then the attraction for that kind of behaviour might increase for women," said Prof Caplan.

"I think a lot of our stereotypes are based on the way computer games have been, rather than where they're going."

...

Consumer focus

Another unexpected finding was that the online game players - particularly the women - were healthier than the general population, though this was drawn from self-reported levels of exercise and body mass index.

Dmitri Williams, a researcher at the University of Southern California and a co-author on the study, said one possible explanation could be that playing computer games reduces the amount of time spent in front of the television.
Consoles such as the Wii have won a cross-gender audience

[Fuznut88]

hpow can this be true When more than half of videogamers are male!?!!

[srenity]

You can't really make a conclusion using statistics of ONE game IMO. ...And EQ of all MMOs

But I think there's a very VERY small truth to this. Female gamers may seem more 'hardcore' than male gamers since they flock to one particular game/genre while typical male gamers usually have a diverse taste in games or move onto other games.

[Aeoz]

Female gamers may seem more 'hardcore' than male gamers since they flock to one particular game/genre while typical male gamers usually have a diverse taste in games or move onto other games.

QFT.
So true.

[LaydeeMel]

We just have more dedication to one particular game than guys. It's like guys can play Halo, WoW, and DDR all at a Mediocre level. When one girl who can't play WoW and DDR will wtfpwn you in Halo.

It's the same for me too actually. I can play Halo, Starcraft, and DDR and hold my own on everything, but I can only wtfpwn guys on WoW.

[aymei]

^ lol @ the wtfpwn.
I play cs and it's the only game I play that I'm really good at.
All the other games I suck haha.

[Shikabane Hime]

We all know this is attributed to women having longer attention spans, and when they get down to something, they will do the job properly.

[derrek]

I eat glass when I play, and often light my mouse on fire... so I'm pretty hardcore.

[Photogeek]

maybe thats why i can do certain things that my brother cant in video games. He has to hand over the control so i can do certain moves. hahahaha ^__^

[dazzleanddestroy]

LOL
I guess it's true to some extent, I got to agree with srenity though. I'm more committed to one game usually than multiple. Though, if I get bored, I move on to a different game @_@

Been playing mmos for about 2 years now, wow >_<

[Shikabane Hime]

maybe thats why i can do certain things that my brother cant in video games. He has to hand over the control so i can do certain moves. hahahaha ^__^

Like tasks that actually require SOME thinking instead of just spraying your ammo away?

[LazyAzian]

So true ^^ ~~

Female gamers tend to master one thing, but not do everything. Male gamers do everything but don't really master anything.

My sister can pwn anyone in racing games but when it's fighting and shooting she's terrible.

[blush]

Lol when I get hooked onto a game, I play that ishh like 24/7. bamf days man! Haha.

Are they really healthier though? o_o I sit my ass playing the game and doing nothing but eating junk food. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLY HEALTHY? D:

[chimerical.]

i can understand how females are more dedicated.. but healthier? i don't think so, but maybe compared to the male gamer population anyways they shouldnt even generalize gamers based on eq lulz

[_dax_]

Multi-tasking is the key

[Fusilier]

Hmm.. and just because someone says they're a "healthy" weight doesn't mean they're actually healthy. I supposedly have a BMI of 19.4, but I sit on my ass all day and am far from healthy. Exercise? Sunshine? What's this crazy talk?!

[RiderKamen]

I would like to meet one of these lady hardcore gamers.

Why? Cause where I live, there's no such thing. I'm not saying there aren't any women gamers/professional women gamers cause we all know they exist.
I'm saying that I don't physically see "hardcore" females. I never met a woman that was more passionate about games (in general) than me.

[Fusilier]

I guess you've been unfortunate not to meet any, RiderKamen.

I've been playing games all my life and even work as a game tester. My husband's a game programmer and I'm more hardcore than he is. :D

[loveabella♥]

They're right about the socially active part. GOSH my guy friends can go talking for YEARS AND YEARS about cars and games and I have absolutely no idea wth theyre talking about

[~fantasygurl~]

well they are right because female gamers are more likely into the storylines (which i get interested in the most) and of course it has to be good or else it just sucks ;p