80 per cent of the female game playing market in the US are Nintendo console owners, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets conference earlier this month, the executive said that there are around 11.7 million female "primary players" using consoles in the US, compared to 33.3 million males. "Primary player" refers to the main user of a home console, reports Kotaku.
Wii Fit Plus
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1:39E3 2009 reveal
Wii Fit Plus
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1:39E3 2009 reveal
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This female audience is dominated by Nintendo, Fils-Aime said, with the platform holder commanding an 80 per cent share of the market, or around nine million players.
In comparison, Nintendo figures suggest that Xbox 360 and PS3 hold 11 per cent and nine per cent shares of this market respectively.
"This didn't happen by accident," the executive said. "It's the result of a deliberate attempt to expand the market."
In June the NPD Group said the number of female gamers in the US was on the rise in 2009 compared to last year, "significantly" among console gamers.
Females had increased by five percentage points among console gamers, from 23 per cent in 2008 to 28 per cent in 2009, according to the company's Gamer Segmentation 2009 report. The jump was largely attributed to the popularity of Wii, which had seen a 19 per cent increase in usage over 2008.
There is no denying that the Wii and DS have a lot more software which could be described as female centric than the 360 or PS3.
When the Wand and Natal come out though, expect these numbers to rise for Sony and MS, especially when there Xbox Fit and Sony Fit come out next year .
Excellent work Nintendo! Sigh, I used to remember a time when most girls would sneer at us guys for playing games (SNES days) and it is fantastic to see Nintendo shifting the goalposts.We need more girl to enjoy the delights of gaming. There was even a time when the girls thought we (well, not me) were sad deluded geeks for ogling Lara Croft's conical boobs, but now the tables have turned...if it's not Dante or Snake or Jin Kazama, its a Final Fantasy or Castlevania character... I welcome more girls to come onboard gaming and kick our butts....show is how its done ladies!
When I met my g/f (now wife!) she used to play a little but after being with me she is a videogame regular. Still nowhere near me but then I love videogames alot But it was a smart move for any VG company to go after the female market, it was a untapped source of revenue that was waiting for the right thing to come along and get them intrested.
And what exactly is a 'typical virgin gamer?' I'm a married man with two young kids who can sit with my wifes' mates, where everyone can have a howl playing the Wii... To me, 'typical virgin gamers' are the ones who cue at midnight for new games for their 360's and PS3's,switch their mobile phones off then spend the next few months wearing headsets, growing more acne! (Oh, and not to forget countless posters of birds with their t**s out all around their bedroom walls...
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But it was a smart move for any VG company to go after the female market, it was a untapped source of revenue that was waiting for the right thing to come along and get them intrested.
