supervisor
02-15-2005, 04:33 PM
Fifty-eight percent of U.S. mobile gamers are women, compared to 42 percent who are men, according to a recent study by research firm Yankee Group.
However, 29 percent of male mobile gamers purchased games compared to 17 percent of women, meaning that men are more hardcore about their games.
Why though, do more women play games on mobile phones than men, who are traditionally the leaders overall in the gaming category? One reason, said Michael Goodman, Yankee Group media and entertainment strategies senior analyst, is the types of games that come with bundled with cell phones. "They're not the button-masher type games, they're casual ones like trivia and card games," said Goodman.
Goodman revealed another key point of the U.S. Mobile Entertainment Survey: the disconnect between people playing games and people purchasing games. Of the 160 million mobile users in the U.S., age 13 and over, 75 million of them play games. Only 17 percent of them actually purchase them.
Goodman's explanation for this is threefold. First, there's usually 3-8 games preinstalled on a cell phone. Second, mobile games are what Goodman called "short attention-span theater," with people playing them an average of 15 minutes at a time. And last, the average lifespan of a cell phone is about two years. "People know they're getting a new handset and a new set of games every two years," he said.
Mobile game manufacturers, said Goodman, should note that women are an important target. "The largest market may be getting the least attention in a space that's increasingly competitive. This could be important news for game manufacturers and other content providers making large investments in game design and marketing programs that target men and adolescent boys," he said.
However, 29 percent of male mobile gamers purchased games compared to 17 percent of women, meaning that men are more hardcore about their games.
Why though, do more women play games on mobile phones than men, who are traditionally the leaders overall in the gaming category? One reason, said Michael Goodman, Yankee Group media and entertainment strategies senior analyst, is the types of games that come with bundled with cell phones. "They're not the button-masher type games, they're casual ones like trivia and card games," said Goodman.
Goodman revealed another key point of the U.S. Mobile Entertainment Survey: the disconnect between people playing games and people purchasing games. Of the 160 million mobile users in the U.S., age 13 and over, 75 million of them play games. Only 17 percent of them actually purchase them.
Goodman's explanation for this is threefold. First, there's usually 3-8 games preinstalled on a cell phone. Second, mobile games are what Goodman called "short attention-span theater," with people playing them an average of 15 minutes at a time. And last, the average lifespan of a cell phone is about two years. "People know they're getting a new handset and a new set of games every two years," he said.
Mobile game manufacturers, said Goodman, should note that women are an important target. "The largest market may be getting the least attention in a space that's increasingly competitive. This could be important news for game manufacturers and other content providers making large investments in game design and marketing programs that target men and adolescent boys," he said.