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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

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"Bored housewives" play online games
by Ian Bogost June 10, 2004

The BBC News reported today on a research study that says "bored housewives" are fueling the growth of online games. The article draws from a new Screen Digest research report about online gaming markets to 2007. From the article:

"Amazingly, every single one of the major casual games service providers reported that this growth was being predominantly fuelled by middle-aged and female gamers, the antithesis of the hardcore gaming markets," said report author Nick Gibson. "We jokingly termed this the bored housewife," he added.

This is a very dangerous kind of thing to say, and it suggests that even researchers who seek to expose the viability of online games don't take them seriously. As I have argued before here on WCG (1, 2, 3) the reasons women play casual games seem complex, deliberate, and worthy of both serious study and respect. Joking about "bored housewives" is a pretty dismissive and derogatory way of treating both the players and the market. What a foolish thing to do.

The research report also suggests that skill-based gaming for cash and prizes (e.g. Worldwinner) represent a significant growth trend. Says report author Gibson, "They are not only playing games but are willing to pay to play games." I take issue with Gibson's implication that paying to enter a skill contest is the same as paying for a downloadable videogame from a site like PopCap Games.

Given these problems with the study at a summary level, I'm not sure if it can be taken seriously or not. That said, I haven't seen the full report yet. You can order it from Screen Digest for the kind of irrational sum one expects of research reports.

Comments (8)

Well, I have never seen a girl playing a serious game. Perhaps, there are some games such as Minesweepers and the like which their barins can play into. But I doubt that they will play serious computer games, such as a Warcraft, Alexander the Great, and others. Well, it is only my opinion which is no way the only true one.

Big Gamer

http://www.altarion.com

suggested poker skill-based gaming for cash and prizes!

why don't game manufacturers devise games for the female market?- surely not to is to ignore a massive opportunity.

As a middle aged career woman who plays games to relax both on my ps2 and nintendo ds I get frustrated by the over representation of testostergone fuelled games aimed at adolescent boys.

i do not want to collude with violence and aggression but will play puzzle games and action names that dont depict violence against other people.

Lots of my middle aged female friends also play but we struggle to find enough choice of appropriate games.

Big Gamer is an ignoramus... Yes, there ARE women who play "serious" games!!!!! Just because you don't know one doesn't mean they don't exist!!!! It's like saying "all the black people I know are stupid so I doubt there are any who are intelligent". Your experience does NOT reflect the entire population.

I agree with "grrr"...BigGamer is a total putz. As another middle-aged career woman who has also been a gamergirl for most of my life (starting with arcade versions of PacMan, Asteroids, Galaga, etc. back in the day)...I LOVE GAMING! and what the hell is a "serious" game anyway? I play RPGs, RTS games, Action/Adventure games, Third-person shooters and First-person shooters. Now granted, I suck at FPS games...but that's just cause I haven't played them as much. They are not my favorite. But I do play them. As for violence...I like kicking ass and taking names as much as any guy gamer I know. I know a lot of chicks don't like the blood, though...so why don't they make more games where you can kick butt on *monsters* (not people) and not necessarily have to see a lot of gore? Like for instance in the FF games. Lots of combat, very little blood.

Thanks so much for the wonderful derogatory comments Big Gamer. Girls game just as much as guys do. Just because we don't sit all day at our stupid games. I have a load of friends who are girls who rock. I personally play several mmorpg's as well as first and third person shooters. Mabye if you didn't spend all your time on lame "serious" games you might meet some seriously cool women who can kick your butt!!!!

As a career woman and mother I think the preference for online games is the time it takes to play them.

It's not easy juggling everything and a game that you can play in between driving a kid to some activity, put a load of laundry in the washing machine, on a coffee break, ... Thus, games that can be played in a short amount of time may be what a lot of women are looking for.

Quite frankly no one would want me on their team in world of warcraft because I would be unavailable a lot of time!

Just my thoughts on why women may prefer this style of game.

i am a 27 year old housewife that plays online games and not only that, but i work for World Play Online reviewing games and being editor. I play several online games such as wow, aoc, runescape, everquest, lineage.. etc. Do NOT say there are not females out there who dont play seroulsy because most of my accts are maxed out and i am a skilled and experienced PvPer