At the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo of this year, the major names in video games design have unveiled the latest trends and their latest creations. There were many impressive technological advances to be noticed. But beyond technology and vivid graphics, a new trend in gaming is emerging. We can witness greater gender diversity in gaming options. More girls and women have become players over the past couple of years.
Statistics show that around 44 percent of the total number of the gamers across all platforms are females. This includes from consoles and computers, to tablets and smartphones. A progress has been made in numbers of female employees working in what it used to be a male dominated video games industry.
Some of them have even made it to the top of the corporative ladder, such as Bonnie Ross, the head of 343 Industries, owned by the giant Microsoft. Many video game titles also feature female characters, such as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider or female stars in Recore and Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Thus, in some new games, such as the upcoming Fallout 4 from Bethesda Softworks, players can choose to play the game as a man or a woman. And new in-development action games also have female stars.
Today, the variety of gaming experiences offered has set a trajectory towards more gender diversity among the players of video games. The advances in hardware technology and the introduction of new gaming platforms allow players today to explore new and unique experiences. From smartphones to Wii, from consoles to PCs, gaming platforms have allowed players to bring gaming into their lives in new ways and have given rise to optimum gameplay experiences.
In the last few years, the rapid rise of smart devices and mobile gaming has led to an increased diversification in gaming experience. Recent industry trends as well as the mobile gaming platforms have attracted a wide market.
The popularity of tablet and smartphones as gaming devices has its role in attracting more girls and women to play mobile video games. This trend towards greater gender diversity can only lead to the industry's overall benefit. Gaming is expanding to wider audiences and into new markets.
The more diverse gamer population changes the popular perception of the gamer identity. In the past, traditionally, female and male gamers acted and played in significantly different ways.
Women leaned toward more casual gaming experiences, while men gravitated to more core ones. Today, this perception seems to prove that it is no longer accurate. Whether they are females or males, active gamers are playing video games in almost the same manner. Their average level of investment and their overarching pattern do not significantly differ.
