Growth in online gaming had significant user growth among teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 17 and women between the ages of 55 and 64 according to a new study from comScore.
The total female online gaming audience in August 2008 grew 27 percent compared to the previous year to nearly 43 million visitors.
The number of female gamers in the 12-24 demographic increased 55 percent to 4.7 million and the number of female gamers in the 55-64 demographic grew 43 percent. Female gamers 18-24 also saw significant growth, growing 35 percent. Female gamers in the 35-44 age group saw the least growth with 11 percent.
Contributing to strong growth in the category among younger girls is the increasing popularity of fashion and dress – up sites, such as Stardoll.com, DressUpGames.com, and I Dressup.com along with virtual worlds such as Neopets and Gaiaonline.com.
The growth among older females is partially due to partnerships between women’s content portals and casual game sites such as iVillage.com’c partnership with Pogo.com.
“Many advertisers and their ad agencies have long understood the appeal of online gaming among teenage boys, and they have now found creative ways to effectively reach these female audiences with targeted ad campaigns,” said Edward Hunter, director of Gaming Solutions at comScore.
“With the increased interest in online gaming among the highly lucrative teenage girl and older female demographic segments, marketers who have been hesitant to transfer some of their ad spend to the gaming space may now be taking a second look.”
