Female Gamers: A closer look a the 'non-traditional' gamer

A closer look at the ‘non-traditional’ gamer Tracy Kennedy Microsoft Research - Community & Technologies Group Redmond, Washington

How many female gamers?

ESA Stats 2005

Overview

Expanding the Gaming Market

How do we get women interested in gaming and purchasing games?

Case Study: Home visits of families who game

Enhancing Game & Gamer Retention

How do we keep women interested in playing a game & gaming in general?

Case Study: GamerchiX – an online gaming community of women

Expanding the Gaming Market

Case Study:

Observations & Interviews

Five home visits to local families

Parents early-mid 40s

Kids ages 9-14

4 families had PS2, Xbox & Wii; 1 family only had Wii

Observe family gaming

Interview family members

Gaming Households

Parental perceptions of gaming

Parental Perceptions of Next Gen-Consoles

Xbox 360 ‘mature audience’

Nintendo Wii ‘great for kids’

Sony PS3 ‘too expensive’

How to appeal to different ages?

What motivates Moms to game?

Spending time with kids is important!

*Picture from Xbox Forums – Community Events

Motivators for new Mom gamers

Passive/Active Play

Sit and watch kids game (passive) as well as gaming with them (active)

Games that are:

Short (time is always an issue)

Easy to play (low learning curve)

More physical (such as Wii Sports)

Fun! (laughing is important)

Enhancing Game & Gamer Retention

How do we keep women interested in playing a

game & gaming in general?

Case Study

Xbox Live Forum

Started June 2006

3000 Female Gamers

Private/Public

Membership Only

Moderated

XGX Manifesto

Gamer Glue

June 19th 2007 ‘snapshot’

410 topics posted

11301 replies

124686 views

Game Glue

Gaming Support

48% of topics

200 topics

6072 replies

Hardware, good/bad games, game play suggestions (strategies), glitches, other gaming consoles (Wii, PlayStation etc)

Social Glue

Relationship Building

44% of posts

179 topics

4600 replies

F2F Meetings, Interactive posts, Looking for friends, Introductions

Social Support

Social Support:

8%

33 topics

629 replies

Encouragement & Help for Offline Personal Issues

Depression, Weight & Diet, Problems with spouses/partners & family members

Harassment

Verbal abuse

Porn photos & exhibitionism on webcams

Team killers (only kill the chicks!)

Exclusionary practices (booted from games)

Invites for cybersex

Harassment occurs :

During game play

Outside of game play (Lobbies)

In forums outside GamerchiX

*cafepress.com

“Hey Ladies! I hope you can help me on this one. I'm being harassed by two guys that used to be on my friends list. They keep sending me friend requests over and over even after I decline them. They're even doing it with their alternate accounts. Is there any way at all for me to block them from sending me friend requests??? I've searched all over and I can't find a way to block them. This is day 3 of all this and it's getting quite annoying. I can't believe how childish some people are. =”

“ Well me and my friend were playing split screen on <gamertag> on GOW. A guy joins the room and I boot him since I was just about to invite my friend. The guy keeps coming back – about 3 times, and he sent me messages saying curse words and more. I message him and tell him - I’m not scared of you so leave me alone - He sends me a pic message with him holdin the xbox controller in one hand and a gun that’s real and its pointing to the camera, i immediately blocked communication with him, what should i do about this person?????????”

Barrier to social gaming

How does the community respond?

Community Roles

Initiator

Replier

Hybrid

Lurker

If you post it… they will answer

Initiator

starts

threads

…another example

Initiator

Replier

Responds to

other’s posts

Hybrid

post &

reply

Lurker

Reading

from

afar?

“ I feel GamerchiX has encouraged us ladies to become more vocal and active on Xbox LIVE without having to worry about being hit on, cussed out or kicked out of a game just because we are girls.” “ GamerchiX has really given me an opportunity to meet some wonderful ladies. I've been online so much more than I was before and have become much more vocal when I game because I'm not afraid of getting talked down to.” “Girls of all ages and from all backgrounds have a safe environment to chat and play without fear of negative comments and remarks.” Community Matters!

Why is community so important to Female Gamers?

Meeting people with common interest (gaming)

Sharing stories – not alone

Creating safe spaces to discuss sensitive topics

Creating safe online gaming places – gaming with friends, groups & clans

Mentoring & learning

Help on how to stop abuse & harassment

Questions we can answer through Social Research

How do we get women interested in gaming and purchasing games?

Learn about their needs and interests

Consider social contexts (such as kids & family)

*Xbox.com

Questions we can answer through Social Research

How do we keep women interested in playing a game & gaming?

Learn about gaming experiences & the barriers that may exist

Consider the value of online communities as social support systems & networking hubs

…with thanks…

… to the many people who made my internship so enjoyable…

Marc Smith, Daniel Pargman, Dennis Wixon, Kris Moreno, Tom Fuller, Christa Phillips, Randy Pagulayan, Elyssa Mosier, Julie Doty, Michael Berg, Dean Katsaros, Suzanne Evans, Kristen Fife, Liz Lawley, John Nordlinger, Danyel Fisher, Eric Gleave, Jonathon Grudin, Beth Kolko, Ramon Romero, Kristin Stecher, Tobin Titus, Matt Hurst…and many more.