DALLAS, July 6 (UPI) -- Except in Asia, women worldwide are more likely than men to play online games, a new multinational survey reveals.
The survey, Global Digital Living, compiled by Parks Associates, shows among Internet households in North America, 52 percent of women play online games each month, compared with 39 percent of men. Similar gaps exist among Internet households in Europe, where 39 percent of women play online games vs. 28 percent of men. In Australia, the company reported, 53 percent of women play, but only 27 percent of men.
Only in Asia were gaming activities more-or-less equal between women and men, at 49 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Michael Cai, a senior analyst with Parks Associates, said he thinks Asia's gender parity in online gaming is due to a variety of cultural and business factors, including different gamer preferences and popular genres as well as online gaming business models designed to encourage equal participation.
"The revenue-generating genres such as first-person shooters and fantasy games are still dominated by a small group of hard-core male gamers," Cai said.
