More Than Half of PSP Owners Female: Nielsen

Kris Erickson • Jan 7, 2010 • Comments ()

When Sony launched its Lilac colored PSP, accompanied by the latest Hannah Montana game, it definitely raised a few eyebrows. However, if you thought that Sony's handheld device was mainly dominated by male players, you'd be wrong. According to media trend trackers at the Nielsen Company, more than half of all PSP owners are actually female (52%, to be exact). This data covers the gaming industry in the United States only, but still the data are surprising. If the stereotypical gamer was once male and between the age of 16 and 20 years old, the community is now skewing older and more female. Nielsen reports that 45% of all gamers are now female.

Nielsen also tracks the popularity of gaming devices in general, and found that 25% of all households in America own at least one portable gaming device. Clearly, however, consoles are more popular, with 54% of households reporting to have a dedicated gaming machine at home.

What explains the sudden increase in popularity of gaming among females, and in particular the PSP handheld? It could be that Sony's new marketing strategy has paid off, and young girls really have flocked to the Hannah Montana bundle. Or, it could be that older females like the mix of multimedia functionality and gaming offered by the device. Finally, it is possible that Nielsen's data are simply wrong, due to sampling bias or other anomalies in the collection of the survey responses.

Whatever the reason, it is clear that video game manufacturers cannot ignore the strong female influence in the gaming market. Serving that demographic should be a major priority as the video game industry seeks to increase its reach.