More women in the U.K. are playing video games than men and, pretty soon, it appears, the same will be true in the U.S. That is the conclusion of studies by both the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Entertainment Software Association.
According to the IAB, women now represent 52 percent of video gamers in the U.K, up from 49 percent in 2011. Another stereotype buster is that there are more people over 44 (27 percent) playing video games than teens and younger kids (22 percent).
IAB pointed to the internet and growing ownership of mobile devices as reasons why more females are playing video games.
"They've brought down the barriers to entry, making gaming far more accessible and opened it up to a whole new audience," Steve Chester, director of data and Industry programmes at IAB, told The Guardian. "In the past you needed to go out and buy an expensive console and the discs on top to get a decent experience, now you can just download a free app."
The most popular types of games among women are puzzles such as Candy Crush Saga. Men, on the other hand, prefer shooters, according to IAB.
Closer to home, EAS's findings do away with the idea that video games are the sole domain of teenage males. Women 18 or older, according to EAS, represent a greater percentage (36 percent) of total gamers than boys 18 and younger (17 percent). All told, 59 percent of all Americans play video games and 48 percent of all gamers are female.