So much for those stereotypes…
If you hear a strange sucking sound outside of your window, it’s just the sound of journalists’ heads imploding in the wake of a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health finding that girls like to play violent videogames too, and it’s normal, and they’re not all turning into psycho-murderers because of it.
While the numbers still show that boys play more videogames than girls, the gap is not as wide as people would like to believe: while 2/3 of boys reported playing a violent video game at least once a week, so did a full 1/3 of girls interviewed. This means that even the remaining 2/3 of girls who play videogames may still play violent videogames, just not as often as once a week.
The number of girls reporting playing mature-rated video games surprised the researchers, Olson said. The Grand Theft Auto series, often cited as a prime example of a violent video game, topped the list of most-played games for boys and came in second for girls, behind only “The Sims,” the study found.
So, The Sims still reign supreme with girl gamers, but the close second of GTA points to girls’ enjoyment of large-world games where there are a lot of characters interacting and sandbox-style gameplay (without a regimented storyline). Or maybe girls just happen to like those titles because they’re popular all over the place.
Another interesting statistic (and one that has a pretty narrow gap) is the “gaming to release anger” statistic, half of boys and a third of girls report playing violent videogames as a means of anger management. What really blows me away about this is that the report takes a very different tack from others of its ilk, suggesting that playing violent videogames as a means of anger release is not necessarily unhealthy:
Olson recommended that parents gauge their child’s emotions after playing a game. If playing the video game appears to wind up the child or incite anger, that could be a sign of a problem, she said.
However, for most healthy children with a good family relationships, the study suggests violent video games will not cause problems, Olson said. The concern arises when a child has other risk factors, such as an aggressive personality or having witnessed real-life violence.
I guess things are so hot out west because all heat left hell and it froze over. 
July 10th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
What? Sorry; was busy throwing another snowball at Satan. Get back here Thompson!
Anyway; this study just seems to be more inline with what *actual* gamers have been saying for *years*. Just how long does it take for common sense to catch up to science and should science by left tied in a closet until such time as common sense arrives.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Well that certainly is good news. I think considering there are probably lots of girls who are still put off, or generally discouraged from playing video games because its “what boys do”, the numbers would be even more equal. And its funny how you either get negative opinions on video games, where people say it will turn ordinary kids into killers, or just unbiased ones, that say while video games dont instantly lead to more aggressive children, its always good to be safe and check a childs reactions, because you never know.
I am still confused as to why its always the phrase “violent video games” though, as if that’s all they have to offer; violence. Im not quite sure I understand that, since Im used to having a storyline and a reason for having to kill in games, or than “to watch blood spurt out of the bodies”. While I know that a small amount of video games seem to just want to bask in senseless violence (as with some films) the majority of games Im familiar with dont do that at all. While they contain violence, from my experience there is always a reason behind it. I think its time more people realised that video games arent simple violence simulators, like some people would have them believe.
Maybe just generalising with saying “violent video games” does save time, but I think it just ignores anything else about the game other than it contains some violence. Again, there are movies out there that contain violence, yet are not characterised by this fact alone. And I think the term “violence” is pretty broad. After all, games aimed specifically at younger players can still contain a level of violence, right?
July 10th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I suspect it’s tied to the ESRB rating, since they mention that kids have played “M” rated games and it’s not the end of the world.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Yeah, I can somewhat understand in this situation in regards to checking kids reactions after playing games with violence in. I was sort of speaking generally about the phrase “violent video games” though. I mean, I always seem to remember arguments against video games that only highlight the “violence” the game contains within. As in, if you can shoot people, its a “violent video game” and thats all there is to it. Perhaps its just me.
As I said, maybe its to save time, but anti-video game folks rarely seem to bring up anything other than that the game in question contains violence, which is true for pretty much any form of entertainment.
July 10th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
You hit the nail on the head, Bends. I wonder how many of these so called “experts” have actually seen more than a quick video clip of the “violence” or been exposed to the contextual basis for which such violence becomes a part of what the player is doing.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:15 am
My next question for the gender and video games researchers would be about the social context in which the kids are playing these games — alone, with others of their own gender, with others of the other gender, with one other person, in large groups? Cause we know that gender dynamics have a lot to do with interactions with other people — boys posturing for other boys, girls feeling like they can’t/shouldn’t stand up to boys, and so forth.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
[...] with studies that have shown that while women don’t necessarily purchase non-casual games, they do in fact play them a lot more than marketers initially thought, so really, all of the assumptions you could make about how gender determines videogame preference [...]