Buzz
According to an official report on global mobile gaming in 2021 by Newzoo, mobile games generated a revenue of $93.2 billion, with $42 billion contributed by female gamers, replacing PC and console games to become the most promising market segment.
According to an official report on global mobile gaming in 2021 by Newzoo, mobile games generated a revenue of $93.2 billion, with $42 billion contributed by female gamers, replacing PC and console games to become the most promising market segment.
The absence and emergence of female gamers
Female gamers have always been present, but female characters with distinctive images and life stories are rarely seen in games. Princess Peach represents female characters in games following the old model, where the rescuers are always male characters as a central part of the storyline, satisfying players who want to be heroes.
Through data analysis, game developers have realized that female characters in games have attracted male gamers significantly. Therefore, there are increasingly more female characters in games, some even with impressive stories dedicated to female characters, such as Chun-Li in Street Fighter II and Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.
Highly Intelligent and Characterful Female Characters in Games
Recognizing the importance of gender diversity in societal development, games have begun to build female lead characters. From the first female lead character Samus in 1986 to the first game for females Angelique in 1999, and beyond, with the market targeting females booming and rapidly evolving, female gamers have become a cornerstone force in contributing to game revenue.
The Development Reasons for the 'Her Games' Trend
Beautifully designed female characters have attracted an increasing number of female gamers. The development of female gamers has been propelled by the recognition of the importance of women. With the advancement of science and technology as well as societal changes, women are becoming more financially stable. As it's often said, the economic base determines the superstructure. With increasing financial independence and higher social status, women have become a major consumer force.
Moreover, female users are becoming wealthier and more willing to spend, and modern hardware and software produced by phone and game companies also contribute to driving the spending of female gamers.
With the advancement of technology, terminal devices are becoming much cheaper, mobile phones are becoming more common, and the number of internet users is also increasing significantly. In fact, since the dawn of the Internet age, about 60% of internet users have been female, always outnumbering males.
Initially constrained by hardware, early mobile games were designed for touch screen interaction, such as Angry Birds and Subway Surfers. These casual games have simple gameplay, with short playtimes, making them very suitable for female players. From casual games to RPGs, MOBAs, and mid-core, hard-core games, the number of female gamers is steadily increasing, accounting for over 50% of total gamers.
The huge and growing number of female users demonstrates the market potential, encouraging game developers to start creating games targeting women. Target markets include Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas
The Significant Differences between European, American, and Southeast Asian Markets
Games for women in these two regions differ greatly in artistic style, narrative, and gameplay.
Firstly, artistic style and graphics. Based on data provided by SocialPeta, most games targeting women prefer cartoonish styles, a delicate and cute game, following the Japanese and Korean styles, or the dramatic style of Disney comics.
Next, the core of the storyline. Games in the Southeast Asian market attract female gamers with male characters. The Southeast Asian market has seen many games targeting famous female audiences, such as Ensemble Stars!! (ES2), a top-ranking game on Twitter. ES2 is a music game for women with a theme of idol training. The game is designed based on the long-standing idol training tradition in Japan, telling the story of boys striving for their dreams, beloved and highly rated by many female gamers.
Ensemble Stars!! has made considerable efforts, according to ads gathered by SocialPeta, to build attractive male character images. The characters dancing and singing on a sparkling stage are typical highlights in their ads, aiming to deeply impress gamers by recreating the stage lights and the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.
SocialPeta Advertising Intelligence
Developers are adept at using charming male characters as a secret weapon to appeal to female gamers. They skillfully create a variety of handsome male characters with different personalities, forming a captivating group of characters.
Unlike games for women in Southeast Asia, games for women in Europe and the Americas focus more on gameplay. From the rankings of mobile games by downloads in February 2022 released by SocialPeta, we can see that popular women's games like Project Makeover by Magic Tavern received over 3 million downloads on the App Store, up 14.8% from the previous month, and earned over $16 million globally, up 10.7% from the previous month. In 2020, IGG also released a major hit called Time Princess. Both games have female-related elements added and highlight the development of female characters as the story unfolds.
In addition to diverse gameplay, mobile games for women in Europe and the Americas provide great storylines for female characters. Female main characters are no longer confined to the mold of a romantic relationship; instead, they have their own lives and very real problems. They are diverse; they can have bold makeup, or have an imperfect figure, or they can be a regular housewife.
Handsome guys or independent women are designed in games to attract women more; that's the significance of gender-targeted games.
Conclusion
According to SocialPeta, games targeting women will develop in two directions. For games released in the Southeast Asian market, they should adopt graphics in the style of Japan and Korea, focusing on designing male characters. For games released in the European and American markets, they should apply graphics in the style of Disney with engaging gameplay and captivating storylines.
Driven by the boom of the 'her economy,' the women's gaming market is highly potential. Everything could be much easier for gaming companies if they decide which market to target.
