Gamertell

Maybe it’s time to start rewriting some of those rote gamer cliches. You know, like, “Your mom is such a gamer.” Statistically, thats not so far-fetched.

According to the ESA’s (Entertainment Software Association’s) annual report released during E3 2008, 40 percent of all gamers are women older than 18 and a quarter are older than 50. That’s up from 38 percent and 24 percent, respectively, from the 2007 release (PDF). The average age of gamers also ticked up to 35 from 33.

This is the sort of data that plays right into the more casual, family-friendly strategies all the major game companies are trying to roll out. Microsoft’s avatars, Sony’s featuring LittleBigPlanet as one of three games in a major marketing blitz and Nintendo being, well, Nintendo. In a world where a Sims 2 expansion pack beats Call of Duty 4 on the PC and WiiPlay beats it on the console side on the report’s year-long sales charts, it makes sense for companies to start moving their chips around the board. Eleven of the 20 top-sellers on consoles were rated “Everyone.” Three, including Halo at the top spot, were rated Mature.

The age and gender demographics taken with the sales charts don’t suggest that women and the over-50 crowd can’t enjoy mature content. It does suggest a shift away from some of the comic book-fueled gore fests targeted toward young men. When a game gets rated Mature these days, it rarely means it has a lot to say about the human experience and delivers that message in ways that may be tough for the young ones to come to grip with. Often, it’s that it has far less cultural significance than a cheese sandwich and conveys its message through a shoot-anything-that-moves blur. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

Also according to the report, 44 percent of online-game players were women and nearly 50 percent of online games played were board or card games. Seventeen percent of online games played were downloadable titles such as Bejeweled. The big three console makers are all making strides in delivering those smaller-scale games through their online services and on retail shelves. And, heck, if you play it right, chess can be just as evocative as another stomp through COD‘s Chinatown. Or, at least it is for some people. Some people like your mom.

Read [News Report] Site [ESA]