More girls becoming gamers according to the NPD

Girls Playing Video GamesA study by the NPD Group on young girls called “Girl Power: Understanding This Important Consumer Segment”, which examines how girls ages 2 to 14 years old spend their time in a typical week, has found that this group are increasingly spending more of their time playing PC and video games.

Girls ages 2-5 still spend the majority of their time with toys and dolls, but as they reach 6 to 8 years old they start becoming interested in board games and “virtual worlds”. By the time they reach 9-12 traditional toys are still their primary activity, but the NPD has found that these tweens start migrating to computer and video games, especially virtual online worlds.”

“Socialization is gearing up among the pre-teens, and the advent of interactive gaming really hits home with these girls who are looking for friends from the confines of their homes,” NPD explains. “Young Teens (age 13-14) are also gamers, but many girls this age are also now listening to music on portable digital music players and talking/texting on their mobile phones.”

“Some very traditional play patterns still are the most popular among girls, even in this digital age,” said Anita Frazier, NPD’s industry analyst. “Over 50 percent of girls ages 2-14 engage with dolls, plush, and arts & crafts in a given week which is a testament to the evergreen nature of these types of activities for girls.”

“Girls, in general, are famously social creatures,” continued Frazier. “The growth in use of social networking and virtual world websites by girls is a natural extension of this core value which needs to be recognized by manufacturers who count girls as primary market for their goods and services.”