Online Gaming popularity grows among youngest & oldest female segments in the U.S.

comScore, Inc. released results of a study into the online gaming category, indicating significant user growth among teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 17 and women between the ages of 55 and 64. While the total female online gaming audience in August 2008 grew 27 percent versus last year to nearly 43 million visitors, the number of female gamers in the 12-24 and 55-64 age segments grew at a substantially faster rate. Growth in these particular demographic groups is likely the result of the emergence of gaming content, portals and Web sites catering specifically to these segments.

“Many advertisers and their ad agencies have long understood the appeal of online gaming among teenage boys, and they have now found creative ways to effectively reach these female audiences with targeted ad campaigns,” said Edward Hunter, director of Gaming Solutions at comScore. “With the increased interest in online gaming among the highly lucrative teenage girl and older female demographic segments, marketers who have been hesitant to transfer some of their ad spend to the gaming space may now be taking a second look.”

Contributing to strong growth in the category among younger girls is the increasing popularity of fashion and dress-up sites, such as Stardoll.com, DressUpGames.com, and I-Dressup.com, and virtual worlds such as Neopets and Gaiaonline.com. Meanwhile, the growth among older females is in part due to partnerships between women’s content portals and casual game sites, such as iVillage.com’s partnership with Pogo.com games.

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