Gamer audience gender split equal on PC and mobile, male-dominant on console

The widespread stereotype of gamers as being predominantly male has been dealt yet another blow.

A new report from App Annie looking into the US audiences for mobile, PC and console during Q3 2015 found that iOS, Android and PC/Mac gamers were almost exactly evenly-split between male and female.

The console demographic, meanwhile, was tilted more heavily towards male players.

Regarding the age of gamers, it may come as a surprise that the console audience actually skewed to the youngest bracket – spanning those between 13 and 24 on average. PC saw the oldest average player age, aiming at those over 45.

Conversely, mobile covered the widest age distribution, from 25 to 44.

This may subsequently relate to the amount of time players invest in gaming on their favoured device.

Across consoles, PC and handhelds (such as 3DS), average playtime was roughly equal. PC players were the least predictable in their gaming patterns – playing for anywhere from under five hours to more than 20 every week.

Android was found to have the broadest user base, but this meant that it also saw the least time played per week on average – less than a third of the time allotted to consoles, handhelds and PC.

Focusing on mobile, App Annie found that player spending rose on both iOS and Android during 2015, increasing mobile’s standing as the most valuable gaming category after it overtook console in 2014.

While spending per device was five times higher on console, mobile’s ubiquity meant that it generated more revenue overall, with console and handheld spend falling slightly from 2013 to 2015.

Games accounted for more than 80 per cent of spending on mobile stores, with Google Play seeing a higher proportion of games revenue – but the iOS App Store bringing in more money in total.