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Many people think of gaming as an activity dominated by males. There is only some truth to this. While males make up the majority of total gamers, breaking gaming into the categories of console gaming and online computer gaming yields some interesting results.

According to an October 2006 study released by Nielsen Entertainment, 64% of all online gamers are women. While women make up roughly two-thirds of online gamers, they only account for a little more than one-third of total gamers. How is this so? As it stands, males currently represent the overwhelming majority of console gaming. This means that females have a unique interest in online gaming, while the world of console gamers is dominated by males.

The social element of gaming is becoming increasingly important which is a likely factor in the rise of girls playing online video games. My experiences certainly point in this direction. I have a younger sister who when growing up, I could not even bribe to play a video game with me. Now, at sixteen, she has shown an interest in online games such as Maple Story mostly because she has a lot of friends who also play these games. For her, gaming functions as a social exchange between friends.

Gaming is not nearly as much of a solitary activity as it used to be. One very good example to illustrate this point is Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy is one of the most popular video game series of all-time. Final Fantasy was first released in the United States in 1990 as a one-player game. Up until recently, subsequent versions of Final Fantasy have also been solo games. Over a decade later, Square came out with an online version of Final Fantasy in Final Fantasy XI which is played with thousands of other online gamers. This new social aspect of Final Fantasy has helped attract female gamers.

Several other online games that have been gaining popularity in recent years are essentially gaming versions of social networking websites. These games are ones in which players can customize their own character that interacts in a virtual world. The most popular of such games is Habbo Hotel where people customize a character known as a Habbo that interacts with other online characters. Such games that allow social networking have yielded high female to male ratios.

On the other hand, the more popular console games include the first person shooters such as Halo as well as other games that are much more violent and gory. Testosterone, a primarily male hormone, probably plays some role in

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