A new study commissioned by the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (and carried out by an independent research agency called Populus) has shown that women are now in the majority when it comes to gaming.
The study reveals that, based on interviews with 4,000 UK residents, 52% of the gaming audience is now female, up from 49% in a similar study that was commissioned three years ago.
The stereotype of teenage boys sitting in darkened rooms glued to screens must now be considered archaic, especially when you consider that there are, according to the survey, more over 44 years olds (27%) playing games than children or teenagers (22%).
The study suggests that 69% of the British population now plays games. The increase in players is largely down to the rise of mobile gaming via the huge increase in the availability of smartphones, with puzzle games being played more than shooters.
While a cursory glance at the data might suggest that gaming via smartphones and through social media sites (like Facebook) might account for the steady increase in the female audience, the survey also revealed that women are playing disc-based games (47%), online games (68%) and console games (56%).
The average Briton plays around 6 hours per week, while 8-15 year olds regularly play for the longest period of time (up to 20 hours a week). Gamers are, according to the study, splitting their time across an average of three different platforms; consoles (30%) and computers (24%) dominate this market share, with smartphones (21%) and tablets (18%) bringing up the rear.
Another interesting fact is that, despite the shift towards digital and mobile games, disc-based games are still popular. Nearly a third of adults asked (29%) have bought a new game from a retailer in the last six months, and second-hand games are also still popular (21% of adults have bought one in the same period of time).
In summary, the information revealed here points to a continuing shift in the gaming landscape, with more and more female gamers joining an increasingly mature audience in playing more games and in increasingly different ways.
Our collective notion of who a traditional gamer is must surely be challenged, and if the industry is going to continue to evolve and be inclusive towards its expanding player-base, we're going to see increasingly diverse titles appearing in the future. Gaming is for everyone, and that fact isn't going away.
If you want to know more you can see the results of the survey here, but you have to be a member to access the data. Alternatively, the Guardian does a good job of rounding up the most important facts and figures.