Feminine gamification viewpoint: Pokemon Go a ladies game?
If you have been following me for some time, you know I play a lot of games. From my social media you may also have noticed some funny visiting Pokemon Go snaps with their augmented reality photo capability. According to research by SurveyMonkey in the US, 63% of the players are actually female. The statistic is taken from a panel of over 1 million of both IOS and Android users, which I would say is considerable and potentially reflective of a good proportion of society.
The majority of players playing the game are also between 18 and 29. They very likely were growing up with the first Pokemon craze as kids with games and collectibles relating to it on Nintendo.
Personally I really enjoy the game and capturing new creatures and evolving them to see what other new creature comes from it, is what motivates me to keep going. My appetite from the early days is quietening but then that would be the case with most games I play. I start with a phase of real intense appetite and play a lot and then over time it becomes more of a few of the games I play. Because Pokemon Go is linked to walking however it is the only game I bring on my walks together with the run keeper app.
Last year at the Gamification World Congress I spoke about the subtle differences between men and women, but also how women tend to spend more on in-app purchases. Now I wonder wether it is a surprise to note that Pokemon Go is also the top grossing app, and it got more people than any other game to date to opt in to in-app purchases. Crazy, I know! Yet I am one of those, who made their very first in game purchase ever. At the moment these purchases account for 47% of the total mobile gaming market.I wonder if there is a correlation between female users and in-app spend, of which I have not yet seen any statistic, yet I would like to know.
As a result of Pokemon Go and the opportunity it poses for including augmented reality in projects, I have won our first Pokemon Go style corporate campaign. For that alone I am thankful for this game to hit the market and making it visible and mainstream for all of us.
Female players do enjoy an easy to use application with a clear user flow, the early phases of Pokemon Go have exactly that. A professor that helps you get started and then some early ease characters to throw balls at and catch. The battling part from level 7 onwards personally I found a bit hard to grasp initially and also I was a bit dumbfounded that just tapping on my creature would make me win battles. So from a gameplay perspective the simplicity I think appeals, the graphics appeal and the fact that you can play it with friends and family. Picture taking and sharing if you look at Pinterest for example is by far a ladies game. Facebook and other social media statistics will tell you a similar story.
[video_player type=”embed” width=”560″ height=”315″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″]
[/video_player]
What do you like about Pokemon Go and why do you think it appeals to ladies?
