Gaming for couples the next big thing

What could be more romantic than snuggling into the couch with that special someone… and playing some computer games? A lot of things, actually, but perhaps that’s just because no-one has yet got around to designing a computer game with cross-gender appeal?

According to an Anderson Analytics report covered by Marketing Charts, this is precisely what computer game players are calling out for. The survey of 1000 college students found that about two thirds play computer games – 82% of male students and 59% of female students.

It seems what they really want to do, however, is play their games together. Only 25% of gamers say they play games with members of the opposite sex, but more than 50% said they would like to see games specifically designed for that purpose.

“This may be both a promising opportunity as well as quite a challenge for game makers, since male and female gamers tend to be drawn to different genres,” Tom Anderson, managing partner of Anderson Analytics, told Marketing Charts.

The survey results support Anderson’s view. It found men prefer action/adventure games (70%) and shooting games (52%). Women, on the other hand, favour puzzle (55.3%) and family fun/party games (45.9%).