作者：Libe Goad

女性群体是推动Facebook游戏（例如《Farmville》）成功的中坚力量。但她们究竟忠诚到何种程度？

Farmville from blogspot.com

早前研究显示，女性群体是社交游戏（例如搭载Facebook、MySpace平台的游戏）的主体玩家，她们已经日渐“沉迷”此类游戏当中，且会继续体验，前提她们无需掏钱。

受调查的700名女性中，54%表示每日都会体验游戏，30%每周体验。大量女性流连《FarmVille》之类的社交游戏不足称奇，有趣的是若游戏由免费变成订阅模式，77%表示会选择放弃游戏。听起来似乎是些只要免费午餐的玩家。

研究未调查女性玩家购买社交游戏付费道具意向。Zynga之类的公司去年创收数百万（游戏邦注：其中主要来自微交易），这会成为未来研究的主要议题。

下面就来看看报告内容。

“我其实是真正游戏玩家！”

–调查对象中，42%认为自己是“游戏玩家”，7%承认自己已“成瘾”。

–67%认为每周体验1-5小时属于“大众接受标准”，而26%认为每周6小时或以上也属于大众接受范围。

–45%表示有好友“沉迷”社交游戏。

–大约16%调查者表示会“隐藏”或者“偶尔隐藏”游戏爱好。

“游戏存有弊端，但我能够控制自己。”

–2/3调查者认为游戏有“弊端”，在她们看来，游戏不良影响有：

* “游戏具有成瘾性”（24%）

* “玩游戏会让你忽略其他日常活动”（21%）

* “玩游戏就是浪费时间”（17%）

–工作期间不体验：93%表示她们主要在家玩游戏。

“不论我多爱这款游戏，我都不会掏钱。”

–超过一半调查者（游戏邦注：54%）“担心”未来会有越来越多游戏要求玩家付费。

–若强制付费，77%会选择放弃，而：

* 10%希望采用每月订阅模式

* 10%希望采用按体验计费机制

* 2%希望各游戏单独计费

“我的小孩是活跃玩家，但他们从未掏钱。”

–所有上网小孩（18岁以下群体）中：16%妈妈表示其小孩有智能手机。

–40%妈妈表示小孩可以每天玩游戏，37%可以每周玩游戏，10%只能每月玩一次。

–普遍来说，小孩没有资金来源：80%家长不允许小孩在社交游戏当中消费。

游戏邦注：原文发布于2010年2月16日，文章涉及数据以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Women “obsessed” with social games (as long as they’re free)

by Libe Goad

There’s a loyal army of woman who power Facebook hits such as Farmville. But just how loyal are they?

A new study from Q Interactive and Engage! Expo finds that women, who make up the majority of people who play games on Facebook, MySpace, et al, have become “obsessed” with them (much like this woman), and will continue to play … as long as they don’t have to pay for the privilege.

From the 700 women who were surveyed, 54 percent play daily and 30 percent play weekly. While it’s no surprise to see so many ladies embracing games such as FarmVille, it was also interesting to see that 77% of them would give up their games if they went from a free game (with micro-transactions) to a subscription model. Sounds like we have some fair-weather farmers on our hands.

The study, however, didn’t ask what women think about paying small sums for premium items in social games. Considering that a company like Zynga raked in millions last year — and a significant portion of that income is from micro-transactions — that would make a killer subject for a follow-up study.

See more factoids gleaned from the report after the jump.

Finding: “I Embrace My Inner Gamer!”

- Of those surveyed, 42 percent consider themselves “gamers” and seven percent deem themselves “obsessed.”

- For 67 percent, one to five hours per week is “socially acceptable”; however, 26 percent feel six or more hours per week is socially acceptable.

- Nearly 45 percent of those surveyed have friends they consider “obsessed” with social media gaming.

- Approximately 16 percent of those surveyed “hide” or “sometimes hide” their gaming habits.

Finding: “There are Gaming Faux Pas – But I Set Boundaries for Myself”

- Over two-thirds of those surveyed believe there are “stigmas” associated with gaming. For those women, the leading stigma is:

- “Games are addictive” (24 percent)

- “Play makes you neglectful of other areas of your life” (21 percent)

- “Gaming is a waste of time” (17 percent.)

- Play at work is basically off limits: 93 percent of those surveyed share they primarily play at home versus work.

Finding: “I Won’t Pay – No Matter How Much I Love a Game”

- More than half of women surveyed – 54 percent – “fear” more games will make gamers pay in the future.

- If forced to pay, 77 percent would give up the game, while:

- 10 percent would prefer a monthly subscription or fee

- 10 percent would prefer a pay-as-I-go system

- Two percent would prefer a separate payment scenario for each game played

Finding: “My Kids Are Active in Social Media Gaming – But They are Not Paying”

- Overall kids (children under 18 years old) are connected: 16 percent of moms say their children have a smart phone.

- According to mom, 40 percent of kids are allowed to play daily, 37 percent weekly, and 10 percent monthly.

- Generally speaking, kids are banned from the wallet: 80 percent are not allowed to pay for social media gaming.（Source：games）