The real reason girls don’t play Quake

While nearly half of parents forbid their kids to play “hardcore games,” of these, 60 percent forbid girls from playing them, compared to just 37 percent forbidding boys, according to a survey taken by casual games site PopCap.

In this case, “hardcore” refers to any non-casual game.

The PopCap study quotes New York-based psychologist Dr. Carl Arinoldo:

Boys do tend to be more active and aggressive than girls, and their choices for play activities are no different. It is generally considered more acceptable for boys to engage in more action-oriented and even somewhat violent activities (such as contact sports) than it is for girls.

Parents often tend to be somewhat more protective of their daughters in what they do than they are of their sons, allowing for a bit more independence and leeway for the boys. This is somewhat outdated thinking, but obviously a perspective shared by many parents even today.

Via Gamasutra.