Study: Women spend more on virtual items than men

Looks like it's not just in real life where women spend more money than men - turns out, women spend more in-game currency than men and also purchase more virtual items.

According to a study conducted by PlaySpan and VGMarket, more men may be buying virtual goods than they were last year, but women out spend them by double.

Average female buyers spend $50 more per year with in-game currency compares to $25 per year spent men with.

When it comes to real money used to purchase virtual items, $55 a year was spent by women versus $30 for men.

Median total spending among lady players was $80 per year for females and $60 for men.

Of the 2221 individuals participating in the survey, 78 percent were male, with 75 percent between the ages of 13 and 64 admitting they had purchased virtual goods in the last year.

Virtual goods included in the study were items, game content, and currency in social games, MMOs, and online PC and console games, including add-ons and other DLC.

Gamasutra notes women "had a relatively low total representation in the survey" as the majority of respondents play online PC and console games which are played by more males than females.

Those games also do not have as many items frequently available for purchase, like social and MMO titles, which have a higher amount of female players.

So, in short, the old stereotype of women loving to shop reins true in the virtual world of gaming as much as a real world shoe sale at Macy's.

More through the link.