History PeripheryDemographic / VideoGames

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Online subscription service has a Family Membership option that costs 35 USD per year as opposed to 20 USD per year for an individual membership. As the title implies, it's meant to be used by families, but it also sees wide use amongst non-family groups of friends who want to save money; 2 people sharing the same subscription group means the cost comes out to 17.50 USD per person, while a full group means the cost is only about 4.38 USD per person.

** The series is targeted at children, with adorable quirky characters and relatively simple core gameplay, but has quite the community where most of the people on it are adults or teenagers. Some fans have guessed that the reason why it's more popular among adults than kids may be the lack of violence causing kids to shy away from it, or elements such as the need to pay off an in-game mortgage making more sense to adults than children. Some even joke that ''Animal Crossing'' is a mature game meant for adults due to this. [[http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/08/satoru-iwata-on-animal-crossing-sales-56-of-players-are-female/ An article]] showed that within a year in New Leaf's release, the game was most popular with women in their 20s.

* Shmup games, specifically old-school vintage ones such as those made by Creator/{{CAVE}}, Creator/{{Psikyo}} as well as the ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'' series are known in the modern scene by mobile gamers, this is because many retro shmups are ported to mobile due to the fact that touchscreen controls suit shmups more and make it easier to play than using a controller.

* Shmup games, specifically old-school vintage ones such as those made by Creator/{{CAVE}},Creator/{{Psikyo}} as well as the ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}'' series are known in the modern scene by mobile gamers, this is because many retro shmups are ported to mobile due to the fact that touchscreen controls suit shmups more and make it easier to play than using a controller.

* Shmup games, specifically old-school vintage ones such as those made by Creator/{{CAVE}},Creator/{{Psikyo}} as well as the VideoGame/Raiden series are known in the modern scene by mobile gamers, this is because many retro shmups are ported to mobile due to the fact that touchscreen controls suit shmups more and make it easier to play than using a controller.

* Shmup games, specifically old-school vintage ones such as those made by Creator/{{CAVE}},Creator/{{Psikyo}} as well as the Videogame/Raiden series are known in the modern scene by mobile gamers, this is because many retro shmups are ported to mobile due to the fact that touchscreen controls suit shmups more and make it easier to play than using a controller.

* VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin has great popularity with younger viewers due to its simple-enough gameplay, very catchy music, and cutely designed characters. It helps that a (now seemingly canon) element of the game is the relationship between Pico and BF which many in this periphery demo ran with as romantic. (The fact that they are canonically exes does not stop people from portraying them as a budding romantic couple, often ignoring all other characters entirely.)

* Although it is about creating fictional pandemics, ''VideoGame/PlagueInc'' was ''not'' made to educate players about disease. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it gained a large subsection of players who played it in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of how diseases spread. The developers quickly became aware of the new player base, and the game was updated to be slightly more realistic in response.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', despite being the absolute reigning queen of MsFanservice in gaming, has a lot of female fans. Articles written by her female fans cite how Bayonetta completely owns her sexuality instead of being objectified by other characters, plus how sexy she is for most of the game is dependent on how much the player makes her sexy. Also some believe the {{Fanservice}} is so over the top it goes from titillating to silly.

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' is targeted at children, but has quite the community where most of the people on it are adults or teenagers. Some fans even remark that the reason Animal Crossing became popular with the community is because it's meant for children but has no violence, so kids shy away from it. In fact, some even joke that ''Animal Crossing'' is a mature game meant for adults due to this. Furthermore, [[http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/08/satoru-iwata-on-animal-crossing-sales-56-of-players-are-female/ an article]] showed that within a year in New Leaf's release, the game was mostly popular with women in their 20s.

* Blind gamers found ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' to be [[https://youtu.be/WAiQ-FNLxR8 surprisingly accessible]], particularly due to distinct sound cues for almost every action and some parts of your environment -- you can hear everything from characters walking around to balloons floating overhead. These cues, when combined with a screen reader for the game's vast amount of text, convey enough of what's going on in-game for blind people to be able to play.
--> Ross Minor: "It is very, very rare to find a new game that I'm able to play. There's probably ten games tops that I'm able to play by myself independently, and so whenever the blind community discovers a new game, it's a really, really exciting thing."

* Blind gamers found ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' to be [[https://youtu.be/WAiQ-FNLxR8 surprisingly accessible]], particularly due to distinct sound cues for most every action.

--> Ross Minor: "It is very, very rare to find a new game that I'm able to play. There's probably ten games tops that I'm able to play by myself independently, and so whenever the blind community discovers a new game, it's a really, really exciting thing."

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is aimed at teens and adults, but has a large fanbase with children. This is mainly due to being able to play as animals such as bears and kangaroos, as well as characters like the cyborg ninja Yoshimitsu and the Jack-bots.

* ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster'' is a pop star raising simulation game with an all female cast (That is, until [[WholesomeCrossdresser DS]] and ''THE iDOLM@STER 2'') that was intended for male otaku. However, due to it being very girly, with there being a focus on fashion and the VirtualPaperDoll aspect, songs about girl power, and well, the fact that the cast is all female, there is quite a lot of female fans, especially in the west. Namco even acknowledged this and added three {{bishonen}} male idols as rivals in ''THE iDOLM@STER 2''. Unfortunately, while the female fans were pleased, it provoked a massive backlash against the game from the male {{otaku}} audience, in part because some of the original cast didn't make it into the sequel and the {{Bishonen}} males were [[ReplacementScrappy seen to be "replacing" them]].

* The ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' DatingSim series, though very much aimed at a male audience, acquired a significant female fanbase. In fact, this led {{Creator/Konami}} to create the [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] "Girl's Side" branch of the series.

* ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}''. Although official forum traffic tends to strongly imply that ''Minecraft''[='=]s primary demographic is male and probably 13-17 years old, there is visible evidence on Website/YouTube and other places, of the game having both a female and adult playerbase as well.

* The extremely [[DarkerAndEdgier dark]] and [[NintendoHard hardcore]] {{Mon}} franchise ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' has a ''huge'' female fanbase, mostly thanks to ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', though interest has quickly expanded to the main series as well. By far the most requested feature in every new Megami Tensei game is simply a female protagonist.

* ''VideoGame/PriPara'' is a {{Toyetic}} arcade game aimed at little girls. Due to the friend card feature encouraging interaction with friends that also play the game, the VirtualPaperDoll aspect (from the makers of ''VideoGame/StyleSavvy''!), and just being [[{{UsefulNotes/Kawaisa}} so damned cute]], it has a large amount of adult women that play, affectionately referred to as "Obasan".

* There is a VirtualPaperDoll HGame called 3D Custom Girl that, thanks to the program tso2pmd and the ease of modding, is more often used to make UsefulNotes/MikuMikuDance models than for its... intended purpose. It's generally a valuable tool to have if you are into MMD.
* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'' was originally designed for a niche military otaku fanbase. However, [[{{Moe}} due to the character designs]] and the characters' unique personalities, it became one of the most played PC games in Japan. It even has fanbases in countries that UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan has once occupied, including China.

* ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGamecube'' [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff sells better in America]] than elsewhere due to it being released in a time where ''Videogame/GrandTheftAuto'' was on the rage, and with MoralGuardians enforcing scrutiny to violent video games, Gamecube became the choice for conservative and wary parents as the "console without Grand Theft Auto in it", building a new generation of Nintendo fans at the moment that grew with games like ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', among others.

* The [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Sega Mark III]] (or Master System) was designed primarily to compete with Nintendo's [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Family Computer]] (or NES), which was the dominant game console in Japan during the 1980's. While it never took off there, nor in America and Germany (due to the stranglehold Nintendo had with third-party developers with their strict licensing policies), it enjoyed great success in Europe and Brazil, where it saw numerous exclusive releases.

** ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' also has a sizeable female fanbase for similar reasons.
** As does its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''.

* ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'' was originally designed for a niche military otaku fanbase. However, [[{{Moe}} due to the character designs]] and the characters' unique personalities, it became one of the most played PC games in Japan. It even have fanbases in countries that ''UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan has once occupied, including China.''

* The [=PlayStation=] 3, when it first came out, was one of the earliest Blu-Ray players, as well as the cheapest widely available one and the only one not prone to frequent mechanical or software errors. As a result, a lot of [=PS3s=] were bought by movie fans, critics, and scholars who would otherwise never touch anything related to video games and would talk of the [=PS3=] as if it were simply a good quality Blu-Ray player rather than a video game system.
** This also applies to the [=PlayStation=] 2 for a similar reason, as it was the first game console that could play [=DVDs=]. While the first movie released on [=DVD=] preceded the system by a few years, it was released when the format was becoming popular, and was much cheaper than most standard [=DVD=] players at the time. This meant that many people who were not gamers bought it to play movies, which is thought to be one of the contributing factors to its eventual status as the best-selling console of all time.

* VideoGame/WiiSports, especially bowling, found a surprisingly large fanbase in nursing homes and senior centers due to being small, easy to set up, easy to play, and not likely to hurt one's foot if you dropped the "ball."

** For exactly the same reasons, the fanbase has a large margin of females as well, despite the ImprobablyFemaleCast.

** Best part of it all is ZUN outright supporting this whole thing by effectively saying "Don't spoil the endings, don't use my sound effects in your fan games. Otherwise, ''do whatever you want because I don't mind it as it's cool and there will be no copyright issues EVER.''"

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' was intended is for young children, but it happens to be very attractive to a young adult demographic, mainly because the character designs have strong similarities to the 90s cartoons they grew up watching. Also, in a rare in-universe example, a song that is at the core of Inkling society actually has [[spoiler:Octarian commander DJ Octavio]] jamming to it.

* Creator/{{Nintendo}} is popular among much older players than the colorful characters generally are marketed toward, and is also very popular among gamers who normally use PC; they generally prefer it over the other consoles due to their exclusive games, as well as the fact that most of their games tend to run at 60 FPS, instead of the 30 FPS that most modern console games target (which PC gamers despise).

* ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGamecube'' [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff sells better in America]] than elsewhere due to it being released in a time where ''Videogame/GrandTheftAuto'' was on the rage, and with MoralGuardians enforcing scrutiny to violent video games, Gamecube became the choice for conservative and wary parents as the "console without Grand Theft Auto in it", building a new generation of Nintendo fans at the moment that grew with games like ''Videogames/SuperSmashBros Melee'', among others.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has its intended fanbase of teenage boys and college aged men, and its unintended fanbase of women of ages 14-25 who are in it for the [[MrFanservice men in skintight sneaking suits]], and the [[YaoiFangirl heavy amounts of]] HoYay, not to mention the {{Shirtless Scene}}s. Some of them like the explosions and giant robots as well, of course.

* ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGamecube'' [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff sells better in America]] than elsewhere due to it being released in a time where ''Videogame/GrandTheftAuto'' was on the rage, and with MoralGuardians enforcing scrutiny to violent video games, Gamecube became the choice for conservative and wary parents as the "console without Grand Theft Auto in it", building a new generation of Nintendo fans at the moment that grew with games like ''Videogames/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', among others.

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series has many teenage and adult followers as well as child fans, due to nostalgia from the Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast days and fondness for the gameplay itself.
* The rather... complicated storylines, the dozens of MrFanservice guys and the ''buttloads'' of ShipTease (either {{het}} or HoYay, as well as some bits of LesYay) has made ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' '''extremely''' popular among female players. It does help that it's among the LongRunners, therefore many of the ladies who play it now likely grew up watching other people playing the earlier games. In fact, this has been so acknowledged that they even made an official otome game based on the franchise, ''The King of Fighters For Girls''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' has a scene amongst, of all things, ''competitive gamers'', thanks to its versus mode. It's become a staple at some fighting game tournament events, to the point where there are money matches.

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series has many teenage and adult followers as well as child fans, due to nostalgia from the Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast days, fondness for the gameplay itself, and the odd bit of GettingCrapPastTheRadar (often concerning [[SpyCatsuit Rouge]]).

* It may be rarer for a ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fan to have actually played the games, rather than be drawn to it by the [[FantasyKitchenSink setting]], the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters massive, colourful cast]] (and equally massive amounts of fan art) and/or the [[AwesomeMusic/{{Touhou}} awesome music]] (and equally awesome arranges).

* As a credit to the gameplay, let it be known that ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', a series of ''single player'' action games, '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_DWmuXQ7Qk is tournament worthy.]]'''''

** And to make maters more obvious we have ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament''.

* ''VideoGame/TheCaligulaEffect'' was a UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita game aimed at people in their 30s, though it attracted quite a lot of younger fans as well, given the wide variety of deep and very personal subject matter that it tackles.

** Also, it's extremely popular among people on the autistic spectrum. The ''Sonic'' universe has a pretty heavy amount of WorldBuilding to it. And since many of its characters adhere to a homogenized character design[[note]]two circles for head and body; stick limbs; just pick a species, a color and a special ability and you're done[[/note]] which is conveniently simple and easy to draw, it's easy for people to create their own personas and stick them into the world via fanfiction.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' was meant to be a MascotFighter as a last second joke, but it was popular enough with people that they made ''Melee'', which was a competitive paradise. ''Brawl'' [[CasualCompetitiveConflict alienated that demographic somewhat]], however. The fourth installment is openly aiming for both groups, with separate game modes called For Fun and For Glory designed to satisfy everyone.