STATISTICS
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Dimitri Williams, a communications researcher at the University of Southern California, headed a "virtual census" that helped get some statistics on the games and players. He found that the characters of video games spanning several platforms were mostly:
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82.9% White
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11.4% Black
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2.6% Latino
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2.6% Asian
Video game characters seriously underrepresented Latinos and Native Americans compared to the actual U.S. population, as well as children and the elderly​.
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Williams also found that female video game characters showed a far greater imbalance, making up only 15% of these characters. Only 10% were playable characters. Women make up 40% of the gaming population.
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Blacks' representation in games was closer to real-life numbers, but the study says that these were primarily in sports titles and in games that "reinforce stereotypes,"such as Grand Theft Auto.
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A study by Nielsen shows that among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) gamers, 65% don’t feel all sexual orientations have ample representation among video game characters, while just 16% believe they do.
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General Gaming Statistics
Why does representation matter?
Representation matters because it can seriously effect people mentally and in real-world situations to be misrepresented or have a lack of representation in anything in life, including film & television, social media, and gaming.
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It gives those who are misrepresented negative thoughts and feelings about themselves which can lead to negative life choices. It also gives others negative feelings about those who are misrepresented, increasing the opportunity for mistreatment.
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Keith Stuart writes: " It is isolating not to be thought of or considered in the culture you desperately want to consume and be part of. In a media-saturated environment, where messages of belonging are constantly transmitted via TV, social media and smartphones, inclusivity is a life buoy. If you do not see yourself on Netflix, on Instagram, in games, in forums, where are you? Do you mean anything? It matters."
Works Cited
Hsu, J. (2009, August 03). Video Games Lack Female and Minority Characters. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/9696-video-games-lack-female-minority-characters.html
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How Diverse Are Video Gamers-And the Characters They Play? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/how-diverse-are-video-gamers-and-the-characters-they-play.html
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John, T. (2017, June 04). Study: Videogames Underrepresent Minorities. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2009/07/minorities-in-videogames/
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Stuart, K. (2017, July 18). Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/18/diversity-video-games-industry-playstation-xbox
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