I would say no, but most current game mags are so tilted towards teenage boys that I can see girls just getting fed up with reading it. Edge is one of the few magazines anyone respects these days. It's the only one not making penis and boob jokes every month.
I see Girls playing PSP/DS all the time in the subways here (Korea) and I saw plenty of females on their DSes in Japan (playing Mario Kart, heh). Then again back in the US I RARELY see ANYONE playing videogames while on the Bus or something so maybe it's frequency?
More than likely, this statistic includes those playing casual games on their computer like Solitaire, Peggle, and Bejewelled. I've seen quite a few girls playing on DSes on the bus/skytrain around where I live, but the concentration of Asians here are high and they do seem more technologically inclined than many other ethnic groups.
Every single one of my female friends play video games on a regular basis, some as much so as myself. Plus, I see plenty of girls on the subway here in Boston playing with a DS. Several times the game being Phoenix Wright, oddly.
That 38% number needs to be broken down a bit more. When that study says that, it refers to all video games, not just the console games. Most console games have lots of action, violence, and language. A majority of girls are not into that as much as guys are. Whenever I see a woman play a game, it's either on her computer, internet, on the DS, or on her cell phone; and the game they play is typically not a mature rated game (a majority, not everybody). More specifically, as an example; the Sims! A top selling game of all-time, AND it is one of the only games in the world which females play it more than males! Along with Second Life, those 2 games very well could make up at least 40-50% of those women that play games.
When talking about percentages we have to also mix culture or places on that, because that 38% probably doesn't apply to all countries. I dare to say where i live gaming is a common thing, but like 90% must be males (judging from conventions, tournaments, forums and all kind of places i have been to).
