The NPD Group says that the number of female gamers is on the rise in 2009 compared to last year, “significantly” among console gamers.

Females increased by five percentage points among console gamers, from 23 percent in 2008 to 28 percent in 2009, according to the company’s Gamer Segmentation 2009 report. The jump is attributed largely to the popularity of Wii, which saw a 19 percent increase in usage over 2008.

There was also a four percentage point rise in females among both “heavy portable and extreme gamers.” The latter group plays games for an average of 39 hours a week.

"Last year was one of the most transformative in history in terms of defining the audience for gaming, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "Even with the increased competition from mobile and social network gaming, the console gamer segment added the most new participants to its ranks in the last year."

Data was collected from more than 20,000 members of NPD’s online consumer panel and weighted to represent the US population of individuals aged two and above.