Participation in social gaming has nearly doubled in the past year, according to PopCap Games. More than four in 10 U.S. Internet users (42%) have played social games in the past three months, up from 28% in 2010. The proportion of Internet users who are considered avid players (play at least six hours every week) has doubled: from 8% in 2010 to 16% in 2011. There are an estimated 98 million social gamers in the U.S., 70% of whom play daily or more often.
More than nine in 10 social gamers (96%) play on laptop or desktop computers; more than a quarter (28%) play on smartphones. While the majority (63%) of social gamers play on only one device, more than one in 10 (12%) play on three or more, up from 5% who did so in 2010. Avid social gamers are more likely than overall gamers to use smartphones, game consoles, and/or tablets for gaming.
Almost three quarters of U.S. social gamers (74%) have been playing for a year or longer. A third (33%) have been playing for more than three years. UK social gamers are newer to the activity; 38% have been playing two or more years, compared to 51% of U.S. gamers. Female social gamers outnumber male gamers by a larger margin in the UK than in the U.S.: 58%/42% vs. 54%/46%.
Social gamers play because they find the games fun, because they enjoy the competition, or as a form of stress relief. Facebook is the top site for social gaming; 89% of U.S. gamers play there. Nearly a fifth (18%) play on Google+, and 16% play on MySpace. U.S social gamers say that more than half of the time they log into social networks (51%), it’s specifically to play games (social or single-player).
Social gamers play primarily with real-world friends (64%) and online friends (57%), though 40% play with strangers. Social gaming is also a family activity: 15% play with spouses, 12% with adult children, 11% with children under 18, and 28% with other relatives.
Source: “2011 PopCap Games Social Gaming Research,” by Information Solutions Group for PopCap Games. Information Solutions Group, Carll Frye, 227 Bellevue Way, NE, #300, Bellevue, WA 98004; 425-373-1111; carll@infosolutionsgroup.com; www.infosolutionsgroup.com. Price: Available online at no charge. PopCap Games, Garth Chouteau, 600 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94107; 415-602-8147; garth@popcap.com; www.popcap.com.
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