Tue, Jul 26, 2011 | 10:17 BST
Report: Mobile games contribute to doubling of gamers from ‘older demographics’
A report by market intelligence firm Parks Associates has said a huge rise in mobile gaming has taken place since 2007.
The report, mulled over by Gamasutra, suggests that mobile devices have contributed significantly to a rise in the number of people playing games across a wide age range.
“The broad appeal of mobile games such as Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Words With Friends and increasing ease with which people can download them have attracted less traditional gamers, including a growing number of older players and females,” it says.
The number of older games players has doubled in the last four years, the report claims.
Furthermore, Park’s research suggests that over one-third of the US population over the age of 13 plays a mobile game every month, and that two-thirds of smartphone users regularly play games on their phones.
What on earth are the other one-third of smartphone users doing with their phones?
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Posted in: America, Retail, Trade
Tags: Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Parks Associates, reports, smartphones, words with friends
5 comments
#1
Deacon
26/07/11, 10:47 am
I don’t feel entirely comfortable when people talk about the rising number of ‘gamers’, when these stats mainly refer to people who probably don’t own a major platform, & play Angry Birds on the train to work or whilst taking a shit.
#2
Peetry
26/07/11, 11:27 am
@1 I tend to agree with your sentiment; however it’s often difficult to argue this point without sounding massively elitist. I personally do not categorise people who exclusively play mobile games as proper ‘gamers’ in the same way I don’t categorize people who just read the Sun as ‘well-read’. See, I sound like a prat!
#3
Deacon
26/07/11, 12:58 pm
I tried to avoid sounding snobby about it… alas, I failed.
Anyway that wasn’t my intention. I just find these sort of statements somewhat misleading. People talk about the growth of videogames as an industry, but a lot of this is nothing more than a $2 pick up and play (then throw-away/forget) by people who generally don’t ‘game’.
The lines are blurring, and I seem to have a penchant for wanting to properly categorize everything & everyone.
#4
Peetry
26/07/11, 1:08 pm
Sorry Deacon I didn’t mean to imply that you sounded elitist, I meant that I do when I express my feelings on this matter. Apologies
#5
Deacon
26/07/11, 1:18 pm
I understood exactly what you meant mate – no apology necessary