More than 33% of adults in the US and UK are being classified as "mobile phone gamers" in a new survey. Of that group, 84% say they play a mobile game at least once a week, compared to 40% in a similar poll in 2009.
The survey was commissioned by PopCap Games, a publisher with an increasing presence in the iPhone and Android arenas - you probably know it best for Peggle, Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled.The surveyincluded 2,425 people across the two countries.
The results revealed more than half of respondents have played a mobile game at some point, though only a comparatively modest 33.6% had played one in the past month. Meanwhile, 24.6% had played one within the last week. The survey coined anyone who had played a mobile game in the last month as a "mobile phone gamer" and those who had done so in the last week as "avid mobile phone gamers." Really, that's all it takes? Play a game once a week and that qualifies as "avid?"
Those classified into either category said their most common choice when it comes to playing a video game is their mobile phone. 44% chose that option, while only 21% said playing on a video game console was their preferred means of gaming. 30% said computers.
To some, it may be comparing apples to oranges because mobile games are generally lighter, less complex games, and many who play them are just downloading the free demos or bite-sized game and then being classified as a "gamer." In fact, the majority (57%) of mobile phone gamers said they had not upgraded a free trial game into the full, money-required version.
However, that statistic of 44% saying mobile phones were their preferred gaming device is a huge jump fromthe same survey conducted in 2009. Back then, the number was just 17%.
So there's a definite trend emerging here, and change iscoming quickly. It may be tough to compare iPhone games to something like Gears of War now, but who knows what the future will bring? And have you spent more time gaming this past year with your phone than prior years? With titles like Game Dev Story, Infinity Blade, Cut the Rope, Angry Birds and Nova 2 out there today and smartphone tech advancing every six months, the urge to leave the DS/PSP at home is rising...
[Source:PR Newswire]
Feb 28, 2011
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