14 DAY TRIAL // A new study conducted by Information Solutions Group and commissioned by video game maker PopCap has shown that 118.5 million people are now playing social games at least once during each week, which is an increase of 71 percent when compared to the level seen during 2010.
The study is called the PopCap Social Gaming Research also says that 81 million people are playing social games every day, while 31 million, which is quite a significant percentage, have also spent money on in-game purchases, an increase of more than 86% over last year.
The figures also show that a growing number of under 30 gamers are engaging with social games, making up 30 percent at the moment when compared to 19% during last year.
PopCap also says that there's an increase in the number of gamers who play social games that are over 60 years old, one that is growing faster in the United Kingdom than in the United States.
Information Solutions Group says that the boom in social gaming is a new phenomenon in the United Kingdom and that a lower number of gamers have been playing such titles for more than 2 years.
The survey is based on the answers of 1,201 gamers who are part of the internet ePanel of Toluna.
A lot of players in the video game industry believe that social gaming, using a free-to-play model and with strong links to the mobile space, represent a very strong growth segment for the future and are willing to invest in order to develop it.
The early market leader in this genre has been Zynga, which has managed to get almost everyone on Facebook to at least try out titles in the FarmVille vein, but since then big players like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have also become attracted to it.
Recently The Sims Online has made a big impact and led to a decrease in Zynga games numbers.