14 DAY TRIAL // A report from Lightspeed Research, a market research group, says that no less than 53 percent of those using Facebook that are over the age of 18 have at one time played a social game on the network and 19% of those are saying that they are actually addicted to the experiences they have tried out.
This basically means that about one in ten of those using Facebook are playing social network obsessively and presumably the numbers will only grow as developers create new mechanics to get players interested and then keep them hooked.
Lightspeed has determined that females are more likely to have a Facebook account and to play social games and, therefore, they are also becoming addicted in bigger numbers, 21 percent of those playing, than men, who stand at 17%.
It also seems that younger gamers are more likely to report themselves as being addicted than older ones.
In a ironic twist the addiction seems to also spread socially, with those who have more friends also more likely to engage in social gaming in a self described obsessive manner.
Naor Chazan, who is the marketing director for Lightspeed Research, stated, “With half of Facebook users aged 18 and over participating in social games, the popularity and potential influence of online games is huge.”
He added, “Having witnessed successful in-game branding sponsorships from 7-Eleven, Microsoft and Honda, social games offer a new and exciting way to engage with existing and potential customers.”
The popularity of social gaming and the fact that more high profile designers and franchises are moving to Facebook means that soon companies might be devoting more resources to create experiences based around the network and that the next big things, on the scale of Halo, Call of Duty or Civilization, might be very well born in the medium of social gaming.