Social Games Stats

Someone here last week asked if social games are mostly a female thing. This article answers your question!

http://mashable.com/2010/02/17/social-gaming-survey/

Note that “social games” are web-based games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille that you play on social networks like Facebook, not Xbox 360 action games like Gears of War or Halo...

The survey found that 55% of social gamers are female and 45% are male. Females are more avid gamers, too; 38% of females said they play multiple times a day, but just 29% males said the same. Women are more likely to play with people they know (68% vs. 56% for males), and men are more likely to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%) than women are.

There were more insights in the survey beyond gender. Facebook is the most popular destination for online games, with 83% of respondents saying they have played games there. Twenty-eight percent have purchased in-game currency with real-world money. The average gamer has played six social games, and more than 50% of gamers started playing a game because a friend recommended it or because they saw a friend playing it in a news feed or other social stream.

One hundred million people are playing these games and about $1 billion in revenue is expected this year.