Nearly one-quarter (24%) of consumers say they regularly play games on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace––and contrary to prevailing stereotypes, the typical social gamer is a 43-year-old woman, according to a new survey from PopCap Games.

The total social gamer population is now at 100 million in the US and UK alone. In addition, worldwide social gaming revenues are forecast to reach $1.3 billion in 2010, according to Lazard Capital Markets.

Below, other findings from PopCap's 2010 Social Gaming Research study, which explores social gaming in the US and UK.

Women make up 55% of social gamers. Only 6% of gamers are age 21 or younger, and 58% are age 40+.

Below, the percentage of social gamers in various age groups:

  • Less than age 30: 20%
  • Age 30-39: 21%
  • Age 40-49: 20%
  • Age 50+: 38%

Most (41%) of social gamers have a full-time job. Retirees make up 13% of the social gaming population, followed by homemakers (11%), part-time workers (9%), and the unemployed (9%).

Among US gamers, 42% have an undergraduate degree or higher, 36% have some college or trade-school education, and 21% have a high-school education or less.

Gender Differences

Women are more avid social gamers and are more inclined to play with people they know:

  • 38% of female social gamers say they play social games several times a day vs. 29% of males who say so.
  • 68% of women say they play with real-world friends vs. 56% of men.
  • 46% of women say they play with relatives vs. 29% of men.
  • 41% of men say they play with strangers vs. 33% of women.

Frequency of Play

Most (95%) of social gamers play multiple times per week, and nearly two-thirds (64%) play at least once a day. Over one-third (34%) of gamers say they play several times per day.

One-third (33%) of social gamers spend less than one hour per week playing social games, while 38% spend 1-5 hours, and 28% spend six hours or more per week playing.

Playing Preferences: Facebook Dominates

Facebook (83%) is by far the most popular destination for social gamers, with MySpace a distant second (24%), followed by Bebo (7%).


In the UK, Facebook is even more predominant (90%) among gamers than it is in the US, while MySpace is less popular (12%) than it is in the US (30%).

Moreover, about one-half (49%) of the time that social gamers log in to Facebook or to other sites they do so specifically to play games.

Activities Performed by Social Gamers

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