US mobile gamers outnumber core gamers

125 million people in the US and UK now play mobile games and are spending more than ever.
According to a new report from NPD, mobile gamers account for 22 per cent of all gamers in the US - up nine per cent from 2011.
The overall number of gamers is down, however, with 211.5 millionin the US today, compared with 223.5 million a year ago.
Of the six gamer segments in the report, only mobile gamers and digital gamers saw numbers increase between 2011 and 2012. All other gamer segments experienced declines.
The six segments are:

• Mobile gamers
• Digital gamers
• Core gamers
• Family/kid gamers
• Light PC gamers
• Avid PC gamers

The same report shows that more than 125 million people in the UK and US play mobile games, with 40 per cent of adults playing at least one mobile game every month - up 29 per cent on last year.
The number of daily players is up from 35 per cent in 2011 to 45 percent in 2012, and 22 per cent of mobile gamers play more than three hours a week, compared to 14 percent a year ago.
The ratio of new gamers (defined as consumers playing mobile titles for less than a year) has doubled over the last three years, making up 44 percent of the overall mobile gamer market.
As one would expect, the amount being spent on mobile games has risen accordingly. Fifty-one per cent of survey respondents made mobile game-related purchases in the last year, with 62 per cent of these being for premium game downloads.
Other stats of note include:

• 48 per cent of people who spend money on mobile games are under 35
• 86 per cent play multiple times a week
• 45 per cent own a tablet
• Tablet gamers spend more than smartphone gamers. splashing out on average $25.47 a year compared to $16.68.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...-gamers/019307