Guys, your dream girl may be playing Fruit Ninja. Traditional gaming is still dominated by an aging group of men, but mobile gaming may be bucking this trend. According to a new study by mobile analytics firm Flurry, the average age of a mobile “social” gamer is 28, or six years younger than their traditional gamer counterparts. In addition, 53 percent of mobile players are women, easily topping the 40 percent of traditional gamers that claim to be female.
Those in the study were mostly from the United States, had a family income of about $60,000 – $80,000 a year, and were white. More startling, 61 percent of those studied had attained a Bachelor’s degree, or higher, compared to a national average of only 28 percent. By age and demographic, Flurry estimates that the mobile social gaming audience is a marketer’s “dream target audience,” meaning they’re young and have a lot of disposable income.
However, this may not be a representative sample of mobile social gamers. To find these results, Flurry used a sample of more than 60,000 iPhone and Android gamers who used its services and self-reported age, gender, and location. It is unknown if Flurry’s services appeal to specific demographics. Those who report age and info may be more prone toward certain demographics as well.
Still, the study proves that women are interested in games that have social appeal. While traditional games are often full of violence and gore, casual and social games have broadened the appeal of games in recent years by targeting new audiences.
Below, we’ve included a few more slides from Flurry’s study.
