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Casual Gamers Spend A Lot of Time Gaming

by Rainier on June 29, 2006 @ 1:29 p.m. PDT

A survey conducted by Macrovision revealed a common misconception about the habits of people who play casual games. People who like mainstream games, such as Diner Dash and MahJong, frequently play more than nine, two or more hour ‘sessions’ each week, usually at night as opposed to during commute hours or other ‘quick break’ times during the day.

“Our survey has determined that mainstream audiences dedicate a substantial amount of time to gameplay - not just in 15-minute increments as previously thought,” said Loren Hillberg, executive vice president and general manager of Commerce at Macrovision. “Whether advertisers are reaching out to casual or core audiences, we want them, through the results of our survey, to realize who gamers are, how they operate and what they like. The survey findings will certainly help them to adjust their advertising strategies accordingly to ensure maximum penetration to the appropriate audiences.”

Casual game player demographics:

  • 37% are age 35-49.
  • 28% are age 50-60
    • 71% female
  • 29% male
    • 58% have no children under age 18 living in their households
  • Top personal interests/hobbies of casual gamers:
    1. Pets
    2. Travel
    3. Arts & Crafts
    4. Shopping
    5. Gardening

Casual game play habits:

  • 37% play 9 or more game ‘sessions’ per week
  • 66% say each ‘session’ typically lasts for at least one hour
  • 31% spend more than two hours in each gameplay ‘session’
  • 73% play at night
  • 55% play on weekends
  • 48% play when they have the house to themselves

Top casual game genres:

  1. Puzzle (67%)
  2. Card (44%)
  3. Strategy (35%)
  4. Action (34%)
  • 30% have downloaded more than 21 games in the last year
  • 67% read game reviews and 46% of those who do feel they are influenced to try or purchase a new game by the reviews they read
  • 84% access the Internet through a home broadband connection
  • 70% have purchased a game after first playing it free of charge on the Internet

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