According to a new study by The NPD Group 20% of the US population which is 56.8 million Americans have played a game on a social network at one point or another.
Thirty-five percent of those players are new to gaming, having never previously experimented with any form of video game.
Today games like “FarmVille,” “Mafia Wars” and “Happy Aquarium” are as influential for millions of people in this generation as “Pac Man” was in the 1980s.
"Although 35 percent of social network gamers are new to gaming, it's clear that a lot of existing gamers have been drawn into the social network gaming arena as well," said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst, The NPD Group. "This impacts both the time they spend with other types of gaming, as well as the amount of money they’re spending on gaming. As more players are drawn into these games, the entire games industry is going to feel, and have to adjust to, the impact."
While free to play, social games are big money makers. NPD finds that 10 percent of players have spent cash for small in-game transactions with these games. Another 11 percent say they are likely to make a future purchase.
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