REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kabam, the leading developer of hardcore social games, today released results of its first “Social Gamer Study,” a comprehensive report that identifies and examines the behavior and demographics of social gamers. The findings shatter the stereotype of the social platform game player and supports the rise of a rapidly growing segment -- the hardcore social gamer, players who play strategy, RPG, or other ‘core’ segment games (MMO, action, FPS, MOBA) on a social network site.
The nationally representative research survey, conducted by Information Solutions Group on behalf of Kabam, found that these hardcore social gamers are younger and mostly male, very much in line with traditional gamer demographics. This stat dispels the commonly held belief that social gamers are predominantly middle-aged women with little to no past game-playing experience.
One key finding is the high level of overlap between social gamers and other gaming platforms. Hardcore social gamers are highly active in console gaming (82% play console games) and tend to play a larger number of social games for a longer period of time than casual social gamers. Furthermore, the increasing level of gameplay on social networks is disrupting this audience’s gameplay habits on traditional platforms such as Xbox 360® system, PlayStation® 3 and Nintendo Wii™.
The research shows that the growth of social games is resulting in gamers spending less time and money on other gaming platforms. Approximately 27% of social game players who played games on other game platforms report a decline in the amount of time they are playing on those platforms, with a corresponding 50% average decline in the amount of money they spent on console games. Kabam game players demonstrate an even greater commitment to hardcore social games -- 55% report a decline in their gameplay on other platforms with an accompanying reduction in console purchases of 65%.
“Kabam was the first gaming company to focus on creating hardcore games on Facebook and other social platforms,” said Chris Carvalho, COO of Kabam. “The research conducted by Information Solutions Group clearly demonstrates the disruptive effect hardcore social gaming is having on the gaming industry. Gamers are migrating their playing time and the dollars they spend to social games at the expense of console and other traditional gaming platforms.”
Other noteworthy findings from the research include:
- The social gamer sector is a large, and growing, market: Forty-one percent of all U.S. Internet users have played social games. That amounts to 98 million in the U.S. alone.
- Hardcore Social Gamers resemble traditional core gamers demographically: While a majority of casual social gamers are women (61%) and over 40-years-old (62%), the reverse is true for hardcore social gamers: 55% of hardcore social gamers are male and 57% are under the age of 40 (with an average age of 37).
- Hardcore Social Gamers are playing lots of games: Hardcore social gamers tend to play multiple games simultaneously (76% playing two or more). In fact, nearly half (47%) of hardcore social gamers are playing three or more social games, while 28% are playing 4 or more social games concurrently. Clearly, these are dedicated game enthusiasts.
- Hardcore Social Gamers exhibit greater level of gameplay engagement: The level of commitment and engagement of gamer segments varies. When it comes to amount of gameplay time, hardcore social gamers far exceed casual social gamers. This research indicates that 68% of hardcore social gamers are playing three or more hours per day of any game, with 30% playing social games for more than an hour per session. By contrast, only 43% of casual social gamers spend three or more hours daily playing games of any type. And, they play social games in short bursts – 54% indicate their typical session length is 30 minutes or less.
“This research goes further in segmenting and identifying the gameplay habits of hardcore and casual social gamers than any previous study,” said Carll Frye, Director at Information Solutions Group. “While casual social gamers skew female and older, hardcore social gamers skew male and younger, in line with typical core gamer demos. Based on these survey results, hardcore social games are increasingly stealing play time from core games.”
A full version of the Social Gamer Study may be found at: http://www.kabam.com/corporate/files/2011/09/2011-Kabam-ISG-Social-Games-Research-Results-Industry-Version.pdf
For more information on Kabam, visit our official site at www.kabam.com, and also our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kabam.
About Kabam
Kabam is leading the next wave of gaming—hardcore social games. The company’s studios focus on combining the best elements of traditional and social gaming to appeal to a growing audience of gamers looking for highly immersive social games. The first wave of Kabam’s new games for Facebook and leading media sites, including IGN “Reader’s Choice Facebook Game of 2010” Kingdoms of Camelot®, have been widely recognized for their depth of play and social interaction. Founded in 2006, Kabam has offices in San Francisco and Redwood City, Calif., Beijing, China, and Luxembourg. More information about Kabam can be found at www.kabam.com.
Survey Methodology
This research was conducted by Information Solutions Group (ISG; www.infosolutionsgroup.com) exclusively for Kabam. The results are based on 1,412 online surveys completed by members of the world’s largest online ePanel (Toluna) between April 13th and May 2nd, 2011. To qualify for participation in the survey, individuals had to reside in the United States, play games on a desktop/laptop computer, game console, mobile phone, handheld game player, tablet device or social network in the past year and play more than just computer-based arcade or “casual” games. In theory, in 19 cases out of 20, the results will differ by no more than 1.7 percentage points from what would have been obtained by seeking out and polling all US qualified respondents age 18 and over. Smaller subgroups reflect larger margins of sampling error. Other sources of error, such as variations in the order of questions or the wording within the questionnaire, may also contribute to different results.
About Information Solutions Group (ISG)
Information Solutions Group (ISG) specializes in providing its clients with full-service market research programs designed to enable businesses to make sound strategic decisions. ISG’s services include market segmentation, customer satisfaction measurement, product development, public relations, competitive performance and pricing research. ISG uses online, telephone and mail survey methodologies and provides design, implementation and analysis services in the North American, EMEA and Asia Pacific markets. Examples of the type of information an ISG program can deliver can be obtained at www.infosolutionsgroup.com
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