Study: Two out of three in U.S. play casual games

by Kyle Orland { Mar 5th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Anyone who keeps up with gaming news knows that casual games are the biggest thing since sorted gems. But man, if a new report is to be believed, casual gaming is more popular than even we thought.

The report, from research firm Interpret, estimates that 145 million U.S. residents aged 12 to 65 played casual games in 2007. That's almost two-thirds of the roughly 222 million people in that age range. And just because they're casual games doesn't mean they're played casually -- the report estimates players spent an average of 5.1 hours per week on casual games in the fourth quarter of '07. That's nearly 740 million man hours spent playing casual games per week, outpacing activities like magazine and newspaper reading.

Even though most of these gamers only play games on free sites like EA's Pogo, Interpret still estimates industry revenues of $400 to $700 million by 2010. That's a drop in the bucket compared to estimates of $40 billion in total industry revenues by that point, but if we were a small developer, we sure we wouldn't mind having a piece of it.

[Picture credit]

Tags: america, analysis, big, casual, gameasure, interpret, report, research

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ignatius @ Mar 5th 2008 5:04PM

That controller just needs a Win button for casual n00bs.

fischju @ Mar 5th 2008 5:04PM

I bet 2/3 Americans have the urge to kill!

Coincidence!?!?

HalaMadrid!!! @ Mar 5th 2008 8:30PM

MUST KILL N00BS IN CALL OF DUTY4!!!!
KILL
KILL!
KIIIIILLLLLL!!!!

Fernando Rocker @ Mar 5th 2008 5:05PM

If anyone wants to exchange Friend Codes to play SSBB and Mario Kart, check this thread... a lot of friends =)

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/05/nintendo-details-mario-kart-wii-channel-online-play/#comments

Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 5th 2008 5:25PM

I'll msn you mine when I get home, I added you to msn.

deaftly @ Mar 5th 2008 5:45PM

I would if i knew what the heck it was.

HalaMadrid!!! @ Mar 5th 2008 8:32PM

How do you find the friend codes?

343 Guilty Fart @ Mar 5th 2008 5:08PM

Uber-simple controller with rumble CONFIRMED!

Marry me Mario @ Mar 5th 2008 5:11PM

What do they classify as casual? Solitare? Hold'em? What?

BigD145 @ Mar 5th 2008 5:23PM

Casual includes anything added by default to your operating system and anything you can play by browser.

Max Headroom @ Mar 5th 2008 6:54PM

The same games that people have been playing for centuries: poker, solitaire, hearts, mah-jong, checkers, chess, etc. Then there's the newer breed of things like bejeweled and other puzzle games and flash games.

Microswirl @ Mar 5th 2008 5:27PM

That controller is too complicated. Here's a simpler one.

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▒ ▒
▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒
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▒ DO ▒
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▒ ▒ ▒ ▒
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Microswirl @ Mar 5th 2008 5:31PM

Uh oh, it's broken.

Microswirl @ Mar 5th 2008 5:47PM

------▒
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-▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
-▒------------▒
-▒----▒▒▒▒----▒
-▒----▒▒▒▒----▒
-▒-----DO-----▒
-▒------------▒
-▒---▒▒▒▒▒▒---▒
-▒---▒----▒---▒
-▒▒▒▒▒----▒▒▒▒▒

Please don't ban me. hahahah

Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 5th 2008 6:13PM

I always suck at seeing what these things are...please tell.

colin @ Mar 5th 2008 6:45PM

is it a spider?

Matt B @ Mar 5th 2008 6:53PM

It's the inside of a 6 cylinder engine.

Microswirl @ Mar 5th 2008 7:17PM

Oh dear, I'm really askin' for it...

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▒█▒▒▒▒▒DO▒▒▒▒▒█▒
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It's a controller with "DO" button on it.

Mr.ESC @ Mar 5th 2008 7:51PM

I don't get it,I suppose it has to do with sex.

Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 5th 2008 8:08PM

Ya, that totally failed and there is no way in hell you will be banned. Sorry.

samfish @ Mar 6th 2008 12:00AM

I thought it was an abacus.

Farseer (GDI) @ Mar 5th 2008 5:42PM

The runaway success of the Wii and the DS definitely back up these numbers. Nintendo was smart enough to see a market that was ripe for the taking and delivered products that truly appeal to that market.

In my opinion, that is a good thing. People still lump all video games together, both the negative and the positive. The more aging Wii and DS players there are, the less people will believe the video game witch hunts.

T3kNi9e @ Mar 5th 2008 5:45PM

Thats cuz 2 out of 3 of those people are too stupid to understand anything else.

Timmay! @ Mar 5th 2008 5:56PM

2/3 Americans play casual games, but how many Americans PREFER casual games? There's a big, gaping difference between playing a free casual game or two online at work to kill time, and spending money on a game.

Max Headroom @ Mar 5th 2008 7:00PM

Hardly. People play casual games because they are fun. Though casual games are usually simple, some have a great deal of strategy involved. Check out poker, for example.

And sometimes people only play casual games because they have lives and have more important things to do than gaming.