There’s no question of whether or not social games are big money, but breaking down the user demographic has been a long-time effort of many studios and research firms. Arkadium, a game development studio, has provided one of the latest dissections of which types of social gamers spend what.
There’s no question of whether or not social games are big money, but breaking down the user demographic has been a long-time effort of many studios and research firms. Arkadium, a game development studio, has provided one of the latest dissections of which types of social gamers spend what.
For starters, according to their research, social engagement plays a big role in how much people spend. 63% of people who play games with at least 6 friends have made purchases in Facebook games. Within that statistic, a third of them have forked out over $20 for a single purchase.
Arkadium also noticed that online shoppers who spend at least $100 a month are more likely to spend money in social games. 20% of them spend $50 or more per month, and 52% of them have spent more than $11 on a single purchase.
This demographic extends beyond just the casual farm sim players that many view as the cash cows of social gaming. In fact, over 60% of people who play core strategy, RPG and sports games via Facebook have made a purchase.
There’s a lot to take away from Arkadium’s findings, perhaps the biggest being that social gamers are a very diverse bunch. I’m confident that diversity will ultimately benefit the model, too. The more unique types of users, the wider the variety of games we’ll ultimately see.
