Mobile gaming in significant increase

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WEBSTER, N.Y., June 15 (UPI) -- Mobile games are no longer niche items, with nearly half of all adults in the United States and Britain playing at least once a month, a survey found.

In a survey of 2,300 adults by Information Solutions Group, 44 percent said they had played at least one mobile game in the past month, up from 29 percent the previous year, mediapost.com reported Thursday.

The figure is double the 22 percent result from when the survey was first conducted in 2009.

The survey was commissioned by mobile game company PopCap, owned by Electronic Arts

"It's the fastest-growing segment of the game industry at the moment," Giordano Contestabile, franchise director of PopCap's Bejeweled mobile game, told Marketing Daily. "A year from now, 'gaming' will [refer to] mobile gaming, and everything else will be niche."

In addition to an increase in the percentage of mobile gamers, there's been a corresponding rise in frequency and playing time, the survey found.

The number of people who play daily is up 29 percent from the previous year, and 22 percent of gamers said they play more than 3 hours a week.

Constestabile said he expects a greater convergence of mobile and social gaming, allowing consumers to play no matter where they are or what device they're using and share and play with friends.

"It allows gamers to have a similar experience wherever they are. I think that's the future," he said. "You don't want players to look for you. You want to be where most of your players are."