Population of British mobile gamers surges to hit 20m
A new study of mobile habits has found that Britain now plays host to an army of mobile gamers, with their number nearly doubling to hit 20m since the start of 2011.
According to research specialists comScore there are also now some 6.2m avid mobile gamers who indulge their habit each and every day courtesy of their smartphone or tablet.
Busting stereotypes the composition of these players is evenly split between the sexes with women accounting for 48 per cent of the total.
Few are actually mobile when playing though with most, 64 per cent, playing in their living rooms or bedrooms.
The gains in popularity mean that the pastime is now as popular as photo messaging and only slightly less common that mobile weather checks and internet searches – both of which are employed by 21m people.
Social networking remains the most popular activity however, with 22m maintaining their profiles via their mobile.
Driving this explosion, according to the researchers, is the emergence of so-called freemium titles such as ‘The Simpsons: Tapped Out’, which can be picked up for nothing but apply charges for optional extras.