RockYou Survey Grills Social Gamers on Gaming Habits

Social game maker RockYou announced the results of its Social Gamer Thought Leadership study, conducted by Interpret. The study surveyed 2,000 social gamers in the US age 18 and older, 60 percent female and 40 percent male, who play at least one hour a week.

The survey found that social gamers spent 13 hours per week on social networks and an average of 9.5 hours per week on social games. They also had an average of 218 social connections, 16.5 real-life friends who play the same social games, and have made 20 new friends through social gaming.

The survey also found that 50 percent of the social gaming population owns at least one console; 25 percent prefer games with missions or quests; 22 percent say that online friends being able to see their scores drives them to play more.

Other results from RockYou's survey: 42 percent of social gamers say they would be more motivated to play a social game that offered real world rewards; 55 percent said they would rather earn virtual currency than purchase it with real money; and 24 percent of players said they have clicked on an ad in a social game and made an online purchase.

"RockYou is investing in the development of the social gaming landscape and its growth as a powerful advertising medium," RockYou's Julie Shumaker said. "This study enables us to better understand social gamers and their motivations and provide advertisers, agencies, and social game developers with actionable information they can leverage in a rapidly evolving social economy."