Casual games a 2.25 billion market, says report

The casual game industry is a USD 2.25 billion a year market, currently growing by 20 per cent annually, according to the 2007 market report released by the Casual Games Association.

Among other things, the report found that men made up 48.3 per cent of casual gamers, although women accounted for 74 per cent of paying casual game players. Those paying consumers average 7 to 15 hours of online play per week, primarily between the hours of 7 and 9pm, or between 11am and 2pm.

"The Casual Games Report offers some of the most interesting insight ever on the industry," said Jessica Tams, managing director of the Casual Games Association.

"Already more people play casual games than any other type of video game and the industry continues to grow at a very healthy rate."

The report also found that casual games were usually played for a short period of time, from 5 to 20 minutes, although it was common for people to have played one game after another for many hours.

The majority of online portals feature catalogues of over 1,000 games and add 75 to 300 new games annually. Solitaire, Tetris, and Bejeweled are the most popular casual games, according to the report.

The 2007 report will be sent to all members of the Casual Games Association, and is also available for public purchase.