Social gaming is all the rage right now. According to a recent Mashable article, 56 million Americans have played a social game. That’s huge.
I’ve never been a big fan of Farmville and other social games. But, I’m smart enough to recognize that thousands, if not millions, are into these games. They are spending money- and lots of it- to get ahead in these social games. According to Mashable in 2009, users bought $2.2 billion of virtual goods. By 2013, experts expect this number to go up to $6 billion.
But, what’s more of a takeaway, is who is playing these social games. The average gamer is a 43-year-old female. Their destination of choice: Facebook. They are more likely to be established, have a family of their own and be the primary decision-maker when it comes to shopping. To put it bluntly, they have money to spend. They are choosing to spend some of that money on “virtual goods” and intangible incentives on social games.
These social games, like Farmville and Mafia Wars, are already virtual cash cows for Zynga and other game companies. But, businesses and companies haven’t really tapped into the marketing power behind these games. And, it will be fascinating to see how many more companies will begin taping into the marketing power of these social games in the next few years.
