65% of North Americans now play mobile games – up 12% in a year

A new report from US body NPD, shows that of the 303.7m mobile phone users in the US and Canada, 238.7m of them are “active mobile gamers.” A figure that represents a 12 pre cent rise over last year’s jfigure.

Of course, no one is looking too hard for a reason behind the sudden jump of course, the pandemic is clearly it. And it caused playiung times to rise as well, with average number of hours a week spent playing going up from six hours to eight hours. So not only were there more players, but they were playing more too.

The increase in players was spread across all age groups, but weighted towards older players. “Those aged 45 and older climbing 17 per cent, followed by the 25 to 44 age group with a 13 per cent increase. The 2 to 12 and 13 to 24 age groups experienced respective increases of 9 per cent and 3 per cent over 2019.”

All mobile gaming genres saw revenue growth as a result. With 55 per cent of revenues concentrated in the puzzle, skill and chance and strategy genres.

“Mobile is the most popular platform in the video game industry, with wide and increasing appeal across all age groups,” said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst for The NPD Group. “Its strength comes not only from its accessibility and availability, but also from the incredible diversity in mobile titles available. From evergreen properties such as Candy Crush Saga, Pokémon Go, and Clash of Clans, to newer hits like Call of Duty: Mobile, and Among Us, mobile gaming’s growth is certain to continue well into the future.”