The gaming industry has added 80 million players since 2008, according to research firm Parks Associates. Most of them are newbies.Traditional video game consoles like the Xbox 360 are losing ground to new social and mobile experiences, said Parks, citing the immense popularity of “FarmVille” and “Angry Birds.” Indeed, the latter has been downloaded over 200 million times since 2009.

Titles found within the Apple and Android online shops perfectly match the needs of mobile gamers. They’re short; they’re sweet; they’re cheap; and, most importantly, they’re simple. Over half of all U.S. smartphone owners play games, the firm said.

To be counted in Parks’ survey, players needed to spend just one hour each month playing a game. In 2008, that figure stood at 56 million. It’s nearly tripled since then.

Mean have “stagnated,” said Parks. The genre’s king, “World of Warcraft,” lost 5 percent of its subscription base earlier this year.

“Gaming is a social activity for casual gamers; however, most players prefer asynchronous multiplayer games as opposed to multiplayer games where everyone plays at the same time,” said Parks.

From the article, "U.S. gamer population surpasses 135 million" by Justin Massoud

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