Games.com

It's no surprise that the F2P movement has transformed the games industry, but these numbers are nevertheless staggering. "Instead of ending support of customers after they buy individual game titles, game companies now focus on building gamer communities and developing ongoing relationships with their customers," Parks Associates research analyst and study author Pietro Macchiarella said.

From the article, "Thanks to Facebook, iPhone, U.S. gamers have nearly tripled since 2 ...read more

A new Parks Associates study shows that the number of gamers have doubled in the past three years thanks to games like FarmVille and Angry Birds. The study surveyed people who play at least one hour of games every month, and that number increased from 56 million in 2008 to 135 million in 2011. The majority of the new gamers are so-called 'casual gamers,' many of whom play quick-hit games on social networks and mobile devices.

"These changes have significant implications for ...read more

Market research company Parks Associates predicts that by 2015, social games will be worth a sweet $5 billion thanks to in-game advertising and virtual goods sales. Their forecast is based off the fact the social games already raked in $1 billion in 2010 alone."Gaming on social networks has quickly become the most visible category of online games," research analyst at Parks Associates Pietro Macchiarella said.

"Right now more than 250 million people play games like Zynga's C ...read more