A study from research firm Interpret and developer RockYou found that 50 percent of the current social gaming population owns at least one console. The Wii is the leading this field at 52 percent, but the Xbox 360 is close with 46 percent; the PS3 had 34 percent.

“Social gamers are a population who have gone from zero to 37 million in the U.S. in just a few short years–making them a formidable entertainment audience, yet they are not well understood. This groundbreaking research, for the first time, sheds light on who social gamers are, what motivates them as consumers, and why they are so valuable,” said Michael Dowling, CEO of Interpret, LLC. “Data from the study will be instrumental in guiding publishers, marketers, and advertisers to understand how to best reach, engage and influence a unique segment of the buying public.”

Social gamers were split three-to-two female to male. 40 percent of the audience said they would never pay for a social game and only 11 percent would be willing to pay for a subscription; however, 45 percent are open to viewing in-game ads to earn virtual currency while 41 percent are open to reviewing the game or spreading it via their social networking pages in order to earn virtual currency.

Source: IndustryGamers