A study by mobile gaming portal MocoSpace, has found that while those of a younger persuasion (25-35 years old) might spend more time playing on social games, once gamers hit 45, they spend a lot more on virtual goods.
Time is money
The study was conducted over a three month period between August and November and encompassed 500,000 gamers out of MocoSpace's extensive 22 million-strong userbase.
10 percent of 18-25 year olds bought in-game virtual goods, while 22 percent of 25-35 year olds opted for micro-transactions, despite that bring the demographic which spends twice as much time playing social games as any other.
Half of 35-45 year old gamers paid up for non-real stuff, whilst the proportion of over 45 gamers rose up to 75 percent.
"We're seeing parents go from spending money on buying games for their kids, to spending money on virtual goods in games for themselves," said MocoSpace CEO Justin Siegel.
"The time-versus-money balance seems to come into play here, where young people have more time than money, and the reverse holds true as we all grow up," he added.
