50 per cent of US teen gamers play mobile games

A new survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project makes fascinating reading for anyone in the mobile games industry.

It looked at how popular gaming is among US adults and teens, with the topline finding being that 53 per cent of adults and 97 per cent of teens play video games.

But it's the mobile stats that are worth checking out. 50 per cent of teenage gamers play on their mobile phones, compared to 62 per cent on handheld gaming devices like PSP and DS, 76 per cent on computers, and 89 per cent on consoles.

Among adult gamers, 35 per cent play on their phones, compared to 25 per cent on handheld devices. 53 per cent play on consoles, and 73 per cent on computers.

Mobile clearly has some way to go - when you consider the US population overall, rather than just gamers, 18 per cent of Americans play on their phones. But that compares to 13 per cent on handhelds.

The survey also found that black and Hispanic consumers are more likely to play mobile games than white consumers.

Of course, this only covers playing mobile games - how many of these people are actually buying them is less clear. Still, to see more details from the survey, click here.