Survey outlines social game play, spending habits

Surveys of the social gaming landscape are nothingnew, but a new survey from Inside Networks shows just how addictive the games can be.

As reported by GamesBeat, the survey found over 90% of the 1,800 interviewed social game players check in on their games at least once a day. Of those, over two-thirds check in on their social gaming multiple times a day, suggesting a deep engagement with the content. Farmville was the most popular daily-check for social gamers, unsurprisingly, but games like Social City, Pet Society and Cafe World also drew high proportions of daily players.

The survey also has some interesting data on the so-called "whales" that spend the most money on social games. While only two percent of survey respondents copped to spending at least $25 on social gaming in a month, the vast majority of those big spenders focused their spending on a single game. This suggests that these players are developing an intense connection with their favorite social game, rather than with social gaming in general. Then again, 0.1% of respondents said they spent $25 or more a month on eight separate social games, proving there are at least a few profligate social gaming generalists out there.

Unsurprisingly, a majority of respondents said they play social games with friends, rather than co-workers, classmates or strangers.