The growth of the popularity of social games could be slowing down, according to a report in USA Today. Among young girls and women, social gaming activity is down by at least 10%, marking a shift in the market.
According the report, 43% of young girls, aged 12 to 17, are currently playing social games online. This marks a more than 10% decline from last year, when 54% of adolescent females were engaged in social gaming activities. A similar decline has occurred among older women aged 25 to 44. Last year, 40% of women in this age range participated in social gaming activities, whereas just 36% of women are currently doing so.
While social gaming is still growing, the rate at which it does so is slowing down. As the market was first introduced, there was boom in popularity, which continued to increase over the course of the past few years. However, since 2010, there has only been a slight increase in the growth of social gaming, up to 38% from 36% last year.
Two of the biggest social games developers, Zynga and EA, have seen the largest decline in growth rates. However, smaller companies like Rumble Games and Kabam may be able to offset the decline, by offering a range of more involved and expansive social games like Kingdoms of Camelot.
