One-third of American teens and adults play mobile games

New research released by the Entertainment Software Association says that one-third of Americans aged 13 and up play games on mobile devices, tablets, or portable game consoles. It also reveals that 22 percent of mobile gamers never played games before -- or were totally lapsed players at the time they picked up mobile gaming. Another 46 percent of mobile players played games occasionally, but weren't regular players. We've all heard how mobile gaming has sucked in players who weren't fans of the medium before it got accessible; there's your proof. The time spent playing mobile games largely hasn't reduced the amount of time players spend on other devices, such as consoles or PCs: 54 percent say that time has remained steady and 11 percent are reporting they spend even more time playing on other devices. Interestingly, 42 percent of respondents said they'd purchased a game for console, PC, or handheld because they enjoyed the mobile version. The research was conducted by market research firm The NPD Group under direction of the ESA from a representative sample of 3,264 people. More stats, including the preferred genres of mobile players, are available directly from the ESA.