Disabled Gamers Flock to Casual Games

A new survey shows that casual gaming provides a range of benefits besides entertainment for a burgeoning fanbase of disabled Americans.

While the booming casual games industry has managed to rope in players of all ages and walks of life, a new survey shows that the games have especially taken hold with the disabled gamers, who often derive much more than entertainment from them. The survey, commissioned by PopCap Games, found that those with physical, mental, and development disabilities comprise a significant chunk of casual gamers, play more often and longer than the average casual gamer, and cite all sorts of benefits from the medium.

A full 20.5 percent of casual gamers identify as being disabled, compared to 15.1 percent of the American population as a whole. Of that cross-section, two thirds play every single day, and 60 percent put in more than five hours a week gaming, both statistics higher than average for the genre. The reason may be the benefits they derive above and beyond other casual gamers: a majority of those with physical disabilities said games provided stress relief and distraction from issues stemming from their disability, those with mental disabilities (such as depression and anxiety disorders) said the games lifted their mood, and those with learning disabilities said games improved concentration and dexterity.

Interestingly enough, casual gaming seems to have captured this segment of the population in a way more traditional games haven’t been able to. Despite the disproportionately high representation of disabled Americans in the casual gaming population, only 26 percent of disabled casual gamers also play games the survey identified as “hardcore,” and those who did played less frequently than they played casual games.

Information Solutions Group conducted the survey in April using online surveys, and drew data from a total of 2,728 respondents.