I-Play, a publisher of mobile phone games, has released the results of a survey it commissioned from independent agency Skopos on the habits of mobile gaming. The survey covered the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Germany, and counted over 2,500 respondents.

The survey found that mobile phone games are more popular with females than males, counter to the traditional demographic of PC and console games. 48% of the female respondents had played a game on their phones, compared with 44% of the males, and they played for longer as well. In the U.S., 42% of females played a game for over 20 minutes, compared to 27% of the males, while the ratio was 22% female to 15% male in the U.K..

Further inquiries along gender lines showed that female respondents tended to play games in order to kill time, and that they played more mobile phone games at home rather than while traveling. The highest motivating factor for female respondents in purchasing a new mobile phone game was "simplicity of gameplay."

The survey also found that awareness of mobile phone gaming is currently outstripping demand: 69% of respondents had played a mobile phone game before, but only 25% had attempted to download one, and only 5% of the total pool had succeeded in installing a new mobile phone game on their handsets.