According to a new survey by casual-game maker PopCap Games, more than one-fifth (20.5 percent) of all casual gamers have some kind of physical, mental or
developmental disability. That compares to 15.1 percent of the American
population overall.
With the number of worldwide casual gamers estimated at anywhere from 300 million to 400 million, that means there are tens of millions of disabled gamers out there.
What's more, the 2,700-plus disabled gamers surveyed by PopCap said they play more frequently than the average casual gamer.
In other words, disabled gamers are a disproportionately large segment of the casual gaming demographic, and these gamers are actually more committed to their hobby than the average Tetris/Bejeweled/Pac-Man fan.
But despite their numbers, you almost never hear about games or peripherals designed with the needs of disabled gamers in mind.
Part of the reason might be because disabled gamers playing cellphone games or simple online Flash titles don't seem to have migrated to the game consoles that hard-core, money-spending players prefer.
According to the PopCap survey, only 26 percent of disabled casual gamers said they also play traditional hard-core games such as Halo, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. That percentage is even lower (18 percent) among respondents with physical disabilities.
- to inform gamers with disabilities about the availability of accessible games
- to provide resources for developers, publishers and researchers
- to raise awareness of game accessibility
- to gain more knowledge on accessible game design
