Report: Casual game market topping $2.25 billion

The Casual Games Association (CGA) today announced the publication of its hardcore annual look into the casual market. Using data culled directly from game creators and vendors, as well as Pearl Research and Screen Digest, the CGA found that the casual market brings in $2.25 billion a year, and is currently growing at a clip of 20 percent annually.

The group also found that the online audience for casual games is more than 200 million people strong, nearly evenly split along gender lines, with 48 percent of casual players male and 52 percent female. However, the men are a bit thriftier, given that women make up 74 percent of paying casual players. The most popular casual games available were Solitaire, Tetris, Bejeweled, Diner Dash, the QQ Games Collection, and Mystery Case Files.

The report is currently available for $1,500, or $500 for new CGA members. For more on the CGA, check out the group's Web site.