Survey: Nearly 20 percent of social game fans are brand new gamers

And you claim to "dabble" in FarmVille and the like--we're onto you. A new survey by Bejeweled Blitz maker PopCap and Information Solutions Group found that 68 percent of social gamers play said games at least once daily. That amounts to 81 million players, while a still-impressive 49 million (41 percent) report playing social games multiple times daily.

The survey was completed by 1,201 people (801 in the U.S. and 400 in the UK) who reported playing social games more than 15 minutes a week. All in all, according to this survey, social games are on the rise, but you already knew that. What's important to note is that 17 percent of all social gamers have never played a video game before. (According to the survey, they're mostly 50 plus women.) While much smaller than you might have imagined, it's without a doubt that the genre has literally created a new breed of gamer.

As these new social gamers continue to invest themselves in their favorite Facebook games more traditional companies will undoubtedly attempt to garner their attention. Of course, these folks will have different expectations of what a video game actually is, and therefore change how games are made ... perhaps across the board.

And, according to the survey, more folks between 18 and 29 years old are playing social games, who have more likely than not played video games before. When new demographics crop up in any industry, they're almost immediately targeted. The social games movement will be no different, and color us intrigued to see the results. Click here to see the full survey.

Do you consider yourself a new breed of gamer, or one that's simply taken an interest to social games? How do you think social games will continue to change video games across the board?

Bejeweled 2 to bedazzle Kindle Fire along with Scrabble, Monopoly et al

The Kindle Fire could approach "Blazing Speed" before it's even released. (Get it? No? Ah, never mind.) EA Mobile has announced that a number of its mobile social game properties (and one rather "hardcore" game) have been pushed to the Amazon Appstore for Android and optimized for the upcoming Kindle Fire tablet.

Namely Bejeweled 2, Monopoly, The Game of Life and Scrabble will be available when the Kindle Fire launches. But those three games are also joined by Tetris (which is damn near everywhere) and survival horror hit Dead Space. When Zynga announced that Words With Friends would hit the Kindle Fire, we wondered whether that was a sign that the device might be hot on social gaming.

Now that versions of two of the most addictive Facebook games to date will be featured on Kindle Fire, we're certainly getting warmer. No, wait, that's just our credit cards burning holes in our wallets.

"EA is proud to be part of Kindle Fire," EA's Bernard Kim said, according to Social Times. "On Kindle Fire, we're offering some of the world's most popular titles with incredible gameplay and breathtaking graphics that anyone can play and enjoy anytime, anywhere." Does "incredible graphics" mean we'll finally get to see those wooden word tiles in HD, grains and all?

Do you plan on picking up a Kindle Fire when it releases? Could the device prove to be a hotbed for mobile social gaming like the iOS lineup has?