Mobile gamers have become the largest segment of gamers in the US, according to research by The NPD Group.

That doesnt quite mean, as it might sound, that smartphones are beating out consoles and PC as the main way of playing games. Rather, each sector breaks down the 211.5m total people in the US who play videogames into demographics like Core gamer or Family and kids.

However, as the total number of US gamers drops off by 5 per cent, Mobile gamers was one of the only segments which saw growth compared to 2011. Mobile increased 9 percentage points, to make up 22 per cent of all gamers.

“While this study segments the gaming audience based on a number of key variables and attributes, looking across the total gaming audience we see a tremendous impact from mobile gaming, particularly on smartphones and tablets,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Because of this, our next study, which will be released later this month, takes a deeper look into the area of mobile gaming.”