Disney’s $563 million purchase earlier this month of Playdom 
had its skeptics, but a new survey showing the reach of the social game market could silence the deal’s critics.
The NPD Group, which tracks the sales of video games, reports that 20 percent of the U.S. population has played a game on Facebook or some other social network in the past three months. That works out to 56.8 million people tending virtual farms or collecting virtual bugs.
“FarmVille” has sure grown a lot of gamers. A new study by The NPD Group 
finds that 20 percent of the U.S. population has played a game on a social network at one point or another. That works out to 56.8 million Americans.
Thirty-five percent of those players are new to gaming, having never previously experimented with any form of video game.
Disney’s taste for social gaming could be bigger 
than many people first believed.
The Wall Street Journal and others have reported that the Mouse is in talks to buy social games company Playdom for an estimated $500 million or more. No deal has been formally announced, and neither company is commenting on the reports. If completed, the acquisition would be the second notable expansion by Disney’s gaming arm this month.
Chris Morris: Journalist 