Want to be a millionaire? Make a smart phone game [Infographic]

Would you like to make a pile of cash? I rate you go into mobile gaming. While you’re merrily launching flocks of birds at a bunch of thieving pigs, gaming companies like Rovio are cashing in.

How much is the Finnish game giant making, exactly? Well, its revenue totaled a nice US$100 million last year — a substantial increase over 2010, where it made US$10 million. Which, you know, wasn’t bad either. It’s a nice industry to be in — gaming is the most popular app category and gamers are happy to pay for the game and buy virtual goods. Plus you can pull in some advertising revenue on the side, if you’re still not rich enough. Sorted.

All of this information is courtesy of this infographic, which also includes interesting food for thought like the fact that more than half a trillion birds have been launched at the poor defenceless piggies in Angry Birds. Ouch.

Interestingly, iPhone users spend more time playing games than those with other smartphones — more than half a day per month. BlackBerry comes a very close second, which makes me wonder if Android and Windows Phone users have something better to do with their time. The Nielsen study that the infographic is based on doesn’t discuss the fact that there are more games available on certain platforms than on others, so maybe this influenced the stats? Perhaps iPhones and BlackBerrys are more likely to be sold in markets where there is an existing gaming culture? Or maybe it’s just more fun to play on an iPhone than a Lumia.

Still, that is a lot of time spent playing games — and the industry is only going to grow in the future.