Tag: mobile game industry

Revenue from mobile games is growing faster than other content

Within the highly competitive mobile apps market, it appears that gaming is coming out on top, at the moment.

According to the results of a study that were only just recently released, the revenues being generated from downloads of mobile games in the United States, as well as those brought in from in-game app purchases is expected to reach a growth rate of 16.5 percent, this year, over last year’s figure.

This would bring those revenues up to a projected total of $3.04 billion from U.S. downloads and in-app purchases alone.

The firm behind this projection is eMarketer, which found that while mobile games will lead the way, there will also be a notable revenue generated from ebooks, video, and music, which will be increasing at a rate of 4.4 percent, 13.8 percent, and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The report provided a considerable amount of insight in this market and suggested two primary reasons that mobile game apps are stepping up ahead of other forms of revenue. The first was from subscription services (for example, Spotify), that is slashing into individual media purchases, as well as the increase of “freemium” games (for instance, Clash of Clans, from Supercell), which can be played for free but where in-app upgrades can be purchased.

Purchases made within mobile games – such as virtual coins – are predicted to make up almost 60 percent of revenue growth.

Mobile Games - GrowthThese in app purchases, will make up 60 percent of mobile game revenue growth, and is predicted to bring in $1.82 billion, this year. As a whole, the download revenue for these smartphone and tablet apps is predicted to increase by 10.3 percent in order to come to $9.82 billion by the close of this year, said the research. Of that, games are predicted to make in a rising share of those earnings.

Last year, they comprised 29.3 percent of the earnings, but that should come up to 30.9 percent, this year. Two years ago, mobile games brought in 26.4 percent of the app download revenues. On the other hand, ebook downloads are going to bring in the most amount of money, at $4.25 billion in the United States. Video will earn $850 million and $550 million will be earned by music downloads.

Mobile gaming is a serious battleground between Google and Apple

These tech giants are fighting their way for leadership within this very popular and lucrative space.

At a time in which Google appears to be edging its way ahead of the smartphone based commerce environment, there are other areas in which it appears to be lagging behind, but it also looks to be highly determined to keep a top position when it comes to mobile gaming.

When compared to Amazon, Google’s cloud computing and ad revenues are not growing as rapidly.

Some investors are starting to become a little bit nervous that this could be a sign that Google is attempting to grow too quickly and that it is overextending its way into too many ecosystems. That said, if there is one area in which it is placing a massive amount of focus, it can easily be identified as mobile gaming. As that environment continues its evolution, Both Google and Apple have been doing their best to carve out an experience that is the most appealing for developers, marketers, and customers, alike.

iPhone and Android are clearly in a tremendous mobile gaming battle of epic proportions.

The purpose of this all-out war is to be able to claim supremacy in this space that has revenue potential on a series of different levels. They are now working to come up with their own winning strategies to be able to create mobile based game atmosphere that will be as profitable as that within the stationary device ecosystem.Mobile Gaming - Google & Apple

A new move has also been made to help to draw more appeal for mobile gaming product developers, as both Google and Apple have given them a temporary opportunity for exclusive promotion rights. In this, they are hopeful that they will be able to boost the sales of the games themselves on the smartphones that use their operating systems, and that the game offerings will be appealing enough to draw smartphone owners to switch to their platforms.

Google and Apple are hoping that they will be able to offer games that will be available exclusively on their own platforms so that consumers will want those specific mobile gaming opportunities so much that they would change their devices and switch their operating systems in order to be able to play them.