Tag: mobile games spending

Global spending on smartphone apps is about to increase more than it has before.

According to analysts at SuperData Research, by the end of this year, mobile gaming revenues will reach $21.1 billion, which means that compared to 2013’s $17.7 billion mobile games revenue, this will work out to a 19% increase since last year.

Asia mobile users are the major reason behind the growth in this market.

The lead researcher and SuperData founder, Joost van Dreunen, said in the report that “Much of this growth is due to Asia.” Van Dreunen added that Asia “accounts for over half of the worldwide mobile market and its booming smartphone industry as devices become more affordable and ubiquitous in the region.” What has been discovered is that while Western consumers tend to focus on mobile games spending on a per-player basis, the contribution Asian nations like China, South Korea and Japan are making are far bigger.

Based on what was found by SuperData, by the end of the year, Asia’s revenue for mobile gaming will climb to $11.3 billion. This amount includes revenue that results from in-game ads and in-app purchases. Furthermore, the intelligence firm anticipates that by 2016 the global gaming revenue will be at $28.2 billion once more smartphone consumers come online in Russia, India and china.

In the West, mobile gaming spending is growing, but slower than the global average.

The report noted that although spending is increasing in the west, as it is estimated to grow by 16% from last year to 2014, it is growing at a rate that is slower compared to the average worldwide.

That said, Western gamers do spend a lot of money on mobile games. The research from SuperData has shown that the average mobile player who pays for games in the US and the UK, spends much more than other mobile gamers in just about everywhere else in the world. However, the reason why this is believed to be the case is that both the UK and US mobile technology markets are well established and consumers have had a long time to become accustomed to how mobile games operate.

Nevertheless, in every region the mobile games market is growing. Therefore, if in the next few years, revenue does reach almost $30 billion, the companies who establish a presence in the mobile gaming space now are likely to be glad that they did.

Campaign helps rekindle interest in old mobile games

Social networking giant Facebook recently launched a new campaign concerning mobile ads and consumer engagement. The campaign was meant to expose mobile users to advertisements while also reminding them to use applications that they have downloaded in the past. The campaign has been somewhat successful, leading to higher engagement for businesses and helping consumers discover, or re-discover, applications through the social platform. Game developer Arkadium held a study in the wake of the campaign in order to discover what impact it had on mobile games.

Study aims to shed light on consumer engagement

Facebook remains one of the most popular platforms for mobile games there is. The social network supports a wide range of these games, many of which are downloaded by the network’s massive user base. While many Facebook users download these mobile games, the majority of the games are played for a short period of time before being forgotten or replaced by other games. The study from Arkadium aims to shed some light on whether consumers are actually spending money on these games while they are playing them.

40% of people spend money on in-game purchases

According to the study, some 40% of consumers have made an in-game purchase, with 38% of these people making an in-game purchase through games on Facebook. The study also shows that 56% of people play more than 3 Facebook mobile games every week. Consumers tend to be very fluid when it comes to the games they play, moving from one game to the next relatively quickly. This leaves smartphones and tablets cluttered with a variety of mobile games that go unused generally because they are simply forgotten.

Consumers unlikely to remain fixated on single game for long

Reminding consumers to make use of their old applications could lead to a boost in mobile games engagement. It may also help people discover new applications from their favorite developers. Consumers are not likely to become fixated on one mobile game for long, however, especially as new mobile games are being released at a rapid pace.