Author: Stephen

Mobile games may be gaining more ground with Facebook

| April 26, 2013

Mobile Games FacebookFacebook may be looking toward mobile games

Facebook has hired the development team behind the Spaceport framework. Spaceport exists as a platform to help mobile games developers publish their products across multiple platforms. The platform has been used to expand the reach of the mobile games space, allowing developers to access platforms that they would not have had access to in the past. Spaceport can, for instance, be used to take a web-based game and bring it to Android mobile devices, effectively converting it into a mobile title.

Facebook has a strong history in the gaming field

It is no secret that Facebook has a strong interest in gaming. In the past, the company has leveraged its status as a social network to expose millions of consumers to the games it had supported. These games brought in significant revenue for Facebook and the social network had once been considered an ideal platform that developers could use to connect with a massive audience. Facebook has been losing traction with developers over the pas few years, however, as more developers begin to favor the Android and iOS platforms due to the rampant popularity of mobile games.

Spaceport team may help Facebook break into mobile gaming

In hiring the Spaceport team, Facebook may be making a move into the mobile space. The social games that are supported on the site are still very popular among Facebook’s users, but the company has been showing significant interest in the prospects that could be gained in the mobile gaming field. Mobile games have come to represent one of the most lucrative sectors of the game industry, which is enough to entice several companies to look toward getting involved in gaming.

Mobile is becoming the primary focus of the social network

Facebook has been reforming its online presence recently. The social network has improved its mobile platform to align better with the interests of its users and Facebook has launched new versions of its SDK to Android and iOS developers. The social network, as a whole, is becoming more mobile-centric as well, with many of the features being added to the social network catering to the mobile space specifically.

Mobile games could help Google beat Apple

| April 24, 2013

Google Mobile GamesGoogle Play posts strong gains with the help of mobile games

Google has been seeing strong growth in its applications store. Google Play is home to a vast assortment of mobile applications covering a variety of needs and interests. Google has announced that Google Play’s revenue has shown impressive growth, outpacing that of Apple’s own App Store. Mobile games play a contributing factor in this growth, especially as more consumers become interested in mobile games for the sake of entertainment. Indeed, mobile games may soon help Google Play acquire the momentum necessary to overcome Apple.

Research shows that Google is catching up with Apple

According to Canalys, a leading market research firm, both the App Store and Google Play accounted for $2.2 billion in revenue collectively during the first three months of 2013. Apple’s App Store represents 74% of this revenue, with Google picking up the remainder. Similar data from App Annie, an analytics firm, suggests that Google Play revenue were 38.5% of the App Store’s, representing a significant gain for Google.

Asian markets show strong support for mobile games

Growth is strongly felt in a wide range of categories, but mobile games are helping add significant momentum to Google’s growing revenues. A craze has begun to form around mobile games in several countries. In South Korea, for instance, mobile games represent some of the most used applications on Google Play. This is partly backed by the growing availability of smartphone and tablets. As these mobile devices become more common, more consumers have opportunities to play mobile games or make use of the other applications available on Google Play. Currently, mobile games account for 90% of the revenues generated in South Korea and Japan as far as Google Play is concerned.

Google Play may overcome the App Store by 2016

The applications market has become inundated with mobile games over the past two years. These games have proven quite popular with a wide range of consumers, leading the game industry to throw its considerable strength behind the development of these games. If mobile games continue to show impressive growth, Google Play is likely to surpass the App Store in terms of revenue by 2016.