Spending in mobile games driven by whales
The EEDAR, a research firm focused on the game industry, has released a new study concerning mobile games. The study highlights consumer spending on these games and aims to shed light on those spending money on mobile games. These games have proven to be very lucrative for the game industry over the past few years. Their addicting nature and incentives offered through in-game shops have encouraged consumers to spend significant amounts of money on mobile games in order to attain the best experience possible.
Whales tend to be young, male consumers
The study shows that the majority of spending in the mobile games sector comes from a very specific group of consumers, often called “whales” because they account for the top 5% of spending on these games. According to the study, 66% of these whales are young males that primarily play games on their consoles rather than their mobile devices. The study shows that these consumers spend an average of 26.5 hours every week playing games and an average of 11.8 hours playing mobile games specifically.
Spending is low among women and older consumers
Comparatively, those that pay for mobile games but do not fall into the whale category spend an average of 4.9 hours on mobile games per week, but primarily use their smartphones for all their gaming needs. The non-payer demographic is chiefly comprised of women, with this group spending an average of 4.1 hours on mobile games per week and an average of 7.2 hours on general gaming every week.
Study does not account for children’s role in mobile games.
While the study does show that male consumers tend to spend more on mobile games, it does not account for the fact that children typically make use of their parent’s mobile devices to play games. These children are also responsible for mobile spending in the game sector, but typically do so by accident or without their parent’s permission.
Digital market reaches new heights with the help of mobile games
This has been a very promising year for the digital gaming sector. More consumers are becoming involved in games now than ever before in the past, largely due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. These devices have allowed consumers to play games virtually anywhere in the world, but are not the only platform through which these consumers have access to digital games. Large-scale titles, like Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, continue to perform well in the market despite being more than a decade old. A new report from SuperData, a market research firm, shows that the digital game market is reaching new height and this growth may be largely due to the popularity of mobile games.
Market reaches $1.1 billion
According to the report from SuperData, the digital games market has hit $1.1 billion. In July alone, revenue in this sector jumped by 5.4% over what it had been during the same month in 2012. In the U.S., much of this growth is being seen in the mobile sector, where mobile games have become quite popular. Revenue in the mobile games market has jumped by 32% since July of 2012. The report notes that Candy Crush, one of the most popular mobile games, leads the market with more than $438,000 in daily revenue.
MMOs continue to show strong performance
The digital games market is dominated by big-name multiplayer titles, like League of Legends and DOTA 2. These games account for the majority of the money that consumers are spending in this particular market. The report shows that World of Warcraft continues to maintain its spot as the highest revenue generator in the digital games market, at least where multiplayer games are involved.
Consumers are leery of mobile games with strong similarities to one another
Mobile games are expected to continue seeing a major increase in popularity in the coming years. This may directly translate into higher levels of revenue generation. The problem, however, is that many consumers are fickle when it comes to mobile games. Games like Candy Crush have managed to achieve a significant level of success, but whether other games can do the same is a dubious matter. Consumers often show a great deal of ire toward games that are too similar to one another, and these games tend to perform poorly in the market.
