Japan surpasses US in mobile games spending
It is no secret that mobile games have become very popular throughout the world. These games also happen to be a very lucrative sector for the worldwide game industry. People playing mobile games tend to spend money frequently in order to unlock additional content or purchase in-game items and digital currency. Spending in the mobile games sector has been on the rise over the past few years and now Japan has surpassed the U.S. in terms of spending, according to a new report from NewZoo, a game industry market research firm.
iPhone proves popular among consumers, but Google Play is gaining momentum
According to NewZoo, the iPhone is one of the most popular platforms for mobile games in Japan, followed by Android devices. Since 2007, the U.S. had been the top grossing market for the iPhone when it comes to mobile games. Now, however, Japanese consumers are collectively spending massive amounts of money on mobile games for their iOS devices and are also showing a great deal of enthusiasm for games on Android devices. NewZoo expects that spending for iPhone games in Japan will exceed $1 billion this year, but spending for Android games will surpass that milestone.
Google Play is outpacing Apple
Google Play has become very popular in Japan. While many consumers favor the iOS platform, many more are spending money on Google Play. South Korea is the only other large country where Google Play outshines the Apple App Store in terms of mobile games revenues. Germany and Spain are close behind South Korea and Japan. Google Play is gaining significant momentum among mobile consumers throughout the world, except in China, where Apple has focused the majority of its efforts in the Asian market.
China proves to be important for mobile gaming
China is considered a valuable market, especially where mobile games are concerned. Mobile gaming has become one of the most popular pastimes in the country, which has sparked strong growth in the game industry. Japan, however, remains the top market for games in general. The country is home to a wide variety of mobile games, as well as those for consoles and the PC. Spending on mobile games in Japan is expected to continue growing at a fast pace for the foreseeable future.
Google continues work to establish mobile commerce presence
Despite a turbulent launch, Google Wallet continues to show signs of life as Google works to establish a commanding presence in the mobile commerce sector. The Google Wallet’s launch was plagued with serious security issues that threatened the financial information of consumers that used it. This caused many people to avoid the mobile commerce platform for several months after its launch, despite the fact that Google had resolved its security issues within a matter of days. Over the past few months, Google Wallet has been able to attract more users, and Google has been introducing new features to the mobile commerce platform.
Google Wallet receives new features, but may not be able to compete with Apple
Google Wallet now has the ability to facilitate money transfers. The platform is also able to store digital material offered through various loyalty programs that are common within the retail industry. The platform allows users to redeem their rewards through such programs in an convenient fashion. The Google Wallet does, of course, facilitate mobile payments as well. Notably, however, the Wallet does not have a companion application for the iOS platform, which may be an issue considering Apple’s interest in mobile commerce.
iOS 7 puts emphasis on Passbook
Last week, Apple unveiled the iOS 7, which puts some emphasis on the company’s Passbook. The Passbook platform is very similar to the Google Wallet in that it can store digital information from loyalty programs, travel tickets, and other such data. Unlike the Google Wallet, however, the Passbook cannot currently support mobile payments, though it is designed to do so. While Apple has not shown direct support for mobile commerce due to security concerns and other issues, the iPhone is a popular mobile commerce platform. A recent study from AdTruth shows that 57% of mobile commerce purchases were made from iPhones during the first half of 2013.
Lack of NFC support may actually put Apple in the lead
Apple may be establishing a strong edge in the mobile commerce space through a lackadaisical support of third party mobile payment services. The vast majority of these services are not based on NFC technology because the iPhone itself does not support NFC. Google Wallet, however, does make use of this technology. This means that the Wallet can only be used by NFC-enabled mobile devices, which are still very rare when compared to the iPhone.
