Tag: mobile apps

The popularity of mobile games double revenues at Supercell

The success of several of these apps made it possible for earnings to break the $1.7 billion mark last year.

Supercell Oy, the company behind hit mobile games such as Hay Day and Clash of Clans, has managed to double its own earnings due to the continuing popularity of this kind of app throughout 2014, bringing its revenues to $1.7 billion, that year.

The company from Finland has actually seen a tripling of its earnings that are specific to its top games.

The annual revenue that the company brought in from its leading mobile games – Hay Day, Clash of Clans, and boom Beach – actually managed to triple in its growth, last year. Supercell explained that its earnings from last year had risen from having been a notably lower $570 million in 2013. While that figure was, obviously, still very healthy, this also shows a staggering increase over the span of a year. Its pre-tax earnings, before interest, depreciation, and amortization, were $565 million, last year. In 2013, that figure had been $267 million.

A great deal of the success of these mobile games came from certain specific markets around the world.

Mobile Games - Doubled RevenueThese markets – such as China and Korea – were exposed to highly localized and strategic mobile marketing campaigns that proved to be greatly successful and drew significant appeal. This type of achievement has proven to be a very challenging one for Western game developers in the past, said Ilkka Paananen, the co-founder and the chief executive at CEO, when speaking at a news conference.

SoftBank Corp, a telecom giant from Japan, purchased a 51.4 percent share of Supercell in October 2013 for $1.5 billion, an amount that they may now be considering to be a bargain, considering the consistent success and growth of the company, so far.

That company will be receiving a $170 million dividend payout from the mobile games firm as a result of the earnings that were brought in throughout 2014. This, according to data that has been made available by Supercell. It will be interesting to watch the success of the company to see whether it will be capable of maintaining this trend instead of allowing the achievement to become a flash in the pan.

Amazon thinks mobile apps should be sold through a Prime model

The online marketplace’s own Appstore may not yet have the same number of offerings as Google Play, but it is growing.

Amazon may not yet have the same number or quality of mobile apps that are available through the Google Play store, but it hasn’t given up on being able to become an important competitor in the application marketplace.

It could begin offering a service called Amazon Unlocked, which would be built on a Prime-like model.

The idea behind the Amazon Unlocked service would be that consumers would be able to subscribe with a monthly fee and would be able to gain access to a range of different premium paid mobile apps, without any additional cost. Moreover, what may make this offer even more appealing to many consumers is that many in-app purchases would also be included with a monthly subscription to the service. This, according to a report from TechCrunch. This style of service would help users to enjoy the experience they want through their various applications, without racking up a tremendous bill in the process.

The new mobile apps service would also likely be a way for Amazon to push its Fire smartphones.

Mobile Apps - AmazonThe TechCrunch report also pointed out a number of other components of the Amazon Unlocked service, which it claims to have seen in the form of slides. For example, beyond included premium apps and included in-app purchases, there were also some large names that were dropped. Among them were Monument Valley and Sonic Dash, which are clearly major titles in the Amazon mobile application arsenal.

That said, at that time, there was no mention made with regards to when the Amazon Unlocked service might begin to become available, nor was any specific subscription price or even a range of prices offered. Moreover, there has yet to be any official confirmation made to the report that was made on this service. That said, as soon as word does arrive, it is certain that this will send the users of mobile devices in droves over to the Amazon app library.

The focus of this mobile apps service, according to the report, will be on simplicity. The goal will be to eliminate the sensation of being overwhelmed by choices and prices with regards to their application selection and usage.