Tag: mobile games news

Mobile games see turbulence in revenue generation

| June 12, 2013

Developers looking to find ways to get people engaged in mobile games

Mobile games have become one of the most potentially lucrative sectors of the game industry, largely due to the sheer number of consumers that have mobile devices. While these games have proven quite popular with consumers, they are not a guaranteed gold mine. In order for mobile games to generate any significant amount of revenue, they must tackle a very difficult challenge involving consumer engagement. Consumers have a very short attention span when it comes to mobile applications and will move on to a new application very quickly. This has lead many developers to seek out new ways to ensure that their mobile games remain engaging.

Supply outweighs demand

The number of mobile games has increased dramatically since 2007. This means that there is no shortage of options when consumers are looking for new games to play. Because there is no shortage, consumers can easily go from game to game without having to spend any significant amount of time on a single application. While this may be good for consumers, this is somewhat problematic for developers, as low engagement times mean less revenue produced by a particular game.

Mobile Games - revenue and consumersConsumer engagement proves to be a tricky issue

Finding ways to keep consumers engaged has not been an easy task. Thus far, the mobile games that have been able to accomplish this task have been those with strong social elements, such as Draw Something and Words With Friends. Some developers have taken to developing highly addicting games with attractive features, following the example of Angry Birds. No developer has yet found an effective way to ensure that a mobile game produces a high level of revenue, however.

Finding ways to generate revenue continues to be a strong focus for the game industry

Angry Birds developer Rovio notes that 45% of its revenue comes from merchandise and mobile games themselves only account for 9% of the revenue for the entire game industry. Smaller developers do not typically have the funds needed to produce merchandise, and thus must find effective ways to enthrall the attention o consumers that have limited interest in devoting themselves to a single game or entertainment application.

Zynga continues to struggle toward mobile games

| June 11, 2013

Mobile games transition proves turbulent for Zynga

Once-acclaimed game developer Zynga continues to work toward recovering from its recent fall from grace with consumers. The company has faced harsh criticism over the years due to its approach to gaming. Some of this criticism suggests that Zynga blatantly copied other, more popular games in order to attract consumers through confusion. After Facebook cut ties with the developer, the company has been working to reclaim its position through a strong focus on mobile games.

Zynga continues to see financial difficulty and criticism from consumers

Though Zynga believes that mobile games will lead to its eventual ascension to fame, the company is still struggling in its transition into the mobile space. Much of Zynga’s interest in mobile games comes from the success other companies have seen in this sector, such as Japan’s GungHo Online Entertainment. Even major publishers, such as Electronic Arts, have been finding success in mobile games, largely due to the simplistic nature of these games and how much they appeal to a massive number of consumers.

Mobile Games - Zynga strugglesZynga makes drastic cuts to staff

Zynga has been having trouble acclimating to the mobile space, however. The company has yet to produce a single mobile game as much of its focus is currently centered on reinventing itself. While Zynga is making progress toward embracing mobile games, the company has yet to shrug off its complications. Late last week, the company announced that it had laid off 18% of its staff throughout the U.S. This move was meant to save the company as much as $80 million annually but has done little to win the company the confidence of investors who consider Zynga’s acquisition of OMGPOP in 2012 as the mark of the company’s ultimate decline.

OMGPOP now defunct

OMGPOP is the development studio behind the acclaimed Draw Something, which is largely considered to be one of the most successful mobile games on the market. Since acquiring Zynga acquires OMGPOP in 2012 for $200 million, but has had to make several cuts to the development studio in an effort to save money. Zynga had once considered OMGPOP to be a powerful step in its journey toward mobile games, but Zynga closed the studio last week without having it produce another game.