Tag: mobile games

Skylanders Trap Team from Activision has gone mobile.

The complete console game, which is the latest in the Skylanders series, will not only be coming to Xbox, PlayStation, Wii consoles, and Nintendo DS, but will also enter the mobile gaming world and be made available for tablets when it is released this fall on October 5, 2014.

This game release is a notable first for mobile.

The full Skylanders Trap Team game and all of the console version’s content will be available for tablets, which make the new game one of the largest to ever be played on a mobile device. It will be playable on Android, iOS, and FireOS devices when it launches in October.

The game’s start set, which works with all three mobile operating systems listed above, is $75 and will include a game controller, a Portal of Power designed for tablets, a pair of Trap Stones, and the Snap Shot and Food Fight Skylanders figures. It is essentially just like the console-specific starter kit, with the exception that the game controller and Portal are battery powered and will only function with the game’s mobile version. Players only need one set to be able to play on all operating systems, which is a fabulous bonus for mobile users and extremely rare for mobile games.

Mobile gamers will also have the chance to download a free version of Skylanders Trap Team at their preferred app store, which will provide the player with a demo experience that relies only on Trap Stones and virtual characters, so the Portal isn’t needed. Currently, details regarding this demo version have yet to be finalized, but players will still be able to try the game for free using virtual controls.

Mobile gaming meets NFC technology.

One of the reasons why the console versions of the Skylanders games are so popular is they come with the Portal of Power, which contains a near field communications (NFC) transmitter that allows the player’s figurines to interact with the game. However, what makes the Portal designed for tablet mobile gaming so unique is not only does it work like the ones for consoles, but it also can be used as a tablet stand and underneath the Portal is a small Bluetooth controller that features all of the same buttons as an Xbox controller.

A new report reveals that women play and spend more on mobile games than men.

A recent report from mobile advertising, analytics and monetization firm, Flurry, reveals that the mobile gaming scene is not dominated by the male mobile user population, as many would suspect due to the fact that males generally drive game revenue, but is actually a digital playground that is currently being conquered by female mobile consumers.

Women make over 30% more in-app game purchases than men.

Based on the data found in its report, Flurry discovered that based on a selection of mobile games that were available to 1.1 million devices on its platform, compared to men, women made 31% more in-app purchases. In addition, the study learned that women spend 35% more time engaged in gaming on their mobile devices and, on average, have a 42% greater retention over one week than their male counterparts.

Flurry commented that the “fact that females also outspend males in in-app purchases came as a surprise to us.” The mobile ad firm also noted that while its data was measured on a global basis, the numbers did not differ greatly when it came to the individual analysis of the US audience.

In general, certain types of mobile gaming appear to appeal to one gender over the other.

In its report, Flurry also analyzed 19 different iOS game categories and the amount of time mobile gamers spend in them. What was found was that, on the whole, men continue to spend more time playing games that fall into the strategy, sports, tower defense, action/RPG and card/battle game categories, compared to women.

That being said, what encouraged Flurry to conduct its report to find out precisely how in-app purchases are being influenced by a growing mobile gaming user base, is the success that game developer Glu Mobile is experiencing after the release of its “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” game. According to a report from the New York Times, Glu Mobile has generated over $1 million in revenue just from the first five days after the game was released. Due to the fact that the game is free to play, money is coming from user’s making in-app purchases. One analyst even told the paper that on an annual basis, the game has the potential to produce $200 million in revenue.