The mobile video game industry continues to ride a growing wave of free-to-play and casual game successes such as Supercell’s Clash of Clans and Rovio Entertainment’s Angry Birds Transformers. Consumers are spending so much time—and money—playing games on smartphones and tablets that Newzoo, a video game research firm, has had to raise its 2014 global revenue forecast from $21.7 billion to $25 billion. The new total is a 43% increase over mobile game revenues recorded for 2013.
Peter Warman, Newzoo’s chief executive, says the mobile market growth isn’t limited to a specific market. Both “mature” Western markets and emerging markets showed rapid growth in 2014. In North America, the market is now expected to grow 51% year over year; Western Europe is expected to grow by 47%. For the fastest growth, though, look East to emerging markets in Southeast Asia and China—the latter of which is up 86%. Japan is also seeing strong growth in iOS and Android game revenues, but the overall market remains level as traditional feature phone game revenues collapse.
“Despite a widely reported slump in new tablet unit sales, game revenues on tablets are growing faster than smartphones, cementing the position of tablets as a key gaming device,” Warman says. “Smartphones and tablets have given gamers two new screens to play games on in addition to their TV and PC screen. Because U.S. consumers use all four screens, mobile gaming does not replace console or PC gaming. Moreover, it gives gamers the possibility to play games anywhere at any time, pushing overall time spent on games in the U.S. up 40% in only two years.”
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
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