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Mobile Gaming Cements Its Dominance, Takes Majority of Worldwide Sales (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the sign-of-the-times dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Newzoo's 2018 Global Games Market Forecast now predicts that mobile games will make up a slim majority (51 percent) of all worldwide gaming revenue this year (including smartphones and tablets, but not dedicated gaming handhelds). That's up from 34 percent in 2015 and just 18 percent in 2012. Console and PC games will split the remainder of the pie relatively evenly in 2018, at 25 percent and 24 percent of worldwide spending, respectively. The growth of the mobile market doesn't show any signs of stopping, either: by 2021, Newzoo estimates that 59 percent of all gaming spending will go to mobile platforms, with console and PC games dividing up the scraps. The report finds that China is responsible for 28 percent of all gaming spending in the world, up from 24 percent in 2015. "Mobile gaming is overrepresented in the world's biggest gaming market, responsible for 61 percent of all Chinese gaming revenue and poised to grow to 70 percent by 2021," reports Ars. Japan's overall spending on mobile games is nearly on par with the United States, despite the country having one-third as many gamers overall.

2 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Yes its true and has been by neoRUR · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The market for games on phone and pads is huge.

    All you Na-Sayers and old timers that don't play games on your iPhone because your PC is better, well your not the target audience, and you probably never played a game on your phone or pad.
    Its not as bad as you would think and it's designed for those devices and the graphics are way better than you think.
    No one wants to lug around a PC computer to play a multiplayer game.

    There is a place for everything for everybody,

    BTW, I have been playing games since the 80's on all devices and still do, including PC.

    1. Re:Yes its true and has been by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > Its not as bad as you would think and it's designed for those devices and the graphics are way better than you think.

      Yes it is. It's far worse. Whales are < 2% of the customers, but make > 95% of the money for game developers.

      https://venturebeat.com/2013/0...

      5th Planet chief executive Robert Winkler revealed at the Game Developers Conference Online in 2012 that with its game Clash of the Dragons, 40 percent of revenue came from 2 percent of players who spent $1,000 or more. Ninety percent came from those who spent $100 or more, and the top whale had spent $6,700.

      As an ex-professional game developer 95+% of mobile games are crap

      * Hurry-up-and-wait gaming that constantly nag you
      * Exploitative predatory tactics such as gambling (loot boxes), in-app-purchases, and ads.
      * Mobile games tend not to respect your time, money, or space.

      There ARE games that don't exploit the players:

      * Hidden Folks
      * Limbo
      * Minecraft
      * Terreria
      * The Room (and all its sequels)
      * The Witness
      *etc.

      You have to look, but they are there.

      > No one wants to lug around a PC computer to play a multiplayer game.

      Uh, that's what mobile gaming is -- by definition.

      This is ignoring the fact that some games just DON'T work (well) on a mobile. i.e. Let me know when I can play:

      * Starcraft 2
      * World of Warcraft

      on a phone.

      Mouse + Keyboard is vastly superior for some games.

      Mobile gaming is here to stay. That's NOT the problem. The problem is the exploitative behavior.

      It is bullshit like this is driving the mobile games straight into the ground.