The Rise of the Mobile Gamer
Reports in 2016 suggested that for the first time mobile game revenue will be more than PC games, the total games market being worth about $99.6 billion and growing. Mobile gaming revenue is set to increase 4.5 per cent in 2016, and PC only 2.1 per cent.
Mobile and tablet will be responsible for 42 per cent of the global gaming revenue for 2017, while PC is expected to account for 23% of revenue, and Console accounting for 31 per cent.
Why is Mobile Gaming Winning?
Although mobile gaming has been around for years, with the most memorable old school game being Nokia’s Snake, the introduction of affordable smart phones to the general public is what really caused the boom in the Mobile gaming industry.
With access to games in their own home, AND outside your own home on the move in most situations, Mobile games increased in popularity as people fill in “dead space” in their day with mobile games.
Downloading a Mobile game and playing the game anytime, anywhere has replaced the many prior boredom killers; do people even read billboards anymore? Losing yourself in transit or in a waiting room is now the norm, with your Smartphone constantly available and easily accessed.
Mobile Gaming has even taken over the casual PC gamers, as it is much easier to get in the comfort of your bed and play some mobile games such as those on offer at mobile gambling NZ sites, or any other options for a while, rather than sitting at your PC and gaming.
Top Earning Mobile Games
– Honour of Kings – this Chinese mobile game with 50million plus users has made a reported $876 million in the first quarter of 2017.
– Clash Royale – this game made a reported $277.1 million in 2016, with over 19 million download
– Pokémon GO – Pokémon rage in 2016 was huge and the entire planet had Pokémon fever. Pokémon GO earned approximately $270 million in 2016 and over 42 million downloads.
Pokémon GO was notoriously hard to monetise, considering the mount of downloads the revenue was not as impressive as Honour of Kings or Clash Royale. Pokémon Go was the top earning mobile game for the iPhone by July 2017, with Game of War being the top earner for the Android handset.
Will Mobile Gaming be the Ruination of PC Gaming?
So in the end, will the easy access of mobile gaming completely crush the PC gaming world? No, it won’t. The PC Gamer is a more long-term player, with more sophisticated gaming graphics in play and longer intricate gaming sessions.
Eventually Mobile gaming will completely match the sophistication and graphics of PC gaming, but though it will make more revenue than PC, Mobile Gaming is aimed at an entirely different set of players.
The world is big enough for both Mobile and PC gamers, but only for the developers who keep current and relevant.
The space for Mobile and PC gaming is only growing, with more and more of the world population accessing smart phones and the next generations familiarity and need for all things mobile and popular.
