The game industry continues to be strong worldwide, thanks to smart game development and effective marketing that panders to certain markets, particularly in the United States and China. Today, a new report from Ninja Metrics indicates that other countries are picking up in game development as well, slowly but surely getting their own piece of the pie.
The report, analyzing over 300 million users, implies that developing countries like Laos and Algeria are helping drive the global spending when it comes to games.
First up, social value is weighed in an Android vs. iOS format. iOS players are worth one and a half to two times more in revenue and ARPU than Android players. That said, Android players are 15 percent more likely to become influential in the long run.
Getting into game genre influence, 60 percent of it comes from massive multiplayer online (MMO) games, while PC Hardcore/Multiplayer is close behind, with 30 percent. Mobile social rounds out the top three with 28 percent, while mobile single player lags behind at six percent.
The most important part of the report, however, breaks down influence by world regions — and you’d be surprised who’s number one. Africa actually takes the lead when it comes to being the most influential country, followed by Asia, Europe and North America. Oceania and South America play their parts as well in the fifth and sixth positions.
Geographical influence by income breaks down with 48 percent coming from middle income countries, 33 percent from low income (developing) communities and 19 percent from high income (developed) countries. That says a lot when it comes to the creation of games, especially from studios just getting started in the industry.
Another aspect of the report that we found fascinating was a breakdown of influence by country. Surprisingly enough, the top five consist of Laos, Algeria, Palestine, Ukraine and Cambodia. Coming up as the least influential countries were Kenya, Australia, Iceland, the United States and Norway.
These numbers say quite a bit, and point out just what kind of effect smaller countries can have on the overall market. Regardless, game development will keep going strong.
