Mobile gamers are not only more receptive to advertisements, but they are 23 percent more influential with their purchase decisions than non-gamers, according to a new report by Activision Blizzard and Newzoo.
“Betting on Billions: Unlocking the Power of Mobile Gamers,” released on Monday, explores the habits of mobile app users around the world. Respondents included 12,327 mobile app users from the US, UK, France and Germany who were between the ages of 18-65. Surveys were conducted over a period of two weeks between December 10-24, 2018.
Half of all mobile users surveyed reported playing games, according to the report. Games were the third-most-popular kinds of apps opened in the previous week after social media and shopping. The most popular game played was Candy Crush Saga (good news for Activision Blizzard), followed by Pokémon GO and Fortnite, at 35 percent and 19 percent each, respectively.
Mobile game users are split nearly down the middle in terms of gender, with 51 percent of men vs. 49 percent of women. Genre preferences vary between the two groups, however, as well as among ages.
Puzzle games like Candy Crush were most popular among the 36-50 age group, with two-thirds being women. Competitive genres such as action/adventure, strategy and shooting, on the other hand, were preferred by those aged 21-35. Two-thirds of this group were men.
Just over half (51 percent) of all mobile game users agreed that advertisements help them keep up to date about products/services they need or want to have. Newzoo found that when comparing gamers to non-gamers, the former group is more likely to splurge every once in a while, look for promotions and purchase premium brands.
They are also more likely to look for promotions, to prefer buying a premium brand over a store brand, and to find a brand’s values important.
“Brands should consider highlighting their company values and social responsibility endeavors when advertising to mobile gamers,” advises the report.
Newzoo estimates that 2.4 billion people will play mobile games in 2019. That’s a massive market for Activision Blizzard—one of the leading AAA game publishers—that is, not coincidentally, at SXSW touting its media prowess. Activision Blizzard is a combination of publishers Activision (Call of Duty), Blizzard (Overwatch), King (Candy Crush), Major League Game Publishers (MLG) and others. The company reported $7.5 billion in sales and $1.8 billion in profit last year and is in the midst of a restructuring that resulted in hundreds of Blizzard layoffs in February.