According to a whitepaper “Trends in Digital Gaming: Free-to-Play, Social, and Mobile Games” the game industry will see a shift in revenue models, as smartphones and tablets change who plays games and how people pay for them. On average, Facebook gamers already spend $29 per month, while free-to-play gamers spend $21 per month on virtual goods and upgrades.
“In-app purchases greatly expand monetization of the free-to-play model, thanks to seamless payments,” said Pietro Macchiarella, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Already, most of the top grossing games on iTunes and Android can be downloaded for free and generate the majority of their revenues via virtual purchases. While mobile players are often characterized as ‘casual gamers,’ they spend a comparable amount of money on free-to-play titles as their peers spend on console games.”
Additionally, the number U.S. gamers who regularly download games or gaming apps to their mobile devices increased from seven percent in 2008 to 18 percent in 2011, which mirrors the growth of smartphones and tablet adoption. Among tablet owners, 71 percent of adults and 79 of teens play games on these devices at least one hour per month.
“Games running on smartphones and tablets have a significant advantage in the free-to-play business model, compared to their counterparts on PCs,” Macchiarella said.
