Just in time for an end of the year perspective, Newzoo has published a new report that takes a look at just how much the mobile games landscape has changed over the last twelve months.
Titled The Mobile Games Landscape In 2015 & The Power Users Who Shaped It, it takes a dynamic look into how key developments and particular “power users” that are driving them helped shape the market into a successful one.
George Osborn, owner of Mobile Mavericks, had plenty to say about the mobile industry. With the sector generating revenues of over $30 billion and King, arguably the biggest player in the market, valued at $6 billion, it s fair to say that mobile gaming has reached heights in 2015 that few of us would have expected a decade ago
“Unfortunately, what this means for the industry now and in the future has been clouded by antagonistic models of thinking. Whether deliberately or otherwise, mobile gaming s success has tended to be framed as a battle with console or PC. When I unpacked the data from this report, a different picture emerged. In contrast to the usual narratives about mobile versus console or PC within the industry, it s clear that most players are not in one camp or the other; they re in both.”
The report has several key points, including the following:
- With $30 billion estimated for this year, the mobile games market has managed to see a $5.5 billion increase over the previous year. Newzoo noted that China was the number one games market for the year, leading to a huge amount of growth in Asia Pacific.
- In addition to the Pacific showing progress, Southeast Asia has also become popular in the mobile market, as more Western mobile game developers are finding ways to expand into that market.
- When Activision acquired King for a record $5.9 billion back in November, it knew what it was buying into, as it becomes the number two public game company in terms of worldwide revenue, with a reach of well over 81 million gamers and that’s just in the U.S. market.
- 90 million mobile gamers consider themselves Free Marketers, players that spend no money but do invest huge amounts of time on their games. Some companies miss out on the fact that they’re a valuable group for success.
- 49.3 million mobile gamers are considered Big Spends, buying items for their favorite mobile games. The report also notes that 71 percent of those also purchase items for their favorite games on consoles.
- Out of all the countries with the highest Day 7 retention rates across both iOS and Android, Belgian and Austrian mobile gamers top the list, although Saudi Arabia continues to be number one when it comes to average revenues per daily active user.