Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
-
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
-
- Future looks bright for mobile gaming
- Competition for time and from other gaming platforms
- Critical choices for game development
- Apple juggernaut; carriers and Android counter
- EA Mobile, GameLoft, Glu Mobile joined by hundreds of others
- Multiplayer gaining steam
- AR and graphic-intensive games rolling out
- WOM primary driver of game awareness
- Mobile gamers predominantly younger than 45
- Free games more popular; freemium model has potential
- Tablet gamers download more games, play more hours
- Opportunity in ethnic markets
Insights and Opportunities
-
- Ability to earn “real” goods/services based on game results
- Still more demand for social and multiplayer games
- Mobile games with console sensibilities
- Cross-platform play
- Tournaments and tours
- Games as part of marketing campaigns
- Freemium has room to grow
Inspire Insights
-
- Trend: Rise of the Screenager
Market Size and Forecast
-
- Key points
- Market poised for growth
- “Free” resonates with consumers
- Market forecast to grow 82% between 2010 and 2015
-
- Figure 1: Total U.S. sales of mobile phone and tablet-based games, at current prices, 2005-14
-
- Figure 2: Total U.S. sales of mobile phone and tablet-based games, at inflation-adjusted 2010 prices, 2005-14
Market Drivers
-
- Key points
- Smartphone sales
-
- Figure 3: U.S. smartphone* sales to dealers, 2006-11
- Tablet sales
-
- Figure 4: U.S. tablet sales to dealers, 2006-11
- Mobile internet subscribers
-
- Figure 5: U.S. mobile internet subscribers, 2005-14
- App stores/downloads
-
- Figure 6: Worldwide app downloads, all types, 2009-14
Competitive Context
-
- Key points
- Competition from other activities on the mobile gaming device
-
- Figure 7: Use of smartphone functions, November 2010
- Competition from portable consoles
- Mobile gaming makes inroads against portable consoles
-
- Figure 8: Mobile game play compared to portable game play, by gender and age, February 2011
- Competition from home consoles and PCs
-
- Figure 9: U.S. video game end user spending, by segment, 2009 and 2011
- Time allocated for play on different platforms
-
- Figure 10: Penetration of online, console, and mobile gaming, by age, June 2010
-
- Figure 11: Hours spent with different times of media in the last week, June 2010
Market Segmentation
-
- Business Models: Ad-supported (free) games compared to paid games
-
- Figure 12: U.S. Mobile game revenue share, ad-supported (free) vs. paid download, 2009-14
- Freemium and in-app purchasing model
Retail Distribution
-
- Key points
- Mobile games primarily distributed by app stores
- Android Market gaining share rapidly
-
- Figure 13: Global mobile application revenue, by store, 2009 and 2010
- Figure 14: Game downloads by distribution channel among all adults and adult phone gamers
- Independent app stores
-
- Figure 15: Selected independent app stores operating in the U.S.
- Carriers lose control of content as independent developers create apps
Leading Companies
-
- Leading Platforms: Android is winning and growing; iOS share is still substantial
- Leading publishers: EA Mobile, GameLoft, and Glu Mobile
-
- Figure 16: Leading mobile game publishers, by revenue, 2009 and 2010
- Profiles of leading developers and publishers
- EA Mobile
- GameLoft
- Glu Mobile
- Rovio Mobile (www.rovio.com)
- Digital Chocolate
- Firemint
- Gamevil
- ngmoco : )
- PopCap Games
- Zynga with Friends (formerly Newtoy & Zynga)
Innovations and Innovators
-
- Apple’s Game Center offers multiplayer experience and networking
- Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade takes high-end graphics to mobile play
- OpenFeint enables cross-platform play
- Soulbit’s AR Invaders unleashes power of real world immersiveness
- Something Else’s Papa Sangre makes (sound) waves
- Spacetime Studios sells mobile MMORPG
- Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) solving development problems
Marketing Strategies
-
- Overview
-
- Figure 17: How consumers learn about new mobile games, by gender and age, February 2011
- Social media
-
- Figure 18: Selected mobile game companies, by friends, fans/followers on Facebook & twitter
- App stores
- Mobile gaming sites
- Television advertising
- Apple
-
- Figure 19: Apple iphone 4—Play classic games and the latest and greatest, television ad, March 2011
- Figure 20: Apple iPad—Images and videos: medical scans, baseball game, keyboard, business chart, television ad, September 2010
- AT&T
-
- Figure 21: AT&T Wireless—Dynamic crime fighters discover new weapon, television ad, February 2011
- Sony Ericsson
-
- Figure 22: Sony Ericsson Experia Play—Man delivers scissors to guy who cuts layers off robot's hands,
Brand and Game Integrations
-
- Key points
- Overview
- Mobile game ad placement
- In-game advertising
- Microsoft Windows 7 and GodFinger All-Stars
- Century 21 and We City
Game-playing Platforms
-
- Key points
- Gaming on mobile phones is more common than on tablets
- Regardless of platform, mobile gaming mostly for those younger than 45
-
- Figure 23: Use of gaming platforms, February 2011
-
- Figure 24: Use of gaming platforms, by age, February 2011
- Income is a fairly strong predictor of mobile game play
-
- Figure 25: Use of gaming platforms, by household income, February 2011
App Download Habits On Phones
-
- Key points
- Game download and play habits
-
- Figure 26: Game capability and use on phones, by age, Feb 2010-Sept. 2010
-
- Figure 27: Any game downloads to phone in past three months, February 2011
- Phone gamers download twice as many free games as paid games
- Men download more games than women
-
- Figure 28: Number of game downloads to phone in past three months, by gender, February 2011
- Adults 35+ more likely to download a free game
-
- Figure 29: Any game downloads on phones in past three months, by age, February 2011
-
- Figure 30: Number of game downloads on phones, by age, February 2011
- Lower-income households download fewer games
-
- Figure 31: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by household income, February 2011
-
- Figure 32: Number of game downloads to phone in past three months, by household income, February 2011
App Download Habits on Tablets
-
- Key points
- Two thirds of tablet gamers download free games
- Women play free; men pay
-
- Figure 33: Any game downloads to tablets in past three months, by gender, February 2011
-
- Figure 34: Number of game downloads to tablets in past three months, by gender, February 2011
- Tablet gamers aged 35+ don’t pay to play
-
- Figure 35: Any game downloads to tablets in past three months, by age, February 2011
- Figure 36: Number of game downloads to tablets in past three months, by age, February 2011
- Higher income does not mean more paid downloads
-
- Figure 37: Any game downloads to tablets in past three months, by household income, February 2011
- Figure 38: Number of game downloads to tablets in past three months, by household income, February 2011
Time Spent Playing Games and Number of Games Played
-
- Key points
- Tablet gamers put in more time
-
- Figure 39: Time spent gaming on phones and tablets, February 2011
- Two thirds of phone gamers play games less than five hours a week
-
- Figure 40: Time spent gaming on phones, February 2011
- The most dedicated tablet game players are men or aged 18-34
-
- Figure 41: Time spent playing games on tablets, by age and gender, February 2011
- Gamers download more games than they play
- Men play more game titles in a week than women
-
- Figure 42: Number of games played per week on phones, by gender, February 2011
- Adults 35+ stick to fewer game titles
-
- Figure 43: Number of games played per week on phones, by age, February 2011
Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
-
- Key points
- Hispanics and Asians more likely to play games on phones/tablets
-
- Figure 44: Game-playing platforms, by race and hispanic origin, February 2011
- Black consumers download fewer games
-
- Figure 45: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by race and ethnicity, February 2011
- Figure 46: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by race and ethnicity, February 2011
- Blacks and Hispanics most likely to play more than 25 hours
-
- Figure 47: Time spent playing games on phones, by race and ethnicity, February 2011
- Friends, app stores, and social media essential sources for new games
-
- Figure 48: How consumers learn about new mobile games, by race and ethnicity, February 2011
Teens and Mobile Gaming
-
- Key points
- Most teens have a mobile phone capable for gaming
-
- Figure 49: Cell phone services had by teens, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
- One in four teens used phone for gaming in the past 30 days
-
- Figure 50: Cell phone services used by teens in the last 30 days, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
Cluster Analysis
-
- Eager tableteers
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- BlackBerry-frees
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Android-less cell-phoners
- Characteristics
- Opportunity
- Characteristic tables
-
- Figure 51: Mobile gaming clusters, February 2011
- Figure 52: Type of device used in mobile gaming, by mobile gaming clusters, February 2011
- Figure 53: Sources of information for new mobile games, by mobile gaming clusters, February 2011
-
- Figure 54: Attitudes and habits of mobile game play, by mobile gaming clusters, February 2011
- Demographic tables
-
- Figure 55: Mobile gaming clusters, by gender, February 2011
- Figure 56: Mobile gaming clusters, by age, February 2011
- Figure 57: Mobile gaming clusters, by household income, February 2011
- Figure 58: Mobile gaming clusters, by race, February 2011
- Figure 59: Mobile gaming clusters, by Hispanic origin, February 2011
-
- Figure 60: Mobile gaming clusters, by household size, February 2011
- Figure 61: Mobile gaming clusters, by children younger than 18 in household, February 2011
- Cluster methodology
Custom Consumer Groups
-
- Men 18-34 most likely to have played a game on almost all mobile devices
-
- Figure 62: Game-playing platforms, by gender and age groups, February 2011
- Male gamers 18-34 download the most games
-
- Figure 63: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by gender and age group, February 2011
- Women 35+ most likely to play less than 10 hours a week
-
- Figure 64: Time spent playing games on phones, by gender and age, February 2011
Appendix: Other Useful Tables
-
-
- Figure 65: How consumers learn about new mobile games, by household income, February 2011
- Figure 66: How consumers learn about new mobile games, by presence of children and level of educational attainment, November 2010
-
- Figure 67: How consumers learn about new mobile games, by area, February 2011
- Figure 68: Game-playing platforms, by marital status and household size, February 2011
-
- Figure 69: Game-playing platforms, by education and employment status, February 2011
- Figure 70: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by level of educational attainment, February 2011
-
- Figure 71: Frequency of app downloads on phones, by employment status, February 2011
- Figure 72: Time spent playing games on phones, by income, February 2011
-
- Figure 73: Number of games played per week on phones, by income, February 2011
- Figure 74: Cell phone ownership, Feb. 2010–Sept. 2010
- Figure 75: Cell phone device brands, by age, Feb. 2010-Sept. 2010
-
- Figure 76: Cell phone service providers, by age, Feb. 2010-Sept. 2010
-
Game Capability and Use on Phones
-
-
- Figure 77: Game capability and use on phones, by age, Feb. 2010-Sept. 2010
- Figure 78: Teen cell phone ownership, by gender and age, Oct 2009-Dec 2010
- Figure 79: Teen brand of cell phone owned, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
- Figure 80: Teen brand of wireless provider, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
-
- Figure 81: Teen type of wireless contract, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
- Figure 82: Whether teens are part of a family plan or individual plan, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
- Figure 83: Teen attitudes toward cell phone features and ownership, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
- Figure 84: Teen cell phone bill size, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
-
- Figure 85: Teen length of cell phone ownership, by gender and age, Oct. 2009-Dec. 2010
-
Appendix: Trade Associations
Back to top
