This one news is interesting. We'll see if it gets confirmed in the following months.
US Mobile Gamers Decline 13% - Study
A new mobile gaming study conducted by research firm ComScore suggests that the number of mobile gamers in the US has declined by 13 per cent over the past year.
This company says the overall decline was driven by a 35 per cent drop in mobile gaming among feature phone (non-smartphone) users, who represent approximately 80 per cent of the market.
However, it believes that heavy mobile gaming on smartphones like iPhone – the number of smartphone mobile gamers has leapt by 60 per cent in the past 12 months – means the market is poised for a turnaround.
“Although the number of mobile gamers has declined in the past year, there is reason for significant optimism about the future of this market,” said Mark Donovan, ComScore senior analyst and SVP of mobile.
“As the market transitions from feature phones to smartphones, the dynamics of gameplay are also shifting towards a higher quality experience. As a result, we can expect to see a profound increase in adoption of this activity, both in terms of audience size and overall engagement.”
According to ComScore’s study, 47.1 per cent of smartphone subscribers play games on their device at least once a month, compared to 15.7 per cent of feature phone owners. They are also more than five times as likely to play games almost every day.
Additionally, 27.3 per cent of smartphone users have installed at least one game on their handset, compared to just 5.6 per cent of feature phone subscribers. A third of smartphone subscribers with games have more than five titles installed, a total matched by less than one per cent of feature phone subscribers.
“Smartphones offer a more accessible and compelling mobile gaming experience that is enabling adoption of this behavior, even among consumers who have not traditionally been gamers,” added Donovan.
“Marketers and advertisers ought to be paying close attention to the opportunity this presents for reaching consumers in new and engaging ways in a cross-platform environment. The potential for highly creative marketing efforts is exciting.”
Wait and see...
