Are mobile games a soap bubble?
The average American gamer spends $0.92 per month on mobile games, according to Interpret. According to the company, this is very little. If developers want to earn money, they need to switch to other platforms. Is it so?
The average player spends even less on mobile IAPs per month than on buying games – $0.79. Therefore, Interpret analysts believe that the mobile segment is overvalued. According to Gamesindustry International, EEDAR specialists are inclined to the same thing. According to the latter, developers should be ready to support as many platforms as possible, including next-generation consoles.
For comparison, players in free-to-play MMO spend $3.25 per month, those who are on subscriptions spend about $4.25 per month. As for the console players, they spend $10.40 per month on their entertainment.
You say there are not enough console developers? But Interpret claims that this is compensated by a positive conversion. In six months, 75% of American hardcore fans surveyed bought a new PC or console game. Over the same period of time, only 47% of mobile gamers purchased the full version of the game and 21% spent on IAP.
Another illustrative example is offered by Jason Cotson, a leading analyst at Interpret: 48 million people play mobile games in the USA, 23 million play free-to-play MMO, but both markets bring comparable revenue.
In general, the report looks logical, if not for one “but”. The cost of developing a good game for mobile platforms and a game for the console/MMOs for PC are not comparable at this stage. With marketing, a game for iOS can take about $ 1 million, a similar-level title even for PS3 will take at least $ 20 million. In addition, we do not forget that mobile games are rarely developed for more than a year, their teams are much smaller, the tools are cheaper, the markets are more convenient for distribution, and a successful title brings money for longer (although in the case of MMO, the numbers are comparable here).
Photo on the icon: Richard Heeks
