Mobile Gaming The Real Winner During Lockdown
Lockdown was hardly an easy thing to go through for most families; the added stress of a full family being kept in the house without school or work was difficult to take, but one particular industry certainly alleviated those issues as well providing useful entertainment in times of great need: the gaming industry.
Mobile technology has made the rise possible
Without the incredible growth and development of mobile smartphones, gaming would not be possible on such devices. However, the ease with which games can be accessed, made them a vital part of peoples’ experiences of being stuck inside all day. Taking advantage of online casinos and bingo games as well as promotions like Starburst free spins, mobile gamers undoubtedly found easier ways to cope than those sat twiddling their thumbs.
Whilst the gaming sector’s huge listed groups like Nintendo have enjoyed share price rises of more than a quarter since March, it’s the mobile gaming studios that have truly reaped the rewards.
Along with the sharp rise in free time among a market of over two billion smartphone owners, the mobile gaming industry has been able to exploit the decline in the price of mobile advertising as other corporate sectors cut down their marketing budgets. This, in turn, gave companies a huge opportunity, combining unprecedented user growth with more efficient marketing.
Mobile gaming overtaking console sales
Mobile gaming revenues already supersede PC and console titles, but that revenue is set to hit $100 billion this year, which is more than three times that of Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 titles put together. Companies like Epic Games – which created Fortnite – the puzzle app specialist Playrix and mobile games maker Playtika each spent almost $2 million a day on digital advertisements in March, April and May.
That mobile gaming expenditure matches the consumer in terms of grandioseness with Europeans spending 12% more between February and March on mobile games. That figure amounted to $740 million, setting a new monthly record for the region at that time of year. Even in-app payments for mobile games such as extra lives, virtual items and avatar outfits increased by 24%.
How users and companies go hand-in-hand
In fact, smartphone users installed 84% more apps than in the same period a year ago. And, even with this increase, the average cost per install – which is the price that publishers pay for ads that influence new players to download their app – decreased by a remarkable 33% from March to April. So, as more people began gaming on their mobile devices, companies looked to exploit this new interest with reduced prices in order to both consolidate and develop new relationships with consumers.
