Category: Mobile Gaming

Mobile games could be powerful marketing tools

| March 10, 2013

Mobile Games powerful marketingReport highlights the marketing potential of mobile games

Mobile games are beloved by many due to the entertainment they can provide. They may have largely untapped marketing potential, however, according to a new report from ForeSights, a leading market research firm. The report highlights mobile games as marketing tools, suggesting that they can be used to promote products and services to a wide range of consumers. Consumers have shown that they are willing to participate in marketing that they find in mobile games, which has turned many of these games into effective marketing tools for those that know how to appeal to gamers.

Report identifies trends in mobile gaming

The report from ForeSights touches upon new opportunities emerging in mobile marketing, focusing on trends that are bringing marketing more in line with mobile gaming. These trends include willingness among consumers in engaging mobile advertisements that offer an interactive experience, rather than just directing them to a product website. Gamification of mobile advertisements has proven popular among consumers, especially those that have a strong love for mobile games.

Challenges exist that could make marketing difficult

There are some challenges in using mobile games as a marketing tool. A large portion of mobile gamers are young, between the ages of 12 and 17. Many of these people make use of their parent’s mobile devices in order to play mobile games. In recent years, collecting data from these consumers have become very controversial and it is becoming more common for young consumers to “mis-click” advertisements, constituting their unwilling participating in a marketing campaign. This can be particularly problematic if advertisements link directly to an e-commerce site, where it is easy to purchase products without actually intending to do so.

Developers show willingness to cater to advertisers

In-game advertisements are the primary way for developers of mobile games to generate revenue. Many developers design their games specifically with the concept of advertising in mind, but many of these games see little interest from advertisers that could see major benefits from engaging gamers. Mobile games have the ability to capture the attention of consumers and keep them focused on participating in gaming elements, if advertisers can find a way to do the same, mobile games may become the next major marketing tool.

Mobile games benefit from freemium model

| March 9, 2013

Mobile Games FreemiumFreemium makes mobile games a booming market

Mobile games have become a very prominant market for the game industry. Games for smartphones and tablets represent a market worth billions of dollars in revenue and this market has begun to attract game developers that had previously been focused exclusively on developing titles for consoles and PCs. Though mobile games generate a massive amount of revenue on a yearly basis, most of these games are entirely free, though boast of a wide variety of in-game transactions. This business model is often referred to as “freemium.”

In-game transactions relatively accepted by gamers

Freemium is a simple concept: Mobile games that are free to obtain and free to play, but provide gamers with the opportunity to purchase in-game items and power-ups that can make the game more enjoyable. This is where the majority of the revenue that is generated by mobile games comes from. The freemium model allows developers to offer services to gamers for a relatively low price and because these prices are so low, consumers tend to participate in in-game transactions on a regular bases.

Freemium opens mobile games to more consumers

Analysts from Index Ventures, a venture capital investment firm, suggest that the freemium model is ideal for the mobile games market. This model allows developers to price-discriminate individual consumers, eliminating the upfront costs that are associated with other business models. A typical console game can cost anywhere from $30 to $60, but most mobile games are offered for free, with additional content being offered for as little as $1. Index Ventures suggests that the freemium model does not exploit consumers, but rather allows for a broader consumer base to participate in mobile games.

Business model not accepted by all gamers

Index Ventures suggests that many consumers are willing to sink money into mobile games in order to gain as much entertainment from these games as possible. The freemium model may be great for developers, but it is not universally accepted among gamers. Many argue that the freemium model encourages developers and publishers to create games that are deliberately restrictive in order to heavily promote in-game transactions.