Mobile Gaming

Category: Mobile Gaming

iOS favored for mobile games among consumers

Stephen | February 13, 2013

Consumers prefer iOS over Android when it comes to mobile games

Mobile games are very popular for consumers all over the world. These games have become one of the most favored pastimes for those with iOS and Android devices and there are no signs that mobile games will become unpopular in the foreseeable future. Arbitron Mobile, a mobile behavior analytics firm, has released a new survey concerning which mobile platform consumers prefer for gaming. The survey shows that Apple devices are the most popular platforms for mobile games on the market.

iPhone has become a massively popular gaming platform

According to the survey, 85.7% of consumers prefer to use mobile games on an iOS device. Approximately 76% of consumers favor Android devices. The iPhone is the most popular device among gamers, accounting for an average of 12 hours and 23 minutes of engagement in mobile gaming in December 2012. Overall, mobile games take up the majority of time people spend on mobile devices, iOS or otherwise. Social networking comes in second, but consumers typically play mobile games through such networks.

Mobile games represent promising marketing opportunities

The popularity of mobile games presents a major opportunity for advertisers and game developers. Because the majority of the time consumers spend on their mobile devices is devoted to gaming, developers have a chance to push in-game sales of products and services. Developers can also sell in-game space to advertisers looking to engage mobile consumers. This is a common practice in the field of mobile games, as such games are typically free or very inexpensive. In-game transactions are, therefore, the primary way for developers to generate profits.

Game industry begins to veer toward Android

Though consumers appear to favor the iOS platform for mobile games, Android has been gaining momentum in this field for years. Consumers are becoming more interested in Android devices over those provided by Apple due to new features being introduced to the Android platform. The game industry has also shown favor for Android because of its accessibility, leading many developers to move away from the iOS.

Samsung takes on mobile games

Stephen | February 11, 2013

Samsung and EA team to push mobile games forward

Game industry giant Electronic Arts (EA) has teamed with Samsung Electronics to makes progress in the mobile games space. Samsung recently launched its own applications store to rival that of its long-time competitor Apple. The store is still in a fledgling state, but offers a wide variety of applications to consumers using Samsung mobile devices. The company has become heavily interested in mobile games and has been working to bring in more gaming applications to its new store, which has presented Electronic Arts with a very promising opportunity.

100% Indie initiative may attract developers to Samsung platform

EA and Samsung have teamed to launched the 100% Indie initiative, which is meant to attract developers of mobile games to the new Samsung app store. The initiative will provide developers with 100% of the revenue their mobile games generate through Samsung’s platform for their first six months, higher than the typical 30% developers usually get from other platforms. The initiative is scheduled to launch on March 4, 2013.

Higher revenue shares could be very alluring to developers

After the six month period had expired, developers with mobile games on the Samsung platform will give 10% of the revenue their games produce from that point forward to the company, keeping the rest for themselves. The following year, Samsung’s share rises to 20%, with the company’s share capping at 30% after two years. Samsung believes that developers being able to keep a higher share of their revenue, especially during the first six months of the launch of a new game, could be very lucrative to innovative and ambitious independent developers.

Samsung shows strong interest in mobile games publishing

Samsung recently overtook competitor Apple as the world’s largest smart phone seller. With the help of EA, the company may soon establish itself as a leader in the realm of mobile games. While Samsung will not focus on developing mobile games itself, it has a strong interest in acting as a publisher for such games. EA has extensive experience in this field, as the company is one of the largest publishers in the game industry currently.