Have you ever played popular mobile games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or the highly addictive Flappy
Question:
Have you ever played popular mobile games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or the highly addictive Flappy Bird? Media research firm Nielsen (2011) reports that games are the most popular mobile apps in the U.S. While many apps in this category are free, 93 percent of app downloaders are willing to pay for game apps, compared to 76 percent for news apps, another popular category. Mobile gamers spend an average of 7.8 hours a month playing games, but smartphone users appear to be heavier users of this category, with iPhone owners playing 14.7 hours/month and Android owners playing 9.3 hours/month. Reports of market size and growth rates differ on the exact amounts but agree this category is sizable and growing rapidly. Estimates of 2013 mobile game revenue range from approximately $12 billion to $17 billion and analysts predict the market could grow to as much as $22 billion by 2015. To put this in perspective, in 2009, iOS and Android mobile gaming apps accounted for just 11 percent of the portable (handheld) gaming market dominated by Sony and Nintendo. By 2013, mobile games accounted for 27 percent of the gaming market and are projected to rise to 35 percent by 2017. Clearly, mobile gaming apps have become a disruptive force in the marketplace, displacing two historically strong companies. Even more impressive is the fact that the above statistics are based on revenues produced by paid downloads and don't reflect the millions of free games downloaded every year. Many mobile games are available as free apps supported by advertising revenues. Some analysts estimate that ad revenue produced by mobile games was approximately $297 million in 2013 (eMarketer, 2013).
Question:
Gaming and social media are among the most popular mobile app categories in the U.S. What do you think this says about the role of mobile devices in the lives of U.S. consumers?
Entrepreneurship Successfully Launching New Ventures
ISBN: 9780132555524
4th Edition
Authors: Bruce R. Barringer, R. Duane Ireland