When we think of gamers, we imagine them to be socially awkward adolescent boys who are looking to fill their free time with some fantasy and adventure. But in this age where smartphones and tablets are getting increasingly accessible, people who would have never considered themselves as gamers are now being drawn in.
For the past 5 years game makers have been agressively targeting young millennials thinking that they have the most time and money to spare for mobile gaming but with the recent trends all that is set to change.
According to a recent report by Reality Mine, there have been some astounding trends in mobile gaming demographics in recent years.
Correlation Between Money Spent and Age
Don't you just love playing phenomenal games that are entirely free? You certainly aren't alone! But how are these games making money? A good mix of ad revenues and in-app purchases can clock in some great revenues.
But who are doing these in-app purchases? It's not the millennials or even the adolescent boys who're doing so. According to a survey by MocoSpace, the older the gamer the more money was spent on virtual goods. Gamers over the age of 35, made up a mere 18 percent of gamers surveyed but were responsible for 42 percent of all virtual goods spending. In contrast, 16 - to 25-year-olds, who made up 43 percent of those surveyed were responsible for only 18 percent of in-app purchases.
In view of this data, the average mobile gamer is more likely to be an adolecent boy's mom!
Cerebral Gaming
It is fairly normalized in our society to pigeon hole men into shooting POV games and women into games that are exceedingly girly. But that is not the case by any means! Both men and women have shown a marked inclination towards strategy games according to this study by Newzoo.
So shouldn't game creaters be focusing more on Strategy games for both men and women? Perhaps even introducing a female protagonist in a Strategy game could help attract the attention of women in a fairly undiversified genre.
Regional Preferences
Countries across the world have very unique cultures. Something that may not work in the United States may work phenomenally well in Japan.
Role playing and strategy games contribute to close to 50% of Google Play revenue. But South East Asian countries are much more RPG oriented while the United States prefer Strategy games. If game makers don't keep these very stark regional differences in mind while creating games for a particular target market they increase their risk of failure dramatically.
Mobile gaming spend is projected to more than double by 2021, surging from $50 billion in 2016 to $105 billion in 2021, according to AppAnnie. All that is not even factoring the additional $20-30 billion in ads that the industry can expect.
It’s important to be aware of what’s going on in different regions, age groups and genders as the mobile gaming industry evolves, because there are so many unique opportunities that can be leveraged. It can range from combining local tastes to attracting users who aren't traditional gamers.
Do you have any unique insights or maybe just something you'd love to share? Drop a comment below and be the spark!
