mobile Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Reality is a Game

Getting a game to market can be very challenging and one of the largest concerns is getting money to actually build a game. Traditionally, game developers would try to secure a publisher for a game they wanted to make and the publisher would front some cash to the developer. In the world of mobile gaming the business case for a publisher has diminished because developers can get to the market faster and easier for a whole variety of reasons that don’t be to repeated here.

The point is there are game developers that, for whatever reason, need some starting capital to get their game made. Unless they tap into savings or another financial source then a publisher could make a lot of sense.

If you do end up going for a publisher check to make sure that they are suitable for your game and that your game is equally suitable for them.

I’ve found a great list of mobile publishers thanks to a kind user at Quora, which I’ve copied below. More information and an informative discussion can be found at the thread on Quora.

www.ngmoco.com
www.ayopagames.com
www.pikpok.com
www.w3i.com / www.rechargestudios.com
www.6waves.com
www.tinyco.com
www.crowdstar.com
www.chillingo.com
www.bulkypix.com
www.bigfishgames.com
www.gamevil.com
www.miniclip.com
www.crescentmoongames.com
www.com2us.com

Mobile games are growing both in popularity and in marketshare (yes those two things are separate) and it looks like that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The mobile gaming world is growing at such a quick rate that it’s killing Sony and Nintendo’s handheld market.

Richard Firminger, managing director of EMEA territories at metrics firm Flurry Analytics, told a GDC Europe audience today that revenue that is coming from the iOS and Android is killing off the handheld video game market, where dedicated portable game systems like Nintendo’s 3DS and Sony’s PlayStation Vita currently compete.

However, it’s worth noting that marketing is more important than ever in the new moblie gaming space, also from the article linked above:

Given the circumstances, an understanding of the target demographic is vital. Firminger explained issues like male and female spending habits (“Women are thrifty. Men binge.”) and how “generation X pays while generation Y plays.” According to Firminger, these are elements that should be taken into consideration when pursuing a new project.

This growth isn’t new or shocking, back in the spring it was found that free to play business models make sense:

Mobile gaming will represent a $7.5 billion worldwide market by 2015E, tripling from $2.7 billion today.
Asia currently the largest market for mobile gaming, with revenues forecasted to total $3.2 billion by 2015E.
Freemium accounts for 55% of all mobile game revenues, compared to 6% ad revenue.
Between 3.5% and 10% of a mobile Free-to-Play game audience will convert to paying users.
Most users spend between $8 and $15 per month.

here’s the complete report:

Casual Games Sector Report: Mobile Gaming from SuperData

Similarly, here’s an infographic (when will these lose popularity?) on the mobile gaming business:

Click it to read it.

Click to enlarge

Infographic found here.

For me, the key fact is that 64% of mobile users play games daily – a higher percentage than social media, news and music.

To help gain a rudimentary understanding on what games are doing well and those that aren’t quite so successful I’ve found that App Annie is a good starting place. The site tracks both Android and iOS apps.