With mobile games responsible for some of the highest rates of user engagement seen in the mobile world today, it’s no surprise that advertisers are growing fond of in-app ads and a host of other mobile advertising tactics optimized for the mobile gamer’s smartphone screen.
Mobile games are on the minds of many mobile advertisers this week thanks to App Annie and the IDC.
A special new issue of the App Annie & IDC Future of Mobile Gaming Report for E3 charts the worldwide mobile and portable gaming installed base, as well as revenue by business model, average revenue per user (ARPU) and top grossing genres and countries for gaming-optimized handhelds, iOS and Google Play.
The data shows that the installed base of mobile and portable gaming devices is expected to grow 55 percent over the next 18 months, to more than 1.2 billion.
Equally impressive, however, is that total game software and direct advertising revenue is on track to top $12 billion in 2013.
Growth drivers include the trending freemium business model used by mobile gaming publishers. Emerging markets in Asia also suggest a pronounced opportunity for both mobile and GOH hardware and software.
“Although the audience for smartphone and tablet games has grown larger than that of gaming-optimized handhelds, devices like 3DS and Vita continue to realize significantly higher ARPUs,” explains Lewis Ward, IDC’s gaming research manager. “As smartphone and tablet games get more sophisticated it will be interesting to see if the genre preference distinctions that exist today will close.”
To read the new report in full at no charge, click here.
