This is a pretty good summary of how mobile games are developed and monetized. There is a reason that the vast majority of mobile (and increasingly PC and console) games follow a few basic rules:...
This is a pretty good summary of how mobile games are developed and monetized. There is a reason that the vast majority of mobile (and increasingly PC and console) games follow a few basic rules: free to play, short core game loop (2-5 minutes), infinitely replayable, never too challenging. The number one priority of these games is to keep you coming back. Even getting you to pay is secondary - your presence helps increase the odds that other players will pay.
Unfortunately, this also means enjoyment is at best the third priority, usually not even that. If your feelings are somewhere around "meh, it's not bad" and you put a dollar or two in it every month or so, that's more than enough for the developer.
Sure, there are niche mobile games that don't fit into this pattern, but unless there is a fundamental shift in people's willingness and ability to pay for things, this will only get worse.
I'm glad you included ability to pay instead of just focusing on willingness. I think people gravitate toward freemium or free-to-play games because most people work too damn hard for too damn...
unless there is a fundamental shift in people's willingness and ability to pay for things, this will only get worse.
I'm glad you included ability to pay instead of just focusing on willingness. I think people gravitate toward freemium or free-to-play games because most people work too damn hard for too damn little, and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. IMO, a second video game industry crash is years overdue, and when it finally happens I think it'll make 1983 look like a bad day at the stock exchange.
Incorrect. The games-as-a-service segment is massively increasing, sure, but the 'games aren't a service' segment is still getting bigger in absolute terms because the whole games industry is...
For better or worse, much of the games market is moving to games-as-a-service.
Incorrect. The games-as-a-service segment is massively increasing, sure, but the 'games aren't a service' segment is still getting bigger in absolute terms because the whole games industry is increasing. There's no 'movement'.
There is still a market for people who hate freemium, it's just a much lower percentage of the AAA titles than it used to be. Which is perfectly fine, because you don't need to have the increasingly insane market sizes of those titles to produce quality games - you just need to make enough to pay your employees and get a chunk to tide you over until the release of your next title, the same as it always was.
So long as platforms still exist to allow people to find those games (e.g. Steam does it much better than Google Play does) the collapse the games industry is heading for won't actually touch real games, just freemium adware crap.
I guess it depends on how you're looking at it. Bloomberg published this article last week with an analysis of video game industry revenue since 1970. In 2018, mobile games represented 48% of the...
The games-as-a-service segment is massively increasing, sure, but the 'games aren't a service' segment is still getting bigger in absolute terms because the whole games industry is increasing. There's no 'movement'.
I guess it depends on how you're looking at it. Bloomberg published this article last week with an analysis of video game industry revenue since 1970. In 2018, mobile games represented 48% of the revenue, $67 billion. That's both the highest percentage and highest number it's ever been, and I think the large, large majority of mobile games fit into the "games-as-a-service"/freemium category. The mobile games that bring in the most revenue certainly do (Clash of Clans, Puzzles & Dragons, etc.).
This is a pretty good summary of how mobile games are developed and monetized. There is a reason that the vast majority of mobile (and increasingly PC and console) games follow a few basic rules: free to play, short core game loop (2-5 minutes), infinitely replayable, never too challenging. The number one priority of these games is to keep you coming back. Even getting you to pay is secondary - your presence helps increase the odds that other players will pay.
Unfortunately, this also means enjoyment is at best the third priority, usually not even that. If your feelings are somewhere around "meh, it's not bad" and you put a dollar or two in it every month or so, that's more than enough for the developer.
Sure, there are niche mobile games that don't fit into this pattern, but unless there is a fundamental shift in people's willingness and ability to pay for things, this will only get worse.
Source: many years in this industry.
I'm glad you included ability to pay instead of just focusing on willingness. I think people gravitate toward freemium or free-to-play games because most people work too damn hard for too damn little, and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. IMO, a second video game industry crash is years overdue, and when it finally happens I think it'll make 1983 look like a bad day at the stock exchange.
I think you meant this as a reply to me :)
Incorrect. The games-as-a-service segment is massively increasing, sure, but the 'games aren't a service' segment is still getting bigger in absolute terms because the whole games industry is increasing. There's no 'movement'.
There is still a market for people who hate freemium, it's just a much lower percentage of the AAA titles than it used to be. Which is perfectly fine, because you don't need to have the increasingly insane market sizes of those titles to produce quality games - you just need to make enough to pay your employees and get a chunk to tide you over until the release of your next title, the same as it always was.
So long as platforms still exist to allow people to find those games (e.g. Steam does it much better than Google Play does) the collapse the games industry is heading for won't actually touch real games, just freemium adware crap.
I guess it depends on how you're looking at it. Bloomberg published this article last week with an analysis of video game industry revenue since 1970. In 2018, mobile games represented 48% of the revenue, $67 billion. That's both the highest percentage and highest number it's ever been, and I think the large, large majority of mobile games fit into the "games-as-a-service"/freemium category. The mobile games that bring in the most revenue certainly do (Clash of Clans, Puzzles & Dragons, etc.).
No, that's what I just said...
The $ value of 'games that aren't a service' is also the biggest it's ever been.