How Much Does the Average Mobile Gamer Spend On Games?

Going mobile has become the latest trend in the world of gaming, as more and more gaming developers are coming up with offerings for the mobile phones. Until now, Xbox and PlayStation games have dominated the world and they managed to overcome the superior popularity of the PC games.

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The mobility offered by mobile games is responsible for their huge takeover of the gaming industry, with Xbox and PlayStation hindered heavily by their inability to provide entertainment 24/7. Most of the games developed for mobile phones, however, are free-to-play but the catch are the in-app purchases.

Mobile Games vs Traditional Games

There used to be a time when mobile games were seen as amateurish. Traditional games that were played on a PC or consoles like PlayStation and Xbox had far greater levels of detail and graphics. Now, though, the differences between them are far less. In fact, it is difficult to spot any differences apart from mobile games being played on a smaller screen. This growth in the quality of mobile games has been a major factor in the games themselves becoming popular.

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Mobile Gamers vs PC Gamers

Almost every free game today comes with in-app purchases, which allow the players to either unlock levels or enhance the capabilities within the game. The common consensus is that players who access mobile games do not spend much compared to their PC rivals. It does not seem to be the case, as a recent report from Slice Intelligence revealed that mobile gamers spent about $87 on an average on these mobile games. In contrast, PC gamers spent $92 – an increase of just five dollars.

Average Spend

This does dispel the notion that hard-core gamers spend a lot of money on games unlike casual gamers who have their entertainment on mobile phones. One of the costliest games happens to be the Game of War; the in-app purchases in this game on average are more than $550 per person. The buyers primarily use the funds to buy crates of gold, which cost $52 each. While the Game of War has a significant advantage over other games, mobile gamers also spend a huge chunk of money on games like the Summoners War and Big Fish Casino Free Slots.

The latter is an example of how mobile casino games have become immensely popular over the last few years. VoguePlay casino in Australia is one of the destinations for more such games.

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Switching between Platforms

While it may seem that gamers are united by one desire, they do not tend to switch platforms much. The study by Slice Intelligence goes on to reveal that 43% of mobile gamers only stick with this platform and do not tend to cross over. A remarkable 37.8% of the players opt for both PC games and traditional console games at the same time. However, only 19.2% of the gamers use the mobile, PC, and console platforms at the same time.

Contribution from Mobile Gamers

The contribution from mobile gamers is likely to be extremely concentrated in a small section. Most of the gamers, around 90%, tend to enjoy the games for free without actually buying anything from the store. Those who buy, around 10%, end up contributing bulk of the sales for a mobile game. This is in comparison to an even proportion between buyers and free players among PC and traditional console gamers.

The PC gaming industry is worth around $32 billion, but it has only grown on average approximately by 4 to 5% in the last few years. This is in comparison with mobile gaming industry, which is worth around $24 billion, but has a growth rate of around 20% every year. The per game average revenue for a PC game is around $2.5 million or $4.5 million in case with a console game. Yet, this is drastically lowered when it comes to mobile games at around $40,000.

Summary

Part of the reason is the wide variety of options at the disposal of a player. Compared to around 17,000 titles of PC games, mobile gamers can choose between 800,000 titles. Even with all these challenges, it is surprising to know that mobile games are almost similar to PC games in terms of average spend. With the current growth rate, it may not be long before mobile games overtake their PC or console counterparts.