Revenues from mobile gaming look set to overtake those from PC gaming for the first time by the end of this year, with global growth showing a 21% increase year-on-year.
According to the latest statistics from NewZoo, smartphone and tablet gaming will generate $36.9bn in revenues in 2016, now making up more than a third of the global $99.6bn revenues generated by gaming. The research firm predicts that this increase will continue for at least the next three years, when revenues from mobile gaming are expected to reach over $50bn.
The advanced graphics available on modern smartphones with dedicated GPUs and HD displays shows how far gaming has come since the days when apps like the 7 Sultans Real Money Casino App first launched in 1998 – very much in the days on web 1.0. Back then, the best phone people could hope for was a Nokia 5110 and Snake was the game-du-jour.
Technology has come a long way since then, and with Slither.io, putting Snake-like gameplay back on the top of the charts, 7 Sultans is still around – having outlasted a vast array of competitors and their outrageous marketing campaigns.
Alongside the improvements to technology, gaming has also seen a shift in demographics over the last 20 years, with games no longer considered the pastime of teenage boys in their parents’ basement. in fact, the latest figures from Research and Markets show that women now make up 50% of gamers in the US.
The growth areas for gaming have also changed over the same period, with the US and Western Europe now considered mature markets compared to the huge growth seen in the Asia-Pacific region. According to NewsZoo, 47% of global gaming revenues are now generated in this region, with the Chinese market alone expected to generate $24.4bn this year, overtaking the US as the biggest single market for the first time.
Gaming is seeing a rapid change in its centre of gravity, with the shift from West to East and towards a more even gender split, and it will be interesting to see which types of games remain popular over the coming years.
Photograph by Unsplash