It's not uncommon to hear success stories related to mobile games. Titles like Super Mario Run e Clash Royale they raise millions of dollars every month and make the eyes of developers who are planning to enter this market shine. 4r2n6e
However, the segment mobile games it's not for amateurs. It is increasingly difficult for a game to stand out from the crowd of icons. Reaching the Top 10 most ed games, raising millions of dollars and staying at the top is practically impossible. This is what the report of the Tower Sensor, data analysis company.
The company analyzed the revenue of the 10 most profitable games in 2016. It is worth noting that the data were based on in-app purchases, excluding revenue from advertising or other means.
In addition, only games that had revenues of at least $10 million in a single month were included. The conclusion was obvious: all the main games on the mobile market are in free fall. At least in of revenue. See the graphic below:
The downfall of mobile gaming revenue 2n305o
Of the 5 games that appear on the chart, only Clash Royale managed to turn around, despite his sudden fall in the first six months of life. In his first month he raised almost $50M monthly and saw its revenue fall below the $10M monthly in six months. From there the developers found a way to raise money again. And today they make about $40M monthly and occupy the first place in several stores, including the Brazilian one.
The same did not happen with the very popular game of Niantic, Pokémon GO. On its release it raised impressive $ 50,6 million. As the months went by, the coaches' excitement waned, as did the revenue. Today the company collects just under $15M monthly a month.
But it could be worse. Super Mario Run say it. The first official game Nintendo with Mario being released on mobile devices, it had its announcement made with all the pomp and circumstance and was ed thousands of times. In the first month, the billing exceeded the $20M monthly. But after just three months the game suffered a sudden drop and has a paltry revenue, compared to other renowned games. Currently, the title appears in the 169th position in the American App Store and 64th in the Brazilian one.
Speaking of the Brazilian market, unfortunately we do not have statistical data to our opinions. But, consulting the list of most profitable games, provided by the App Store itself, we can conclude that the situation is not very different. Although it's not as alarming as the situation on Uncle Sam's land. Only games from big producers manage to stay at the top for some time and, even then, they are soon replaced by others.
What does this mean? 2y2b5d
It goes to show that if you are an independent game developer, don't expect to get rich from your little game. Taking cases like Flappy Bird e Tiny Wings (strongly recommend), where a single guy managed to make a game that gained millions of players and make real money from it, it's almost impossible for titles from smaller companies to stand out. In addition, such data reveals which business models work and which fail.
For example, Super Mario Run has a single in-game purchase available. But she is very expensive. This discourages players from paying for the in-app purchase. On the other hand, games that offer lots of smaller, cheaper purchases, like Pokémon Go and Clash Royale, can encourage the player to spend more (a little bit at a time) and for longer.
Another factor that has shown to work among gamers is seasonal events. They make more people come back to play and also spend more money on the game. In Niantic's game, for example, the Easter event caused many players to spend real money buying incubators to hatch their virtual eggs.
