Data & Research

Japan topples US at the top of the app revenue charts

App Annie reveals the trends of 2013

Japan topples US at the top of the app revenue charts

Traditional mobile markets are being outpaced by emerging economies when it comes to both downloads and revenue growth, with Japan having toppled the US as the number one country in the world for app revenue.

They're just some of the findings from App Annie's 2013 Retrospective Report, which claims the BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China – are growing at a faster rate than the United States.

Gaining with Google

App Annie reports Japan's growth in spending was spurred by a reported 3.3 times growth in Google Play revenue. Unsurprisingly, the gap between iOS and Google Play revenue shrank as a result.

On the broader topic of consumer spending, 2013 continued to see mobile gaming outpacing handheld gaming. 

However, as the following graph takes iOS gaming income in Q4 2012 as its relative starting point, it's not clear what the absolute figures involved are. 

Another key takeaway from 2013's report is the growth of freemium as a business model.

Apps with free-to-play as their monetisation model command 93 percent of mobile spending - up 7 percentage points year-on-year.

Finally, the tripartite battle for mobile spending supremacy between Clash of Clans, Puzzle & Dragons, and Candy Crush Saga was settled with GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons taking the #1 spot in combined iOS and Google Play spending followed by King's Candy Crush Saga as #2.

[source: App Annie]

US Correspondent

Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.