Data & Research

Mobile games market to triple in size to $7.5 billion by 2015, reckons SuperData

Freemium already accounts for 55% revenue

Mobile games market to triple in size to $7.5 billion by 2015, reckons SuperData
Having compiled its stats for the benefit of February's Casual Connect meet in Hamburg, research firm SuperData has detailed the growth it expects to see in the mobile market in the coming years.

 

The headline projection is that, as a whole, the industry is set to triple in value over the next four years.

SuperData values the mobile market at the $2.7 billion mark, though that's a figure will rise to $7.5 billion by 2015.

The majority of that growth, it's suggested, won't come from established markets such as the US or Europe, but Asia, which will see its own mobile industry revenues predicted to expand to $3.2 billion during the same period.

However, putting this into perspective, yesterday, research for UK trade body TIGA calculated the size of the mobile games market in 2011 at $7.9 billion.

Freemium for all

"The mobile gaming market is key to building a successful strategy," said VP of research Janelle Benjamin of the figures.

"Only by capitalising on the early momentum can game companies establish a sustainable footprint for the longterm."

Capitalising on this momentum, as SuperData suggests, means embracing the rise of the freemium model. The firm claims 55 percent of all game revenue is amassed in this manner, with advertising comparatively accounting for just 6 percent.

By 2015, it's predicted, freemium revenues will rise further to account for 62 percent of what will then be a far larger mobile market.



On the free to play market as a whole, SuperData claims only between 3.5 percent and 10 percent of players will ever convert to paying customers – a figure that ties in with comments made by ngmoco's Ben Cousins during the Free 2 Play Summit in London – spending an average of between $8 and $15 a month.

Those interested in sampling the full report can view it in PDF form on SuperData's website.

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.