Deconstructing Mobile & Tablet Gaming 2015
EEDAR 2015 SYNDICATED REPORT - FREE VERSION
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2TABLE OF CONTENTS
REPORT OVERVIEW 5
TOP GENRES PLAYED 40
TERMINOLOGY 7GENRE SUMMARIES 41
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW 10
2015 MOBILE GAMING MARKET 44 11 SIMULATION GENRES
MOBILE GAMING GENRES 8
PUZZLE GENRES 42
12 WHO IS PLAYING? 45
ARCADE GENRES 43
SKILL CHANCE GENRES
WHAT ARE THEY PLAYING ON? STRATEGY GENRES 46 13
WHAT IS THEIR PRIMARY OS? 47 14 RPG GENRES
HOW DO THEY USE THEIR DEVICES? 48 15 ACTION GENRES
WHERE DO THEY PLAY GAMES? 49 17 OTHER GENRES
HOW DO THEY PLAY? 19
(REGION)* - MARKET OVERVIEW 50
20 51 MARKET SIZING SEGMENTATION
21 DEVICE OS MARKET SIZING 52
HOW DO THEY SPEND?
WHAT IS THEIR OVERALL INVESTMENT?
WHY DO THEY PLAY MOBILE GAMES? MOBILE GAMING REVENUE 53 22
DEMOGRAPHICS 54
MOBILE GAMING FUNNEL 23
24 DISCOVERY 55 MOBILE GAMING SPEND
ENGAGEMENT 26 57 MOBILE GAMING TIME
VIRALITY 31 59 MOBILE GAMING INVESTMENT
MONETIZATION DEVICE USAGE 60 33
CHURN 36 61 MOBILE GAMING LOCATIONS
MOTIVATIONS FOR MOBILE GAMING 62
MOBILE GENRE OVERVIEW 38
MOBILE GENRE SYSTEM 39
* Highlighted sections are available in full report. Regions include North America, Japan,
South Korea, and China. Regions can be purchased separately.
© COPYRIGHT 2015 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN AND RESEARCH. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL.
3TABLE OF CONTENTS
(REGION)* - MOBILE GAMING FUNNEL 63
DISCOVERY 64 SEGMENTED SHARING ACTIVITIES 114
ENGAGEMENT 66 SEGMENTED IAP MOTIVATIONS 119
VIRALITY 71 SEGMENTED IAP PURCHASES 124
73 MONETIZATION SEGMENTED REASONS FOR CHURN 129
SEGMENTED BRAND ENGAGEMENT 109
METHODOLOGY 134
CHURN 76
MOBILE GENRE ANALYSIS 78 134 ABOUT EEDAR
MOBILE GENRE SIZING 79
MOBILE GENRE OVERLAP 80
PUZZLE GENRES 81
ARCADE GENRES 83
SKILL CHANCE GENRES 85
SIMULATION GENRES 87
RPG STRATEGY GENRES 89
ACTION, SPORTS RACING GENRES 91
SEGMENTED RESPONSE DATA 93
SEGMENTED MOTIVATIONS 94
SEGMENTED DISCOVERY SOURCE 99
SEGMENTED INITIAL ENGAGMENT 104
* Highlighted sections are available in full report. Regions include North America, Japan,
South Korea, and China. Regions can be purchased separately.
© COPYRIGHT 2015 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN AND RESEARCH. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL.
4REPORT OVERVIEW
2015 REPORT OVERVIEW METHODOLOGY
The EEDAR 2015 Deconstructing Mobile Tablet Gaming Reports focus on the Datainthe2015DeconstructingMobile TabletGamingReportisfromaconsumer gaming habits of smartphone and tablet gamers in 4 key regions: North America,
Japan, China, and South Korea. For each regional market, a detailed profile is presented around 4 themes:
survey measuring the attitudes and behaviors of a representative sample of three thousand North American (USA and CA), one thousand Japanese, one thousand
Chinese and one thousand South Korean active adult mobile gamers that played one or more mobile game within the past 6 months on their smartphone or tablet.
I. EEDAR conducted a consumer survey in July 2015, measuring the attitudes and behaviors on over 250 variables related to smartphone games, tablet games, and Market Sizing Segmentation
II. general gaming behavior.
Market Demographics Behavior
III. Mobile Gaming Funnel Analysis
IV. Mobile Genre Analysis
This first series of analyses determines the number of mobile gamers and segments this market into distinct groups based on mobile spend. The second section focuses on gamer activity, demographics, and reasons for mobile gaming. The third section analyzes the mobile gaming funnel, from engagement through monetization. The fourth section analyzes the market size, player base demographics, and overlap of the established mobile game genres.
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5TERMINOLOGY
SMARTPHONE GAMERS FREE-TO–PLAY APPS (F2P)
Smartphone owners that have played a game on their smartphone in the past 6 months.
Game is initially free to download from the App marketplace.
•A smartphone is a cellular telephone that can support and run third-party applications and has internet access. An iPod Touch is also considered a IN-APP PURCHASES (IAP) smartphone. F2P and Paid Apps have additional content that can be purchased from within the game, including both consumable purchases (e.g. currency, boosts, energy, etc.) and permanent content purchases (e.g. level packs, aesthetic items, characters/ heroes, etc.).
TABLET GAMERS
Tablet owners that have played a game on their tablet in the past 6 months.
MOBILE GAMER SPEND SEGMENT
•A mobile tablet is a wireless, portable computer with a touchscreen interface that is capable of running applications and accessing the internet.
Categories of mobile gamers based on total spend in the past year on mobile games. This reflects total spend across all relevant titles in the given year, not spend on a specific title.
MOBILE GAMERS
•Mobile Gamer Spend Segments are ranked from light spending to heavy spending: Non-Payer (spent $0 on mobile games in the past year), Moderate
Payer (spent $0.99 - $99.99 in the past year), and Heavy Payer (Whale; spent over $100 in the past year).
Active smartphone and/or tablet gamers, past 6 months.
OS
•For regions utilizing currencies other than USD, the values have been converted to roughly equivalent ranges based on similarly meaningful The operating system being run by the smartphone or tablet. The major gaming
OS on smartphone and tablets are Apple iOS, Google Android, and Other currency buckets.
(including Windows, Blackberry, etc.). Each OS typically has a proprietary app store, with Android tending to be more fragmented (especially in China).
MOBILE GAMER PLAY SEGMENT
PREMIUM GAMES
Categories of mobile gamers based on their average weekly play time of mobile games. This reflects total play time across all relevant titles, not play of a specific Games purchased through the App marketplace. Prices range from $0.99 to title.
$19.99 and higher.
•Mobile Gamer Play Segments are ranked from light play to heavy play: Light
Players (play less than 1 hour per week), Moderate Player (play 1 hour – 5 hours per week), and Heavy Player (play greater than 5 hours per week).
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6TERMINOLOGY
INVESTMENT INDEX MINIMAL INVESTORS (previously Casual Gamers)
In addition to separately segmenting mobile gamers on the basis of money and time spent on mobile games, EEDAR combines these independent measures of gamer investment into the Investment Index.
The least invested gamers in mobile gaming, playing very little (in infrequent, short bursts), and paying nothing for their games (Non-Payers / Light Players).
•This index features 9 potential pairings of pay and play patterns that represent
5 distinctive types of player experiences that range from Minimal Investment
(i.e. those who do not pay, and play very little), to Extreme Investment (i.e. are heavy spenders and players).
LOW INVESTORS (previously Semi-Casual Gamers)
Gamers that combine a mixture of low investment and moderate investment across their spend and play segmentations (including Non-Payers / Moderate
Players, and Moderate Payers / Light Players).
($0 / YEAR) ($0.99-$100 / YEAR)
NON-PAYER MODERATE PAYER HEAVY PAYER
( $100 / YEAR)
MODERATE INVESTORS (previously Moderate Gamers)
LIGHT PLAYER
MINIMAL LOW MODERATE
LOW MODERATE HEAVY
( 1 HOUR / WEEK)
Gamers that tend to be moderate in their spend and play segmentations, as well as those whose pay/play habits diverge widely (i.e. those who spend a lot, but do not play a lot, or vice versa).
MODERATE PLAYER
(1-5 HOURS / WEEK)
HEAVY PLAYER
( 5 HOUR / WEEK)
MODERATE HEAVY EXTREME
HEAVY INVESTORS (previously Semi-Core Gamers)
•EEDAR notes that this scale represents an update to the Investment Scale appearing in the 2014 Deconstructing Mobile Tablet Gaming Report, and that the terminology has been changed to remove references to Casual and Core gamers, which were potentially a source of confusion.
Gamers combining a mixture of moderate to heavy investment across their spend and play segmentations (including Moderate Payers / Heavy Players, and Heavy
Payers / Moderate Players).
•To clarify how the new terminology relates to the old, the definitions that follow feature references to the old terms, alongside the new ones.
EXTREME INVESTORS (previously Core Gamers)
The most invested mobile gamers – heavily playing and paying for their games
(Heavy Payers / Heavy Players).
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7MOBILE GAMING GENRES
PUZZLE SKILL CHANCE
MATCHING PUZZLE: Puzzle games where players must match like things together through swapping, shooting, manipulation, or other mechanisms. (Candy Crush
Saga, Bejeweled Blitz, Panda Pop)
CASINO (SKILL CHANCE): This genre includes all games that mimic those games found in a traditional casino that emphasize gambling with real or fake currency. These can be further divided based on the types of games included:
BRAIN PUZZLE: Puzzle games that focus on manipulating words and letters, •numbers, finding hidden objects, or completing trivia. (Words with Friends,
Threes, Draw Something 2, QuizUp, Mystery Manor) blackjack).
Casino – Skill games afford the player some control over the outcome of the game, relying on knowledge of strategy to be successful (e.g. poker, PHYSICS PUZZLE: Puzzle games where gravity, angles, trajectories, and other •physics-based variables are key characteristics of gameplay. (Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Where’s my Water?, Peggle)
Casino – Chance games dictate success or failure based on random chance
(e.g. slots, bingo, roulette, craps).
•Integrated Casino games include a variety of gaming experience, often some games of skill and some of chance, intended to mimic the experience of going to a real casino.
ARCADE
NON-CASINO SKILL CHANCE: This genre includes all traditional card, board and dice games that do not center around gambling. (Dice with Buddies,
Monopoly, Solitaire, Uno, Yahtzee, Dominos, Mahjong)
GENERAL ARCADE: Characterized by an easy-to-learn interface and rules of play, scoring points, and level progression. (Fruit Ninja, Flick: Homerun)
ENDLESS RUNNER: Characterized by a single avatar, scrolling at a fixed or increasing pace across a vertical or horizontal 2D or 3D space. The object of these games is to prolong gameplay without colliding into obstacles. (Jetpack Joyride,
Temple Run, Subway Surfers, Run with Friends)
SIMULATION
SIMULATION: Characterized by putting the user in control of a confined role or social environment, acting as leader or planner. (The Sims FreePlay, High School
Story, Covet Fashion, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, My Talking Angela)
MUSIC / RHYTHM: Gameplay focuses on tapping/swiping in time with music or as prompts appear on the screen. (Magic Piano by Smule, Beat Sneak, Miku Flick)
CITY BUILDER / RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Goal of the game is to build and manage a city. Unlike Combat City Builders, these games do not feature significant combat, although players often compete with each other in other ways. (DragonVale, Hay Day, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Smurfs’ Village)
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8MOBILE GAMING GENRES
STRATEGY ACTION
GENERAL STRATEGY: Focus of gameplay is combat between many controlled units with skillful planning and tactical thinking. Combat can be either real-time or turn-based. (Hero Academy, Plague Inc., Catan, XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
SHOOTER: The primary action performed by the user’s personification is shooting a weapon. (Frontline Commando, NOVA, Deer Hunter 2016, Modern Combat)
ACTION / FIGHTING: Elements of Action games include movement (running, jumping, swinging, etc.), exploration, and combat. (Infinity Blade, Assassin’s
Creed) This genre also includes Fighting games (Injustice: Gods Among Us) and Action RPGs in which the primary gameplay is real-time combat.
COMBAT CITY BUILDER: Goal of the game is to build a city and an army. The army is used to attack other players, usually in asynchronous multiplayer combat.
(Clash of Clans, Kingdoms of Camelot, Modern War, Game of War: Fire Age)
TRADING CARD GAME (TCG): Strategy games that mimic traditional table top
ACTION BUILDER: Emphasis is on exploration, crafting, and building. There may strategic card games. (Magic the Gathering 2015, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft) be light combat elements in this sandbox genre. (Minecraft, Terraria)
TOWER DEFENSE: Games that are similar to RTS, but the purpose is to defend against waves of spawning enemies. This is primarily done by placing structures between the spawn point of enemies and their goal (Plants vs. Zombies, Bloons
TD, Fieldrunners, Kingdom Rush)
OTHER
RACING: Allows the user to control a vehicle in a competitive race event. (Need for Speed, Real Racing, CSR Racing, Fast Furious)
RPG
SPORTS: Replicate the gameplay of traditional sporting events or centers around team management. (FIFA 15 Ultimate Team, Madden NFL Mobile, NBA 2k15, Golf
ROLE PLAYING GAME (RPG): Gameplay focuses on the advancement of the main Star) character, acquisition of items and an over-arching storyline. (Chaos Rings, Final
Fantasy)
SOCIAL RPG / CARD BATTLE: Hybrid experiences featuring light RPG progression elements, with character/card collection mechanics and deck/team building mimicking Collectable Card games. (Summoner’s War, Heroes Charge, Rage of Bahamut, Legend of the Cryptids)
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9
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW
Thecurrentglobalmobilegamingmarketisestimated at approximately 1.5B PLAYERS, and is forecasted to generate over $25B IN YEARLY REVENUE by the end of 2015.
MOBILE GAMING MARKET REVENUE
This represents approximately 30% OF THE TOTAL
GLOBAL GAMING MARKET REVENUE, a percentage that has steadily climbed from around 15% in 2011.
$5.41B
APAC continues to represent one of the largest and fastest growing markets globally, supporting approximately 50% of the world’s mobile gamers, and generating 56% of the mobile revenue.
MOBILE GAMING MARKET SIZE
$5.16B
$5.01B
CHINA
314.8MM Gamers
564.5MM Owners (56%)
NORTH AMERICA
136.5MM Gamers
180.4MM Owners (76%)
JAPAN
45.8MM Gamers
66.2MM Owners (69%)
* Regional market sizing reflects adult mobile gamers (18 years or older).
$1.37B
SOUTH KOREA
19.3MM Gamers
30.9MM Owners (63%)
SOURCE: EEDAR
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11 WHO IS PLAYING?
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW
The North American mobile gaming market continues to be driven by a slight majority of female gamers (55%), a trend that is uncommon compared to APAC markets – Japan, South Korea and China all featuring slight male majorities.
Although the gender splits vary by region, the age distributions of mobile gamers tend to be very similar, with the largest age bracket of adult players falling between 25 and 35 years of age.
Average Age 18 - 24 25-45 Over 45
Average Age 18 - 24 25-45 Over 45
36.3 17% 60% 23%
35.1 23% 52% 25%
MALE
45%
MALE
58%
FEMALE
55%
FEMALE
42%
Average Age 18 - 24 25-45 Over 45 Average Age 18 - 24 25-45 Over 45
34.2 16% 70% 14% 34.4 17% 68% 15%
MALE
57%
MALE
54%
FEMALE
43%
FEMALE
46%
* Regional market sizing reflects adult mobile gamers (18 years or older).
SOURCE: EEDAR
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12
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW
Smartphones continue to represent the most commonly used device for mobile gaming across all regions, with approximately 90% of mobile gamers utilizing one.
Tablet use for gaming across regions tends to overlap heavily with Smartphone use – with the majority of Tablet gamers also utilizing Smartphones to play games.
North American mobile gamers are among the most likely to game across both devices
– with 60% utilizing both Smartphones and Tablets to play games.
All APAC regions examined still feature primarily single device users.
SOURCE: EEDAR
© COPYRIGHT 2015 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN AND RESEARCH. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL.
13 WHAT IS THEIR PRIMARY OS?
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW
NORTH AMERICA JAPAN
Android continues to claim a majority share (65%) of devices, but iOS commands greater revenue.
The most divided market, with a 50/50 split between iOS and Android preference.
Mixed OS use is common among all dual-device users – most commonly a combination of an Android Phone and iPad (44% of mixed-OS users).
Dual-device users are equally split between same OS and mixed OS pairings of devices. iOS Android Other OS Multiple OS
iOS Android Other OS Multiple OS
45% 45% 1% 9%
31% 49% 2% 18%
CHINA SOUTH KOREA
Android commands the market (78% of gaming devices), with a large selection of affordable, regionally manufactured models. of other OS’s.
Android dominates overall (86%), with less than a quarter of users making use Moderate cross-OS use is primarily driven by these users also utilizing iPads
Despite this preference, the majority of dual-device users mix OS’s of their
(22%) to play. devices (85%) – 62% of this being Android Phone and iPad. iOS Android Other OS Multiple OS iOS Android Other OS Multiple OS
21% 50% 1% 28% 14% 75% 0% 11%
* % represents percentage of mobile gamers.
SOURCE: EEDAR
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14 HOW DO THEY USE THEIR DEVICES?
MOBILE GAMING MARKET OVERVIEW
Across all markets, mobile gamers are tending to use their devices similarly.
SMARTPHONES are used more frequently for Social Activities:
Lower reported Social Media usage among Japanese mobile gamers is likely tied to the shared function of these services as both a traditional social network and as a means of free direct communication, leading some usage of these services to be represented in their “direct communication” frequency.
•Direct Communication (e.g. placing calls, texting, etc.) being the most common use for the device across most regions.
Mobile gaming ranks among the top uses for smartphones across all regions, with mobile gamers reporting daily use of their devices to play games.
•Social Media activities (e.g. posting to services such as Facebook, Kakao,
Line, etc. or viewing friends’ posts)
SMARTPHONE USAGE
[2015][ACTIVE MOBILE GAMERS, PAST 6 MONTHS]
Once a Month Monthly Weekly Daily
SOURCE: EEDAR
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