Freemium gaming profit puts Android very close to iOS

According to Distimo platform research, Android is very close to iOS when it comes to gaming revenue. In 2012, the 200 most downloaded games from the Play Store yielded $ 3.5 million a day, in 2013 that number was $ 12 million a day. In addition to users' interest in games and improved game delivery, the factor driving this growth was the investment in games Freemium on the platform.

freemium games revenue
In 2013, freemium games increased Play Store revenue by 342%! / Distinguished

Much of Android's earnings came from players in Japan and South Korea. To get an idea in these countries, the money spent on Android games outweighs the amount invested in iOS games. In South Korea, for example, Android revenue for this type of title went up 759%. Here, we still have to take into consideration that there is no Google Play Store in China.

And as expected, most of the revenue on either platform comes from freemium games (92% iOS; 98% Android). This type of game is free to download and install, but requires in-app purchases for special powers, extra lives, or getting money to buy features (as in the case of the game "The Hobbit: The Kingdom of Middle Earth"). In order for the player to be able to continue the game, they are usually required to spend some money if they want to move to higher levels or waste a lot of time trying to find alternative ways to reach the same end. A good example of this Candy Crush Saga, one of the most popular "free" games for phones and tablets.

I recently realized that this type of strategy is a lot smarter than putting the app on the Play Store, because once you're in the game, you're much more susceptible to in-app purchases. Otherwise, sell your soul to the game owner, having to download a third party app or participate in odd promos to evolve the game.

Unfortunately, Latin America was left out of this survey, so I want to know: Do you fit this in-app purchase statistics? What do you think about the quality of games on Android?

. tagsToTranslate Android games (t) Android games (t) iOS (t) freemium games (t) Play Store