Perhaps the fastest growing sector in the world at the moment is within gaming as it continues to capture a growing audience year on year, and the center of that can be found in mobile gaming – this hasn’t arrived through just sheer luck either, as the growth of gaming has been a seemingly fast process, really only reaching the levels it has in the past half decade or so on mobile platforms – but why has mobile gaming taken off in the way that it has, and can the growth continue?
The catalyst for the change can be found in our devices – a big barrier to gaming traditionally has been that consoles or PCs can be quite expensive, with the pricing of games on top growing that price tag from the initial cost of hundreds into a final cost of thousands, but our devices have changed that – as they have become more powerful and packed with features, users have been able to access games through a singular device that may even be a few years old avoiding the need to splash out on buying one or two other expensive devices just to play games. Once this growth started, capturing a new audience, a change in what was being played can also be seen – from here we begin to see the introduction and widespread use of more casual and hyper casual games as puzzle and arcade games started to take over and now to this day remain the most popular form of gaming. Making up over 50% of the entire gaming market, this growth is expected to continue with projections leading into 2024 being very promising for the gaming market as a whole.
(Image from phoneweek.co.uk)
As the audience continues to grow, further shift is expected – it has been suggested that women over the age of 34 are now the primary consumers which is causing a shift in popular games being played, this has led to restriction on some genres as mobile betting and casinos have started to take over an older audience with disposable income become the primary players and a number of new services filling the space as a growing list of non uk casinos top the most played and most popular lists for these gamers.
It is important to note that mobile gaming is still a relatively new and growing industry and that change will be happening very quickly as it continues to grow – what is seen today with regulation is already seeing adjustments and will continue to change alongside the market too. Our devices are only getting better, and with that the possibilities for the gaming applications will only grow and the audience alongside that as those who would typically use other platforms. It’s an exciting time for mobile gaming as a whole and will only continue to grow, if you’re a fan of gaming then it may be good to keep an eye on the changes, as some expect that it could even begin to replace traditional consoles over the next decade.