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Consumers Bemoan Mobile Games Selection and Pricing
With E3 on the horizon, mobile gaming finds itself in the spotlight, with even Paris Hilton getting into the game. But despite Hilton's proclamation that, "mobile gaming is hot right now," the audience for downloaded mobile games is stagnating. M:Metrics has found that pricing, choice and lack of interest were the top reasons cited by players of downloaded games in the US, UK and Germany as the reasons they did not buy another game in the month of March.
M:Metrics found that 4.2% of UK, 2.5% of German and 2.7% of US mobile subscribers downloaded a game in March, a figure that has remained relatively constant month over month across all geographies. The firm's findings suggest that games purchases are directly tied to handset purchases, and fluctuate in relation to the device sales cycle. A significant portion - as much as 30% - of those who downloaded games in the month were first-time game downloaders. The rate at which new subscribers are being drawn into the market is relatively low, with between 0.5% and 0.8% of mobile subscribers downloading their first mobile game in the month. The level of repeat purchase is between 20% and 30% of the universe of downloaded games players
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Mobile Games Consumption: March 2006 | ||||||
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Activity |
Germany (000s) |
Percent German Subscribers |
U.K. (000s) |
Percent UK Subscribers |
U.S. (000s) |
Percent U.S. Subscribers |
|
Played Mobile Game |
9,910 |
22.8% |
13,691 |
31.8% |
45,042 |
24.2% |
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Played Downloaded Mobile Game |
3,097 |
7.1% |
4,347 |
10.1% |
15,514 |
8.3% |
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Downloaded Mobile Game in Month |
1,092 |
2.5% |
1,813 |
4.2% |
4,957 |
2.7% |
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First-Time Downloaders |
236 |
0.5% |
344 |
0.8% |
1,520 |
0.8% |
"This data shows that operators must do a better job at converting those that played a mobile game into a player of downloaded games," said Seamus McAteer , chief product architect and senior analyst, M:Metrics. "There is no shortage of new titles being launched on operator portals, many offering innovative game play and superior production value, but these do not appear to be resonating with consumers. Subscribers that had played a downloaded title cite the pricing, lack of interest and selection as reasons they did not purchase another title in the month of March."
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Germany: March 2006 | ||
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Top Reasons for Not Purchasing New Game in March 2006* |
Subscribers (000's) |
Percent of Subs Playing Downloaded Game in Last Month |
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Games were too expensive |
994 |
39.90% |
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Interested, but couldn't find right game for me |
508 |
20.40% |
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Not Interested |
436 |
17.50% |
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U.K.: March 2006 | ||
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Top Reasons for Not Purchasing New Game in March 2006* |
Subscribers (000's) |
Percent of Subs Playing Downloaded Game in Last Month |
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Already have downloaded games I like |
1,113 |
36.12% |
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Games were too expensive |
732 |
23.75% |
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Interested but couldn't find right game for me |
461 |
14.95% |
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U.S.: March 2006 | ||
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Top Reasons for Not Purchasing New Game in March 2006* |
Subscribers (000's) |
Percent of Subs Playing Downloaded Game in Last Month |
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Already have downloaded games I like |
4,483 |
39.72% |
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Games were too expensive |
2,350 |
20.82% |
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Not interested |
1,958 |
17.35% |
*Among those who played a downloaded game in the last month only.
"Despite the growing selection of games on the operators' portals, consumers still are not finding games that appeal to them and are complaining that prices are too high," observed Paul Goode , vice president, product development and senior analyst, M:Metrics. "Faster networks and devices with larger screens will help improve the discovery process, operators and games publishers must do a much better job of marketing and merchandising mobile gaming content."
M:Metrics data shows that men and women are equally predisposed to playing mobile games, but that men are far more likely to download them.
Males 18-34 are the largest audience for game downloads, accounting for 35% of the US market, 30% of the UK market and 33.7% of the German market. The top five genres of games in all three markets are in the chart below.
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Genre of Games Currently Installed on Handset: March 2006 | |||||
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Germany |
Subscribers (000's) |
UK |
Subscribers (000's) |
U.S. |
Subscribers (000's) |
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Card |
871 |
Arcade puzzle |
1,829 |
Arcade puzzle |
7,463 |
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Arcade puzzle |
833 |
Retro arcade |
1,343 |
Card |
4,612 |
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Quiz |
773 |
Card |
1,086 |
Casino |
4,131 |
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Strategy |
716 |
Sports |
1,058 |
Retro arcade |
3,414 |
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Board |
664, |
Board |
876 |
Strategy |
2,634 |
M:Metrics measures the consumption of mobile content and applications and benchmarks the performance of mobile operators, device manufacturers, platform providers and publishers using a multi-dimensional methodology that includes the largest monthly surveys of mobile subscribers in the US, the UK and Germany. The following are the results of its Benchmark Surveys for the quarter ending 31 March, 2006.
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U.S.Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: March 2006 | |||
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Activity |
Subscribers (000s) |
Percent USMobile Subscribers |
Percent Change |
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Sent Text Message |
64,834 |
34.9% |
0.8% |
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Used Photo Messaging |
20,186 |
10.9% |
2.7% |
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Browsed News and Information |
18,471 |
9.9% |
(1.9%) |
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Purchased Ringtone |
18,349 |
9.9% |
(1.5%) |
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Used Personal E-Mail |
13,297 |
7.1% |
(3.0%) |
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Used Mobile Instant Messenger |
11,710 |
6.3% |
(3.0%) |
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Used Work E-Mail |
7,592 |
4.1% |
(7.0%) |
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Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver |
6,968 |
3.7% |
(4.4%) |
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Downloaded Mobile Game |
4,957 |
2.7% |
(9.7%) |
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Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright (c) 2006. Survey of U.S. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31March 2006, n= 35,500. | |||
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U.K.Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: March 2006 | |||
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Activity |
Subscribers (000s) |
Percent UKMobile Subscribers |
Percent Change |
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Sent Text Message |
35,880 |
83.4% |
4.7% |
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Used Photo Messaging |
11,752 |
27.3% |
7.9% |
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Browsed News and Information |
4,787 |
11.1% |
9.2% |
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Purchased Ringtone |
2,690 |
6.3% |
0.8% |
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Used Personal E-Mail |
2,582 |
6.0% |
6.1% |
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Downloaded Mobile Game |
1,813 |
4.2% |
9.7% |
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Used Mobile Instant Messenger |
1,500 |
3.5% |
13.7% |
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Used Work E-Mail |
1,110 |
2.6% |
1.0% |
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Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver |
1,055 |
2.5% |
2.3% |
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Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright (c) 2006. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31March 2006, n= 15,025 | |||
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German Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: March 2006 | |||
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Activity |
Subscribers (000s) |
Percent German Subscribers |
Percent Change |
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Sent Text Message |
34,523 |
79.4% |
3.1% |
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Used Photo Messaging |
8,426 |
19.4% |
0.7% |
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Purchased Ringtone |
3,140 |
7.2% |
(0.7%) |
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Used Personal E-Mail |
2,777 |
6.4% |
2.9% |
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Browsed News and Information |
1,780 |
4.1% |
2.6% |
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Used Mobile Instant Messenger |
1,509 |
3.5% |
14.3% |
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Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver |
1,285 |
3.0% |
(4.1%) |
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Used Work E-Mail |
1,256 |
2.9% |
4.7% |
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Downloaded Mobile Game |
1,092 |
2.5% |
(2.8%) |
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Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright (c) 2006. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31March 2006, n= 15,303 | |||
Posted to the site on 3rd May 2006