Telephia has reported that 64% of all games downloaded in Q2 2005 are revenue-generating purchases while the remaining 36% are free. According to Telephia's Mobile Game Report, Puzzle/Strategy mobile games have the highest percentage of free game downloads (48%), and shows the strongest revenue performance with a 27% share of revenue among the top mobile game categories. Mobile consumers paid an average price of US$4.27 for a Puzzle/Strategy game.
Promotion strategies vary by mobile game genre. In contrast to the high free trial rate of 48% for Puzzle/Strategy games, only 18% of Classic/Arcade game downloads are free. However, Classic/Arcade games posted a 14% share of revenue, nearly half that of Puzzle/Strategy games. At the same time, Sports/Racing games had the second highest share of revenue at 16% with only 25% free downloads -- almost half the free trial rate of Puzzle/Strategy games.
According to Telephia, pricing also varies significantly from one genre to another. Action/Adventure and Puzzle/Strategy genres lead with the highest average price paid, with mobile users paying US$4.29 and US$4.27 respectively, while Sports/Racing, Card/Casino and Classic/Arcade genres all have average price paid under four dollars.
"At this early stage of the game, publishers are employing different strategies with pricing and promotional incentives to learn what will gain the most traction with consumers and deliver the best revenue performance outcome," said Kanishka Agarwal, Vice President of New Products, Telephia. "Accurate data on adoption and price elasticity will play an important role in these pricing strategy decisions."
| Category | Share of Revenue (%) | % of Downloads w/No Charge | Average Price Paid | |
| 1. | Puzzle/Strategy | 27.1% | 48% | $4.27 |
| 2. | Sports/Racing | 15.8% | 25% | $3.67 |
| 3. | Action/Adventure | 15.6% | 32% | $4.29 |
| 4. | Card/Casino | 14.2% | 44% | $3.57 |
| 5. | Classic/Arcade | 13.6% | 18% | $3.93 |
Source: Telephia Mobile Game Report, Q2 2005. Note: Cingular data includes former AT&T subs only
"Posted to the site on 27th September 2005
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