Tablet gamers will spend $3bn on in-app purchases by 2016

Tablets are set to play a pivotal roll in the growth of mobile games, as gamers are expected to spend an estimated $3.03 billion on in-app purchases by 2016.
However, whilst users increasingly use the tablets to play mobile games, smartphones will continue to reign supreme as the primary device to make in-app purchases, as they are expected to generate close to $6 billion – double that of tablets.
The study released by Juniper Research emphasises the effects of mobile games on the greater video games industry, with an increasing number of users migrating from dedicated portable games devices to tablets and smartphones.
It also highlights the freeium business model common with tablet based games as driving demand for such title, with the model difficult to implement on other portable gaming devices.
Currently, gamers spend an estimated $301 million on mobile games, a figured that is set to reach ten times that by 2016.
Author of the report, Siân Rowlands, said: ‘When we consider that only a small amount of gamers actually make in-game purchases, and those that do typically only spend a few dollars, it becomes apparent that there are a small proportion of consumers spending thousands annually on these virtual currencies, who subsidise the game for everyone else.’
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