Mobile gaming growing faster than console

Although mobile gaming still only accounts for 28 per cent of the total market, it is the fastest growing segment, increasing by 17 per cent in the last five years.
This is compared to online gaming that increased from 21 per cent to 31 per cent, and disc-based gaming which experience a decline from 68 per cent to 41 per cent, repots Strategy Analytics.
Eric Smith, analyst at Stratedy Analytics, commented: “We anticipate a large and sustainable market globally for some years yet, particularly in North America and Western Europe where they remain the bedrock of games spending – accounting for over twice the market share than in Asia.
“Console manufacturers, however, must continue to offer a differentiated and higher quality experience than is available on other devices such as handsets or tablets.”
The number of people playing mobile games is expected to grow 14 per cent this year to 1.7 billion, and should pass the two billion mark by 2016.
Gartner predicted last year that mobile game revenue would actually double to $22 billion by 2015.
Smith continued: “While there are some structural concerns around the oversupply of cheap to free games – particularly on smartphones and tablets – the games industry ins in rude health.
“Humans have always played games, it’s up to the industry to provide the outlets which best match contemporary habits.”

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