Commentary
Puzzles and Women Drive Mobile Game Revenues
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 7, 2006
With recent research supporting in-game advertising, category leaders play an important part of the marketing mix. According to Telephia, a mobile industry performance measurement company, The Mobile Game Report for Q1 2006 shows that four of the top five revenue-generating titles fall into the Puzzle/Strategy category, with Tetris, Tetris Deluxe and Bejeweled securing the top spots.
Kanishka Agarwal, Vice President of New Products, Telephia, said "Mobile game purchases continue to grow with more than 8.6 million games bought in April, increasing 60 percent since the beginning of the year."
Top Mobile Game Titles by Revenue Share (U.S.) | |||
Title | Publisher | Category | Share of Revenue (%) |
1. Tetris | EA Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 5.2% |
2. Tetris Deluxe | EA Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 3.6% |
3. Bejeweled | EA Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 2.6% |
4. JAMDAT Mahjong | EA Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 2.2% |
5. Ms. Pac-Man | Namco | Classic/Arcade | 2.0% |
6. Galaga | Namco | Classic/Arcade | 1.9% |
7. Downtown Texas Hold'em | EA Mobile | Card/Casino | 1.8% |
8. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2005 | Cosmic Infinity | Trivia/Word | 1.5% |
9. Zuma | Glu Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 1.4% |
9. Monopoly Tycoon | Hands-On Mobile | Puzzle/Strategy | 1.4% |
9. World Poker Tour - Texas Hold 'Em | Hands-On Mobile | Card/Casino | 1.4% |
9. Frogger | Konami Mobile | Classic/Arcade | 1.4% |
9. JAMDAT Solitaire Deluxe | EA Mobile | CardCasino | 1.4% |
10. SCRABBLE | EA Mobile | Trivia/Word | 1.3% |
10. Texas Hold'em by Phil Hellmuth | Oasys Mobile | Card/Casino | 1.3% |
Source: Telephia Mobile Game Report, Q1 2006 | |||
Sixty-five percent of mobile game revenue is driven by female wireless subscribers, comprising 72 percent of the total share of revenue, while men made up 28 percent. Women dominate revenue generation for all mobile game categories, with the exception of Action/Adventure mobile games, in which men drive 60 percent of the revenue for that category.
"The casual nature of mobile games provides tremendous appeal to women, who are not traditionally hardcore gamers by console or online gaming standards," added Agarwal. "The wireless industry has presented a hungry target audience willing to pay premium access to games through their cell phones."
Category Share of Revenue and Gender Revenue Share (U.S.) | |||
Category | Share of Revenue | Male Share | Female Share |
Puzzle/Strategy | 33.8% | 28% | 72% |
Card/Casino | 18.3% | 34% | 66% |
Sports/Racing | 12.9% | 39% | 61% |
Action/Adventure | 12.8% | 60% | 40% |
Trivia/Word | 11.4% | 26% | 74% |
Classic/Arcade | 10.8% | 38% | 62% |
Source: Telephia Mobile Game Report, Q1 2006 | |||
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Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.