We are in 2019. Almost everyone has a smartphone. Of those, there are hardly any people without ‘Game apps’ installed. And that’s what we are going to discuss in this article.
For the sake of clarity and conciseness, ‘Game Apps’ will be referred to as ‘Games’, and wherever the term is discussed, it will be in the context of Android games.
From classics like ‘Subway Surfers’ and ‘Angry Birds’ to Battle Royale like ‘PUBG’ and ‘Fortnite’, gaming companies have had their successes. Statistics show the uprise of popularity as well as the revenue of mobile games They have had one small shortfall that’s been given by app called Lucky Patcher that allows a user to play a game in premium mode for free but majority of the users don’t use it looking at the app’s security and availability respectively.
But what does it mean from a business perspective? What can newcomers – individuals and businesses –expect and understand in a world dominated by the giants like Tencent, Activision, etc.? Let’s find out based on three factors:
1. Market.
Right off the bat, the gaming market is enormous.
Games are time killers, entertaining, and psychologically liked. Meaning, if there’s a market, games will be installed/sold like hotcakes. And guess what? There is!
The smartphone market, in general, is booming. The people from developing countries like India are purchasing smartphones at an unimaginable rate. Statistics show there’s no stopping this growth.
Furthermore, with smartphones, comes Play Store. With that, games. I.e., The Gaming business is a 2.7+ billion people market.
So, if the newcomers put in the required efforts, there’s a market for everyone. But what kind of effort?
2. Effort.
For the consumer to install, and more importantly, keep replaying the game, effort is needed.
Efforts like:
Creative: Creativity is the first chapter of any Gaming business. From consumer research to how the game should look and feel like, everything is a part of the creative process. The creativity will determine if an individual will download the game or not; if he/she does, how long will they use the app.
Development: Once the blueprint to the “next big game app” is ready, the effort to convert the idea into a product is required. Game developers can do that.
Marketing: Thanks to creatives and developers, the app is up and available on the Play Store. Now’s when marketing comes in. Unless the app goes viral as the Pokémon Go did, marketing is an inevitable effort to succeed in the gaming market.
Combine all these literal, mental, and financial efforts, and wait for the future.
3. Future.
Once people install the game; from a business perspective, it’s time to get the returns on the efforts/investment. One can earn from games using Advertisements(i.e., through Admob), Sponsors, or in-app purchases.
That’s what business perspective is. However, from a ‘Game apps’ as a whole perspective, the following are likely to be the future:
- Given smartphones are becoming more powerful and the internet is becoming faster and cheaper, games will keep on evolving to better experience and hence larger sizes.
- AR games like Pokémon Go will be seen more.
- Virtual reality will offer many advancements in the gaming space.
That’s it.
Final Words.
There’s a significant market for gaming businesses, and people love games. Sure, it takes creativity, development, and marketing investments, but there’s an “ROI” to that “I“. In a nutshell, the business of making game apps is bright.
