The growth drivers include the rapid take-up of tablets, combined with the growing acceptance of in-game purchasing and virtual currencies.
Juniper Research says migration of users from dedicated portable gaming devices across to tablets, and to some extent, smartphones are happening.
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The freemium model, which is being embraced by tablet users, cannot be implemented as easily on portable gaming devices, as games have to be purchased upfront and the devices themselves often do not allow for a 3G or 4G connection.
Developers are using virtual currencies to monetise their handset or tablet games, rather than offering in-game items or pay-per-download titles. This can increase users’ engagement with the game, as once the virtual currency is purchased, it can only be spent within that game.
Developers are now beginning to focus more on the stickiness of their game, as they realise that creating a high-quality game is not enough to guarantee a profit.
Games such as Slotomania, Poker by Zynga and Texas Poker were seeing a sharp increase in the number of users buying chips and other in-game items, in some instances spending as much as $100 in one transaction, to allow for a lengthy, uninterrupted gameplay session.
The majority of in-game purchase revenue on tablets will be made in the Far East & China and North America, which will account for over 86 percent of users’ spend in 2016.
Smartphones will remain the primary device which users make in-app purchases on, with more than $6 billion spent on them in 2016, over double the amount spent on tablets.
