mobile gaming study - toluna · 2021. 1. 29. · mobile gaming study tolunacorporate.com page 8 46...

November 2020

Mobile Gaming Study

Mobile Gaming Study tolunacorporate.com Mobile Gaming Study tolunacorporate.com Page 2

Contents

Mobile Gaming Attitudes

Mobile Gaming Monetisation

Game Engagement

Game Streaming

Mobile Gaming Study tolunacorporate.com

Market Completed Interviews

US 1,046

UK 1,060

France 1,022

Germany 1,015

Australia 1,008

Markets studied and field scheduleFieldwork took place between 5th – 18th November 2020

▸ We collected data from a sample of 5,151 mobile gamers, including those interested in mobile gaming, between the ages of 16-45.

▸ We collected roughly 1,000 completes in 5 markets (see breakdown to the right).

▸ We set quotas and weighted the data by age/gender (interlocked) based on a profile of mobile gamer in each market.


Gaming Attitudes


Address concerns around cost transparency to increase usage

• 1 in 4 mobile gamers are dissatisfied with the transparency of mobile costs

• And 1 in 4 also state that their perception of how fair a mobile game publisher is in monetising a game has a major impact on whether they purchase

Make more use of interactive ads and reward task ads

• Interactive ads and reward task ads have the lowest awareness but are more liked by mobile gamers

• Reduce usage of screen-takeovers and banner ads, as they are seen more but liked less

Be fair in offering multiple ways to gain in-game items

• If asked which is more acceptable between paying or viewing ads to gain in-game items, people tend to go for viewing ads

• Viewing ads is seen as most acceptable for gaining extra lives, while people find purchasing in-game currency and skins/cosmetics more acceptable (but still not as acceptable as viewing ads)

• Yet when asked preference, most mobile gamers prefer to win in-app items with skill over paying or viewing ads, so make sure you offer a fair challenge to those who don’t want to pay/view

Making the most of monetisation


High levels of satisfaction seen about mobile games generally, but there are concerns being voiced around the transparency of costs and value for money of mobile games

NET Dissatisfi

ed

Net Satisfied

27% 48%

21% 53%

17% 62%

16% 65%

15% 60%

9%

7%

4%

4%

4%

17%

14%

12%

11%

11%

25%

27%

22%

19%

24%

30%

33%

38%

42%

40%

18%

20%

24%

23%

21%

Transparency of mobilegame costs

Value for money of mobilegames

Easily finding mobile gamesyou want to play

Quality of mobile games

Mobile games offering a fairchallenge

Very dissatisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Doesn’t matter to meSomewhat satisfied Very satisfied

▸ Satisfaction with the following areas of the mobile gaming

Global View


Nearly 1 in 4 state that their perception of how fair a mobile publisher is on monetisation has a major impact on their decision to purchase or use a game

NET Great deal/

Satified

61%

73%

65%

55%

48%

64%

19%

13%

17%

24%

22%

19%

20%

14%

18%

22%

30%

17%

38%

35%

43%

38%

35%

41%

23%

38%

22%

17%

14%

23%

All Markets

US

UK

FR

GER

AUS

Not al all - I only think of the quality of the game itself Barely Somewhat A great deal

▸ To what extent does the fairness of how a game publisher handles monetisation affect your likelihood of buying their games?

Global View


46%Of those that think developers are not offering a fair challenge, state that mobile gaming developers are making games harder so you have to pay to win.

46%

42%

32%

29%

19%

3%

The gaming developers aremaking games harder, so

you have to pay to win

Gaming developers don'tcare about the game, theyjust want to make money

I just want to enjoy games,not lose all the time

There are too many bugs inmobile games, stopping me

completing them

I like the challenge but amnot very good at games

Other reason

Why are you dissatisfied with the fairness of mobile games?

Awareness of mobile ads (amongst those that played games with ads) Extent to which like/dislike types of advertising

Rewarded ads (watch a video ad or view a static ad to obtain in-game rewards such as extra lives or levels etc.)

Screen takeover ads (ads you have to watch or view the ad for a certain amount of time before you can skip it).

Banner ads (a static ad that is placed within the game or on a ticker at the bottom of the screen)

Playable or interactive ads (a mini game within a game –usually with a link to another app at the end )

Rewarded task ads (complete a task such as filling in a survey or giving an opinion in order to obtain rewards within the game)

21%

27%

32%

44%

17%

29%

31%

33%

26%

29%

50%

41%

35%

30%

54%

Dislike Neither Like

Game developers could make more of playable/interactive ads and rewarded task ads as they have high likeability but lower awareness

60%

58%

53%

50%

44%

Global View



Game Monetisation


Use free games to reach the wider market – great for if you’re a smaller developer

• Free to play with ads OR with in-app purchases are the types of model that most people tend to play

• Mobile gamers tend to avoid games that use multiple ways to monetise (such as combining pay to download with in-app purchases)

• Pay to download with in-app purchases was seen as unacceptable as a way to pay amongst 30% of mobile gamers

You can capitalise on greater engagement with pay to play games when you’re more established

• There are fewer multi-payment, pay to download gamers and subscription gamers, but they tend to play more of those types of games

Think about optimising your in-game purchase offering

• Only 59% of those that played games with in-app purchases in the last 12 months actually made a purchase

• If you optimised your payment model using concept testing, you could encourage engagement and increase revenue over time

Which models to use when


41%

41%

43%

34%

19%

25%

17%

43%

43%

42%

45%

49%

50%

48%

16%

16%

16%

21%

32%

26%

35%

I try to avoid these games

Has no impact on my gameselection

Global View

Free to download

games

Free to download with ads and

without in-app purchases

Free to download with ads and with in-app purchases

Free to download without ads and

with in-app purchases

Pay to download

games

Pay to download without in-app

purchases

Pay to download with in-apppurchases

Subscription games

Subscription to play downloaded games

Subscription to play streamed games

NET Impact

19%

1%

13%

-13%

-27%

-25%

-26%

A large minority of people actively avoid having to pay for mobile games, while free to play games with ads are the most likely to encourage people to play

▸ And which of the below best applies to the impact the monetization model has on your selection of a mobile game?

Free to download

games

Pay to download

games

Subscription games

Average number of games played this way in the last 12 months? (of those that play games this way)

53%

51%

45%

25%

23%

19%

16%

Free to download with ads and withoutin-app purchases

Free to download with ads and with in-app purchases

Free to download without ads and within-app purchases

Pay to download without in-apppurchases


Subscription to play downloadedgames


Types of mobile games played over the last 12 months?

6.3

6.8

6.4

6.9

7.4

8.0

8.2

Free to download with ads andwithout in-app purchases

Free to download with ads and within-app purchases

Free to download without ads andwith in-app purchases

Pay to download without in-apppurchases


Subscription to play downloadedgames


While free to play is more popular, you shouldn’t ignore the paid market, people who pay to play games or subscribe to games on their mobile tend to play more of them than free ones

Global View



Game Engagement


There are many gaps in the market across genres• Across all genres around half of those interested in a genre haven’t actually played a mobile game in

that genre

There are many genres where you can address unmet needs• When asked if it was easy or hard to find games across genres, we found that Adventure, Racing,

Strategy and Simulation/Management and Music games had high interest levels but around 1 in 4 found it hard to find games they liked for them

• Role playing, Action and Location based games had slightly lower interest but many also found it hard to find games in those genres (again at least 1 in 4)

Do research to understand how to meet unaddressed needs• We can target those people who find it hard to find games to better understand what types of games

they want to play in those genres, and what the barriers are to finding those games

Where are there gaps in the market


Engagement with each of the below mobile game genres …

Dice and Board, Trivia, Adventure, and Simulation Management games have high levels of people who are interested but don’t currently play on mobile

Mobile game companies could do more to tap into unrealised demand across game genres

33%

39%

39%

37%

35%

39%

36%

41%

35%

35%

34%

36%

28%

30%

30%

42%

30%

28%

30%

31%

26%

29%

24%

27%

23%

23%

20%

24%

21%

16%

76%

69%

67%

67%

66%

65%

65%

65%

62%

58%

57%

56%

52%

51%

46%

Puzzle (e.g. Candy Crush Saga etc.)

Trivia & Word (Words with Friends etc.)

Adventure (e.g. Walking Dead etc.)

Card (e.g. Solitaire etc.)

Action (e.g. Call of Duty etc.)

Simulation & Management (e.g. SimCity…

Strategy (e.g. Hearthstone etc.)

Dice & Board (e.g. Monopoly etc.)

Racing (e.g. Need for Speed etc.)

Location Based Augmented Reality (e.g.…

Role Playing (e.g. Dungeon Hunter etc.)

Music (e.g. Piano Tiles etc.)

Sports (e.g. FIFA Mobile etc.)

Casino (e.g. Bingo etc.)

Educational (e.g. Disney Junior Play etc.)

Interested in playing but haven’t played Play

Global View

Action

Adventure

Card

Casino

Dice & Board

Educational

Location Based Augmented Reality Games

Music

Puzzle

Racing

Role Playing

Simulation & Management

Sports

Strategy

Trivia & Word

Viewing or paying for items in games are generally more accepted in the US, UK and AUS. Mobile gamers in France were more against paying for these items.

Creating better targeted Role Playing, Adventure, Action, Strategy, Racing Simulation and AR games will help satisfy demand that isn’t being met currently in those genres

Inte

rest

ed in

Pla

ying

Can’t find the games I want

people who are interested in or play Role Playing and Adventure games struggle to find a game they want to play!

1 in 4

Interested in mobile games vs can’t find the games I want.

High interest and easier to find

Low interest and easier to find

High interest and hard to find

Low interest and hard to find

Global View



Game Streaming


Game streaming is set to grow• We see low levels of usage of brands such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Google Stadia and Amazon

Luna amongst mobile gamers

• But 1 in 5 who are aware of game streaming state they intend to use Xbox Game Pass and Google Stadia soon, there is potential growth amongst all streaming brands

More people aware of streaming prefer it to game downloads• Of those aware of streaming, 35% stated they prefer to stream games vs. 29% who stated they prefer to

download games

• Those who prefer to stream tended to see streamed games as better quality, better value, and offering more variety than downloads

• The main reason people preferred downloads was because they didn’t like paying for subscription services or they worry about streaming quality – though these perceptions might change as subscriptions and streaming become more mainstream

What is the potential impact of streaming


We see a slightly higher preference for streaming (amongst mobile gamers aware of it), and having better quality games, more variety and value for money are key reasons for that streaming preference: 36% see it as the future!▸ Which games do you think are more appealing?

(of those aware of streaming services)

prefer downloaded games, with the majority saying they do notlike paying subscription fees.

17%

18%

37%

14%

15%Much preferdownloaded appstore games

Somewhat preferdownloaded appstore games

Both seem equallyappealing

Somewhat preferstreaming servicegames

Much preferstreaming servicegames

prefer streaming games. The top 2 reasons for this was access to better quality games and better value.

42%

40%

37%

36%

33%

18%

16%

0%

Better quality games

Better value for money

More variety of games available

It's the future of gaming

I prefer console or PC games to mobilegames

I don't agree with how app store games aremonetized

No games I like on the app store

Other

▸ Why do you prefer streaming games

35%

29%

Global View


People who prefer downloaded games cite the fact they don’t like paying for subscriptions or worrying about stream quality, but these attitudes might change as streaming becomes more mainstream▸ Which games do you think are more appealing?

(of those aware of streaming services)

prefer downloaded games, with the majority saying they do notlike paying subscription fees.

17%

18%

37%

14%

15%Much preferdownloaded appstore games

Somewhat preferdownloaded appstore games

Both seem equallyappealing

Somewhat preferstreaming servicegames

Much preferstreaming servicegames

prefer streaming games. The top 2 reasons for this was access to better quality games and better value.

▸ Why do you prefer downloaded games?

35%

29% 56%

35%

34%

33%

31%

24%

12%

9%

7%

2%

Don't like paying subscriptions…

Don't have to worry about…

Prefer games specifically for…

More variety of games available

Better value for money

Better quality games

It's the future of gaming

I don't like PC or Console games

No games I like via these services

Other

Global View


Get in touch if you’d like to talk through any of the details in this e-book and receive access to our full and comprehensive Mobile Gaming report.

Learn more at tolunacorporate.com

mobile gaming study - toluna · 2021. 1. 29. · mobile gaming study tolunacorporate.com page 8 46...

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