Yes, that Game of War. It’s the mobile game you see everywhere, though no one you know seems to actually play it. Well, people do and they’re willing to part with insane amounts of dollars for the privilege. $US549.69 per player, to be precise.
According to Slice Technology, a market research firm that specialises in online purchases, Game of War‘s $US550 average spend is far and away ahead of its nearest competitor, Summoners War, which brings in $272.41 per player.
As you’ve already guessed, the average is inflated somewhat by “whales” — the small percentage of players who spend loads more than the typical. Slice’s research suggests that for most mobile games, a mere 10 per cent of players represent 90 per cent of IAP revenue and within the 10 per cent lies an even chunkier money-disgorging beast:
Further listening to the statical sonar reveals that the top one percent, the “white whales”, of mobile gamers account for an astonishing 58 percent of the mobile gaming revenue from in-app purchases. This trend doesn’t occur among traditional games, where roughly 28 percent of the audience accounts for 90 percent of game sales.
The graph of this shows a very good approximation of an inverse exponential curve; it’s enough to blow the pants of even the most stoic of statisticians.
Credit: Slice Technologies
I know we joke about the ridiculous ads that completely misrepresent games like Game of War, but the sad fact is the developers are doing something very right, at least from a financial point of view.
Hardly pocket change: mobile gamers spend an average of $87 dollars on in-app purchases [Slice, via VentureBeat]
Comments
7 responses to “Game Of War’s $US550 Average Player Spend Doubles That Of Other Games”
Ugh. That’s just gross
Welcome to the future of “gaming”, enough to make me sick.
I never really watch TV much these days and when I do it’s for the footy. Unfortunately typical boofhead footy fans must be part of these games’ target audience as there is usually a plethora of their advertisements played during the matches’ breaks.
Wow, people are retards.
I die a little every time I see that Arnold Schwarzenegger ad for mobile strike. This article makes me sad.
They are “doing something very right” in the same way profitable casinos are doing something right. What’s good for the business isn’t necessarily what’s good for the customers.
If we combine the “58% of revenue generated from the top 1%” stat with the $550 average spend, that would correspond to the top 1% spending about US$32k each.
Funnily enough, that’s what the top Star Citizen “white whales” are spending. Coincidence? You decide!
I think its just a good representation of that percentage of society that has more dollars than sense. That group of people that has too much cash and a diminished sense of responsibility simply due to the fact they can afford to combined with a hyper-distorted “keeping up the joneses/ Ha, look what i can afford to waste cash on” mentality that the stupidly rich seem to develop (i happen to work around a lot of obscenely rich people in the entertainment industry). Its rather awkward when in some ways i envy them and revile them.
i guess on average theyre idiots
Maybe people who spend this money feel they’re getting that much enjoyment out of the game. I’m guilty myself of spending a substantial amount of money on a mobile game, but I don’t regret it because it was money earmarked for “wasting (if i can paraphrase)” anyway.