How to Measure the Success of Mobile Games
As phones have become more powerful and screens larger, mobile gaming has taken off in a big way. From Snake on old Nokia phones to the mega-hits of Candy Crush and Angry Birds, games that you can pick up and play anywhere have reached billions of players. Mobile gaming is all about casual and hyper-casual genres designed for brief, entertaining gameplay sessions, which makes it perfect for playing while you’re on the go or in between other activities.
It’s also worth noting that mobile games tend to be a bit more addictive than their console counterparts. Whether it’s due to the ease of picking up and playing or the fact that they are often targeted with in-game ads, mobile games can be quite difficult to put down. These factors have contributed to the rise of “hyper-casual” games that are easy to pick up and play, but require a lot of time invested in order to be competitive.
These games are usually low-effort clones of a more innovative game with a cheesy microtransaction model to bring in revenue for a few weeks while they work on another one. The problem with these games is that they can give the entire mobile gaming platform a bad name, while a few great titles like Alto’s Adventure or Superbrothers get overlooked.
There are a few key metrics to look at when it comes to measuring the success of a mobile game. User acquisition (UA) and monetization are the two main factors to consider, with UA driving player growth and monetization ensuring that those players stick around long enough to generate revenue for the developer.
In terms of UA, the best mobile games are those that are easy to pick up and play but hard to master, which helps keep players coming back for more. This can be accomplished by introducing new levels and challenges that make the game more difficult, or by adding rewards and perks for keeping up with the latest content. It’s also important to make sure that the graphics are high quality, especially since the mobile platform has much more limited processing power than its console cousins.
When it comes to monetization, the most effective strategies for mobile games involve in-game advertisements. This can be done using playable ads that allow players to experience the gameplay, or rewarded video ads that let players watch an advertisement in exchange for in-game currency. In-game purchases are another popular method of monetization, and can be used to unlock features or progress in the game more quickly. This can be annoying for players who want to skip the ads, but it’s important to remember that this is how mobile game developers make money to continue making new updates and releases.