12 ms·

U.S. adults are spending big on video games, playing mostly on smartphones

117 points by Vaslo 7y ago

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
baybal2 7y ago
It saddens me to see that. At around 15 years ago, there was a specific class of "adult videogame players" — a thing that eventually morphed into modern marginal slash mainstream "internet culture." Back then, there was no question of that being a deviant thing, and I thought that only very messed up countries can host such culture where people die playing computer, kill people over videogames and live day and night in internet cafes. Well, nowadays it became an everyday reality for countries far more developed than ones where this originally started.
- PhasmaFelis 7y ago
  Are you conflating all adult gamers with unhealthy obsessives?
  - zopppo 7y ago
    It's such a weird claim to make especially since the post indicates most adult gamers play casual games on their phones.
    - baybal2 7y ago
      Nothing weird here. For a carefree 13 years old me, it was bordering on personal tragedy loosing 1 to 3 hours a day to damn Quake 3. I have no words for just how bad it is to be in that state for a person in their thirties, with his/her social obligations and family. Zynga obsessed adults spending 3-4 hours a day on that are way worse than kids doing the same. And you add gambling problem on top of that. On mobile you don't even have to input your credit card yourself - Google built a whole freaking gambling/play API specifically for that. One click and it bills your cellphone account, if you live in a right country.
- OldFatCactus 7y ago
  Not relevant. Article specifically points to casual games played on smart-devices. These aren't people frequenting internet cafes
mdorazio 7y ago
Key takeaways here for me: "The $43.4 billion spent in 2018 was mostly on content, as opposed to hardware and accessories." "Nearly 65 percent of U.S. adults, or more than 164 million people, play games. The most popular genre is casual games, with 60 percent of players gaming on their smartphones" The combination of these two items leads me to conclude that microtransactions in casual games are winning in the financial sense, despite the complaints of "hardcore" gamers.
- 0_gravitas 7y ago
  And that's the unfortunate truth of why they arent going away anytime soon. Personally I believe that microtransactions should be considered a Dark Pattern, and I might consider supporting legislation that targets them, if it's ever brought up.
  - i_call_solo 7y ago
    Or people could not buy microtransactions or support games and studios that use them. Seems like something the free market could regulate without legislation.
    - bitwize 7y ago
      They could but they won't. The fact that the market rewards behavior from consumers and vendors that's counter to the consumers' best interest is why legislation is needed.
    - jniedrauer 7y ago
      > Seems like something the free market could regulate without legislation. Given that this is not occurring, it does not "seem like" this.
      - ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
        People want to play the game, why is it you (or the government's) job to tell them not to? It's their money, if playing a gacha game is fun for them, I really don't see the problem. With gambling people may be driven to gamble to get out of debt. With gacha games, you can't.
unstatusthequo 7y ago
I have trouble finding good mobile games that are immersive and not overly gimmicky, cartoony, require repetitive tap actions, or require annoying in app purchases. I seem to bore quickly and find most of the games on mobile to be pretty childish. I’ve found some I like, but by and large they seem to just exist as commercials for in app revenue. Give me a good immersive game for $20 and I’d do it.
- ourlordcaffeine 7y ago
  I think it is quite hard to be immersive on a handheld device, the small screen and limited input options are really limiting in my opinion.
  - mises 7y ago
    I've seen volume buttons used to turn pages; maybe something like that? Apple's force touch might also have potential. It doesn't have to all be tap-tap-tap.
    - beenBoutIT 7y ago
      It's possible to get 100% immersed with a small device https://vr.google.com/cardboard/ https://vr.google.com/cardboard/
  - 7952 7y ago
    I wonder if you could have a multitouch digitiser on the back of the device and somehow detect which finger is which. Then the input would be based on the finger rather than a particular button.
    - b_tterc_p 7y ago
      Its not designed for phones but the Vive Knuckles seem to do independent digit tracking and pressure sensing on grip.
- mysterydip 7y ago
dannygarcia 7y ago
The purchasing analysis is interesting as it doesn't seem to take into account ads on mobile games. Here's a direct link to the press release: http://www.theesa.com/article/65-american-adults-enjoy-playing-video-games/ http://www.theesa.com/article/65-american-adults-enjoy-playi... And this is the Essential Facts PDF: http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EssentialFacts.pdf http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EssentialFa...
throwayEngineer 7y ago
Something most people ignore about this topic, things get old. Addicting clicking games get boring. Sure it's weird to see a middle aged mom playing these worthless games, but give them another 2 years and they will move on. Gaming has only evolved to be better. And we have already achieved unlimited entertainment if you are a PC gamer. Worse games in the future is a near impossiblity. Or at least informed consumers are able to avoid the blight of micro transactions.
- majos 7y ago
  The existence of many slot machine and lottery addicts --- even for the simple, totally probabilistic kinds --- seems like strong evidence against your second point.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- 1123581321 7y ago
  Unfortunately there is another path people follow. As they get bored of games, they switch to actual gambling. If games improve enough that they don’t deliver the same high, not everyone will improve their tastes and solve their addictions or mental health problems.
throwing838383 7y ago
As someone who's attempted to figure out what truely makes some games successful vs those that don't, I've read numerous reviews. Over and over again, with satisfied reviews, I see: "Great way to waste time!", "Nice Time killer". and i just sighhh.
- Pfhreak 7y ago
  Abnegation is one of the core reasons to play games. Some humans need times in their life to unwind and not be engaged. You can totally overdo it, but recognizing a game that is good for abnegation is totally valid.
  - the_af 7y ago
    Sorry, I know you meant time for idleness and unwinding, but I have to ask: what do you mean with "abnegation"? The word doesn't mean "me time" as far as I know; it means "self-denial" and "rejection". More on-topic: it's ok for a game to be time-waster, but I suppose when that's the overriding goal of games, it becomes a problem. Play is not only a pastime.
- noer 7y ago
  if you're building a product that you want people to use during downtime (think: on a bus/train, sitting in a waiting room, on the toilet), these types of reviews are gold. I worked on an app that behaved more like an os extension/utility (think: something similar to an ios app that is only used to load a keyboard) but had visual design that made it seem like a time wasting game. We were constantly getting reviews with "not a great time waster" or "not enough to do in the app". We had tons of users, but those types of reviews were killing us. It's a thing people want to do: just be able to switch off and do something mindless with a phone.
dbg31415 7y ago
The rise of the super-casuals. I'm not saying mobile gaming like Clash of Clans or Candy Crush are bad, just that... man, they aren't for smart people. Likely most games aren't, but playing World of Warcraft and Diablo and Starcraft required a lot of thought and theory crafting to feel like I knew how to be elite at them. So I know Blizzard is mathematically right to focus on mobile gamers, I just really miss "the good old days" when I spent as much time outside of the game learning about the game as I did playing the game. I doubt I'm the only one, but I know that sort of thing has a limited appeal and over time the market has evolved. I just miss it. No game has pulled me in like Diablo 2 or World of Warcraft. Games like Fallout (not the latest), XCOM, and Civ are great... but man, if I'm honest, I really miss WoW circa 2006-2010. Doubt I'll ever have a gaming experience like that again.
- zanny 7y ago
  I'd argue despite the posted revenue figures that no, it isn't right for Blizzard to focus on mobile. They are a total no-name to mobile gamers, and mobile gamers in general don't care about brand and have no loyalty. They will play what their friends tell them to, which will almost always be and remain one of the top 10 titles with maybe half of said titles changing hands every year. Yes, companies like Bethesda, EA, Activision, etc have the developer talent and cash to build games that could reach that top 10 app store status, but even they don't have the influence to buy their way there from Google, and the demographics of mobile gamers have very little overlap with traditional video gamers... at least in the audience they want, either very young children or middle aged adults that will spend all their free time on the one game constantly putting money in the slot machine. If core gamers are going to dedicate themself to one title, its going to be a full featured experience, not a click bot braindrain. So Blizzard is in large part sacrificing what gives their brand value (their appeal to core gamers) to enter a market they have no stake in or guarantee of success because they see other games winning the app store lottery to make fortunes on very little developer investment and want that money. Its like being a business owner who sells their stake to buy lottery tickets. Sure, maybe you do win the jackpot of several hundred million without strings attached but you threw away reliable income for hard work to gamble with total chance.
- faet 7y ago
leshokunin 7y ago
As expected. Video games such as Call of Duty and Red Dead 2 have been enjoying larger openings and overall sales than the most successful movie franchises. However if you examine things on the micro level, the games sector is facing a number of challenges. One is with the micro transactions model: though it is widely adopted in mobile, its inclusion in AAA titles has backfired in terms of PR. Mortal Kombat 11 and several EA titles such as Battefront 2 ans Need for Speed have been penalized heavily both by critics and vocal customers. When you combine this with the looming pressure of regulation, things don’t look great for that revenue stream. Secondly you have pressure towards subscription based models. Microsoft has the game pass, Apple is doing the arcade, Google is doing game streaming. So we’re going to see a Netflix type of subscription become more and more the norm. These games are full games, often AAA though there are some indie darlings. They’re not based on consumables. Because of this, the proportion of revenues coming from micro transactions on both mobile and console is likely to shrink, and transform. It’s going to be interesting to see how this will affect the unit economics of game studios going forward.
- Pfhreak 7y ago
  The battlepass model is up and coming, where you pay to unlock a track with predictable rewards. As a person who plays a lot of games, I actually really like the predictability even if it means I end up feeling like I have to play a lot more.
colechristensen 7y ago
In the past there were no reports which lumped slot machines and PC/console gaming into the same bucket, it obviously just doesn't make sense. There has been a blurring between the two on mobile with many games which are mostly gambling without the cashing out.
DanielleMolloy 7y ago
The term "skinnerware" should be used more: https://m.facebook.com/notes/richard-garfield/a-game-players-manifesto/1049168888532667 https://m.facebook.com/notes/richard-garfield/a-game-players...
- ahartmetz 7y ago
  Is that somewhere on the real internet, too?
  - DanielleMolloy 7y ago
    The original is on Facebook, afaik. If I'd know an alternative link I would have posted it.. maybe someone wants to temporarily pastebin it (I'm on mobile right now).
    - ahartmetz 7y ago
      What can you do. Kinda sad that somebody posts about exploitative practices on an exploitative website, though.
      - dqybh 7y ago
        Nobody likes this kind of bitching. For starters, it's available without even logging in.
  - ndiscussion 7y ago
    https://pastebin.com/BhcrRGAP https://pastebin.com/BhcrRGAP
- ImaCake 7y ago
  This is a great term. I think I will try and spread this meme in my cirles.
imtringued 7y ago
Well you can't spend "big" on conventional games like Terraria. I think I got 4 copies for $10. "Freemium" games on the other hand dictate no upper spending limit.
Fnoord 7y ago
Ah, suddenly "You guys all have phones right?" [1] makes sense. Its about "follow the money". [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5QRgpjfarY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5QRgpjfarY
mr_tristan 7y ago
It seems like Apple and Google have a lot of opportunity here. My sense is that the subscription model would fit the "immersive" gamer far better. If they can get, say, 5% of the existing US market to pay $10/month, that's still around 1 billion USD annually. My guess is that they can probably get a lot more than that.
- fullshark 7y ago
  But they want to spend that money, they want to get edges in those games.
mrbrowning 7y ago
After having gotten a Switch and noticing that I basically never play games on my phone anymore since having done so, I idly wondered if the Switch's release has had any observable effects on the growth of this market. Of course I realized pretty quickly that my experience isn't very generalizable, since I'm in a self-selected group from the outset (i.e. those willing to spend money on a dedicated gaming device) and since I only really ever played non-FTP games in the first place (and refused to ever make IAPs in the ones that I did try out for brief periods before inevitably getting annoyed and/or bored with them). That thought did make me curious, though, as to what sort of product could actually disrupt the FTP game market in the next few years (assuming it doesn't endure an organic downturn in that timespan), if any at all.
jczhang 7y ago
I was super addicted to Bejeweled about 5 years back and my mom is now addicted to that bubble shooter.
leksak 7y ago
Personally, I haven't kept up with games on smartphones. What listed companies are there that are successful in the space? Seems like it might be worth looking at a few to round out one's portfolio.
HocusLocus 7y ago
[ Male baby boomers aged 55 to 64 like “Solitaire” and “Scrabble”, while women lean towards “Mahjong” and “Monopoly.” ] No wonder I don't play games with my computer! What an awful selection!

117 points by Vaslo 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

It saddens me to see that. At around 15 years ago, there was a specific class of "adult videogame players" — a thing that eventually morphed into modern marginal slash mainstream "internet culture." Back then, there was no question of that being a deviant thing, and I thought that only very messed up countries can host such culture where people die playing computer, kill people over videogames and live day and night in internet cafes. Well, nowadays it became an everyday reality for countries far more developed than ones where this originally started.

PhasmaFelis 7y ago
Are you conflating all adult gamers with unhealthy obsessives?
- zopppo 7y ago
  It's such a weird claim to make especially since the post indicates most adult gamers play casual games on their phones.
  - baybal2 7y ago
    Nothing weird here. For a carefree 13 years old me, it was bordering on personal tragedy loosing 1 to 3 hours a day to damn Quake 3. I have no words for just how bad it is to be in that state for a person in their thirties, with his/her social obligations and family. Zynga obsessed adults spending 3-4 hours a day on that are way worse than kids doing the same. And you add gambling problem on top of that. On mobile you don't even have to input your credit card yourself - Google built a whole freaking gambling/play API specifically for that. One click and it bills your cellphone account, if you live in a right country.
OldFatCactus 7y ago
Not relevant. Article specifically points to casual games played on smart-devices. These aren't people frequenting internet cafes

mdorazio 7y ago

Key takeaways here for me: "The $43.4 billion spent in 2018 was mostly on content, as opposed to hardware and accessories." "Nearly 65 percent of U.S. adults, or more than 164 million people, play games. The most popular genre is casual games, with 60 percent of players gaming on their smartphones" The combination of these two items leads me to conclude that microtransactions in casual games are winning in the financial sense, despite the complaints of "hardcore" gamers.

0_gravitas 7y ago
And that's the unfortunate truth of why they arent going away anytime soon. Personally I believe that microtransactions should be considered a Dark Pattern, and I might consider supporting legislation that targets them, if it's ever brought up.
- i_call_solo 7y ago
  Or people could not buy microtransactions or support games and studios that use them. Seems like something the free market could regulate without legislation.
  - bitwize 7y ago
    They could but they won't. The fact that the market rewards behavior from consumers and vendors that's counter to the consumers' best interest is why legislation is needed.
  - jniedrauer 7y ago
    > Seems like something the free market could regulate without legislation. Given that this is not occurring, it does not "seem like" this.
    - ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
      People want to play the game, why is it you (or the government's) job to tell them not to? It's their money, if playing a gacha game is fun for them, I really don't see the problem. With gambling people may be driven to gamble to get out of debt. With gacha games, you can't.

unstatusthequo 7y ago

I have trouble finding good mobile games that are immersive and not overly gimmicky, cartoony, require repetitive tap actions, or require annoying in app purchases. I seem to bore quickly and find most of the games on mobile to be pretty childish. I’ve found some I like, but by and large they seem to just exist as commercials for in app revenue. Give me a good immersive game for $20 and I’d do it.

ourlordcaffeine 7y ago
I think it is quite hard to be immersive on a handheld device, the small screen and limited input options are really limiting in my opinion.
- mises 7y ago
  I've seen volume buttons used to turn pages; maybe something like that? Apple's force touch might also have potential. It doesn't have to all be tap-tap-tap.
  - beenBoutIT 7y ago
    It's possible to get 100% immersed with a small device https://vr.google.com/cardboard/ https://vr.google.com/cardboard/
- 7952 7y ago
  I wonder if you could have a multitouch digitiser on the back of the device and somehow detect which finger is which. Then the input would be based on the finger rather than a particular button.
  - b_tterc_p 7y ago
    Its not designed for phones but the Vive Knuckles seem to do independent digit tracking and pressure sensing on grip.
mysterydip 7y ago

dannygarcia 7y ago

The purchasing analysis is interesting as it doesn't seem to take into account ads on mobile games. Here's a direct link to the press release: http://www.theesa.com/article/65-american-adults-enjoy-playing-video-games/ http://www.theesa.com/article/65-american-adults-enjoy-playi... And this is the Essential Facts PDF: http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EssentialFacts.pdf http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EssentialFa...

throwayEngineer 7y ago

Something most people ignore about this topic, things get old. Addicting clicking games get boring. Sure it's weird to see a middle aged mom playing these worthless games, but give them another 2 years and they will move on. Gaming has only evolved to be better. And we have already achieved unlimited entertainment if you are a PC gamer. Worse games in the future is a near impossiblity. Or at least informed consumers are able to avoid the blight of micro transactions.

majos 7y ago
The existence of many slot machine and lottery addicts --- even for the simple, totally probabilistic kinds --- seems like strong evidence against your second point.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
1123581321 7y ago
Unfortunately there is another path people follow. As they get bored of games, they switch to actual gambling. If games improve enough that they don’t deliver the same high, not everyone will improve their tastes and solve their addictions or mental health problems.

throwing838383 7y ago

As someone who's attempted to figure out what truely makes some games successful vs those that don't, I've read numerous reviews. Over and over again, with satisfied reviews, I see: "Great way to waste time!", "Nice Time killer". and i just sighhh.

Pfhreak 7y ago
Abnegation is one of the core reasons to play games. Some humans need times in their life to unwind and not be engaged. You can totally overdo it, but recognizing a game that is good for abnegation is totally valid.
- the_af 7y ago
  Sorry, I know you meant time for idleness and unwinding, but I have to ask: what do you mean with "abnegation"? The word doesn't mean "me time" as far as I know; it means "self-denial" and "rejection". More on-topic: it's ok for a game to be time-waster, but I suppose when that's the overriding goal of games, it becomes a problem. Play is not only a pastime.
noer 7y ago
if you're building a product that you want people to use during downtime (think: on a bus/train, sitting in a waiting room, on the toilet), these types of reviews are gold. I worked on an app that behaved more like an os extension/utility (think: something similar to an ios app that is only used to load a keyboard) but had visual design that made it seem like a time wasting game. We were constantly getting reviews with "not a great time waster" or "not enough to do in the app". We had tons of users, but those types of reviews were killing us. It's a thing people want to do: just be able to switch off and do something mindless with a phone.

dbg31415 7y ago

The rise of the super-casuals. I'm not saying mobile gaming like Clash of Clans or Candy Crush are bad, just that... man, they aren't for smart people. Likely most games aren't, but playing World of Warcraft and Diablo and Starcraft required a lot of thought and theory crafting to feel like I knew how to be elite at them. So I know Blizzard is mathematically right to focus on mobile gamers, I just really miss "the good old days" when I spent as much time outside of the game learning about the game as I did playing the game. I doubt I'm the only one, but I know that sort of thing has a limited appeal and over time the market has evolved. I just miss it. No game has pulled me in like Diablo 2 or World of Warcraft. Games like Fallout (not the latest), XCOM, and Civ are great... but man, if I'm honest, I really miss WoW circa 2006-2010. Doubt I'll ever have a gaming experience like that again.

zanny 7y ago
I'd argue despite the posted revenue figures that no, it isn't right for Blizzard to focus on mobile. They are a total no-name to mobile gamers, and mobile gamers in general don't care about brand and have no loyalty. They will play what their friends tell them to, which will almost always be and remain one of the top 10 titles with maybe half of said titles changing hands every year. Yes, companies like Bethesda, EA, Activision, etc have the developer talent and cash to build games that could reach that top 10 app store status, but even they don't have the influence to buy their way there from Google, and the demographics of mobile gamers have very little overlap with traditional video gamers... at least in the audience they want, either very young children or middle aged adults that will spend all their free time on the one game constantly putting money in the slot machine. If core gamers are going to dedicate themself to one title, its going to be a full featured experience, not a click bot braindrain. So Blizzard is in large part sacrificing what gives their brand value (their appeal to core gamers) to enter a market they have no stake in or guarantee of success because they see other games winning the app store lottery to make fortunes on very little developer investment and want that money. Its like being a business owner who sells their stake to buy lottery tickets. Sure, maybe you do win the jackpot of several hundred million without strings attached but you threw away reliable income for hard work to gamble with total chance.
faet 7y ago

leshokunin 7y ago

As expected. Video games such as Call of Duty and Red Dead 2 have been enjoying larger openings and overall sales than the most successful movie franchises. However if you examine things on the micro level, the games sector is facing a number of challenges. One is with the micro transactions model: though it is widely adopted in mobile, its inclusion in AAA titles has backfired in terms of PR. Mortal Kombat 11 and several EA titles such as Battefront 2 ans Need for Speed have been penalized heavily both by critics and vocal customers. When you combine this with the looming pressure of regulation, things don’t look great for that revenue stream. Secondly you have pressure towards subscription based models. Microsoft has the game pass, Apple is doing the arcade, Google is doing game streaming. So we’re going to see a Netflix type of subscription become more and more the norm. These games are full games, often AAA though there are some indie darlings. They’re not based on consumables. Because of this, the proportion of revenues coming from micro transactions on both mobile and console is likely to shrink, and transform. It’s going to be interesting to see how this will affect the unit economics of game studios going forward.

Pfhreak 7y ago
The battlepass model is up and coming, where you pay to unlock a track with predictable rewards. As a person who plays a lot of games, I actually really like the predictability even if it means I end up feeling like I have to play a lot more.

colechristensen 7y ago

In the past there were no reports which lumped slot machines and PC/console gaming into the same bucket, it obviously just doesn't make sense. There has been a blurring between the two on mobile with many games which are mostly gambling without the cashing out.

DanielleMolloy 7y ago

The term "skinnerware" should be used more: https://m.facebook.com/notes/richard-garfield/a-game-players-manifesto/1049168888532667 https://m.facebook.com/notes/richard-garfield/a-game-players...

ahartmetz 7y ago
Is that somewhere on the real internet, too?
- DanielleMolloy 7y ago
  The original is on Facebook, afaik. If I'd know an alternative link I would have posted it.. maybe someone wants to temporarily pastebin it (I'm on mobile right now).
  - ahartmetz 7y ago
    What can you do. Kinda sad that somebody posts about exploitative practices on an exploitative website, though.
    - dqybh 7y ago
      Nobody likes this kind of bitching. For starters, it's available without even logging in.
- ndiscussion 7y ago
  https://pastebin.com/BhcrRGAP https://pastebin.com/BhcrRGAP
ImaCake 7y ago
This is a great term. I think I will try and spread this meme in my cirles.

imtringued 7y ago

Well you can't spend "big" on conventional games like Terraria. I think I got 4 copies for $10. "Freemium" games on the other hand dictate no upper spending limit.

Fnoord 7y ago

Ah, suddenly "You guys all have phones right?" [1] makes sense. Its about "follow the money". [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5QRgpjfarY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5QRgpjfarY

mr_tristan 7y ago

It seems like Apple and Google have a lot of opportunity here. My sense is that the subscription model would fit the "immersive" gamer far better. If they can get, say, 5% of the existing US market to pay $10/month, that's still around 1 billion USD annually. My guess is that they can probably get a lot more than that.

fullshark 7y ago
But they want to spend that money, they want to get edges in those games.

mrbrowning 7y ago

After having gotten a Switch and noticing that I basically never play games on my phone anymore since having done so, I idly wondered if the Switch's release has had any observable effects on the growth of this market. Of course I realized pretty quickly that my experience isn't very generalizable, since I'm in a self-selected group from the outset (i.e. those willing to spend money on a dedicated gaming device) and since I only really ever played non-FTP games in the first place (and refused to ever make IAPs in the ones that I did try out for brief periods before inevitably getting annoyed and/or bored with them). That thought did make me curious, though, as to what sort of product could actually disrupt the FTP game market in the next few years (assuming it doesn't endure an organic downturn in that timespan), if any at all.

jczhang 7y ago

I was super addicted to Bejeweled about 5 years back and my mom is now addicted to that bubble shooter.

leksak 7y ago

Personally, I haven't kept up with games on smartphones. What listed companies are there that are successful in the space? Seems like it might be worth looking at a few to round out one's portfolio.

HocusLocus 7y ago

[ Male baby boomers aged 55 to 64 like “Solitaire” and “Scrabble”, while women lean towards “Mahjong” and “Monopoly.” ] No wonder I don't play games with my computer! What an awful selection!