The game is no longer a small industry for a few people. According to the report of newzoo, the value of the global game industry in 2019 is estimated to be $152.1 billion (this value does not include the total console or other hardware sales and revenue of in game advertising). The rapid development of the game industry is inseparable from more and more game devices, from PC, game console to mobile devices. Now, 86% of Internet users play games on at least one device.
Interestingly, not all gamers label themselves as “game player”, although they do like to play games. As many as 80% of people who claim to be unwilling to play games say they still like to play games on their smartphones. Indeed, mobile devices are one of the reasons for the prosperity of the gaming industry. This year, mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) are estimated to contribute 45% of the total revenue of the gaming industry.
As more and more people play games, there are more and more games, because each player has different preferences. According to the facebook game marketing report, there are two indicators to prove that the preferences of game players are becoming more and more diverse.
One of them is the increasingly diverse game types on mobile devices, where mobile phones used to play only one very simple game, such as "Snake". Now users can play a complex MOBA game or royal battles such as mobile legends and unknown battlefield movements. Other evidence suggests that player preferences are now becoming increasingly diverse, a growing interest in familiar intellectual property rights.
In its report, Facebook classified gamers into three categories, namely, Buddhist gamers, hardcore gamers and intermediate categories, each with its own characteristics.
Buddha game player
Over the past year, not only have larger games appeared, but also some super casual games such as Stack Ball, Run Race 3D, Tiles Hop: ED Rush, Clean Road, Traffic Run and Crowd City. According to the App Annie app report for the second quarter of 2019, these games are included in the list of the most downloaded games.
One of the characteristics of Buddhists is that they are not opposed to in-game advertising, as can be seen from the success of free game systems implemented by many games. As many as 75% of mobile game players said they would not mind the advertisements in the game as long as they could play the game.
One of the complaints of Buddhists is actually monotonous advertising, with as many as 73% of mobile game players saying that the advertising they see in the game has not changed. 40% said they want to see ads from other games, 39% want to see other non game products, and 21% want to see ads that balance the two.
Hard-core Player
Just like Buddhism players, iron players have their own characteristics. Usually, hardcore players look for games with complex and challenging mechanisms. In the past, if players wanted to play complex multiplayer games, they could only find such games on PC or console. Now, mobile games have begun to have more complex mechanisms. Smart phone technology is becoming more and more mature, which makes the rise of complex mobile games, so that "heavy" games can run on smart phones.
As games become more complex and challenging, hardcore gamers may spend more time playing. Some types of games make players more active than others, such as real-time actions or multiplayer RPGs.
As the game becomes more and more complex, it begins to provide more complex scenes for mobile games. Around the world, mobile game competitions are emerging.
This year, the biggest event in Indonesia’s prize pool is Season 4 of Mobile Legend Professional League, with a total prize of $300,000. Meanwhile, globally, games are like a brave arena. Valor and Clash Royale made their way to the list of the 25 most viewed games in 2018, according to the Newzoo Global Esports Market Report 2019. From December 2018 to February 2019, the total length of viewing esports content videos from the player reached 12.4 million hours.
Between Buddhists and hardcore players
Not all gamers can be classified as Buddhists or hardcore players, and some are in the middle category. Games designed for these categories of gamers usually have competitive elements from hard core games, but they use a super casual game model, that is, advertising.
For this kind of player, developers usually create a brand new machine or type of game. For example, play chess or castle. In the case of DOTA under, this game provides the competitiveness of DOTA 2 games on the PC, but it has a simpler mechanism, so it is easy to play on mobile devices.
The importance of being familiar with IP
Now, the game industry and the film industry are more and more similar. In the United States, one of the things a person should consider before going to a movie is whether they know the franchise of the movie. When choosing a game to play, players will also consider whether they are familiar with the game series.
Up to 75% of gamers on PC and game consoles decide which game to play based on whether the game comes from a franchise they know. Not only that, they are usually loyal to IP. For example, the latest version of call of duty is not very satisfactory, and gamers are still interested in buying the upcoming call of duty game.
Just like the players playing games on PC and host, franchise is also a consideration for mobile game players. Film studios can use their IP to make mobile games by cooperating with developers. For example, the game "Jurassic world: alive" was launched before the movie "Jurassic world: the fallen kingdom".
For game developers, using well-known IP will make their games more attractive to game players. In addition, they can attract IP enthusiasts.
From the perspective of IP holders, games can become a new medium for interaction with fans. Not only that, compared with other media such as comics, novels and even movies, games are interactive media that can promote the level of interaction.
summary
Now, the number of gamers is increasing, and the label "gamer" is not entirely negative. On the one hand, this is good news for game developers and publishers, because the game market is becoming more and more common. On the other hand, as the game market has become more and more mature, players have higher and higher requirements for the game.
