Mobile gaming beats consoles

Online and mobile games are set to drive a significant increase in the value of the global digital content market, a new survey from Juniper Research says.

The firm said the content market will reach a value of $154 billion by 2019, a rise of almost 60 per cent compared to figures recorded in 2014.

An increasing move to mobile and online platforms for games will help this growth, with the sector accounting for 38 per cent of cumulative revenues. Part of this success is due to platforms such as Valve’s Steam download service, which has 125 million active accounts worldwide, and the shift to tablets and high-end smartphones. It’s not positive news for everyone in the entertainment sector; Juniper said revenues from consoles and handhelds were diminishing as a result of the rise in popularity of the new platforms.

That’s a trend that has been marked for some time. In 2013, market intelligence company App Annie said games revenue in Google’s Play and Apple’s App Store surged, pushing them ahead of revenue generated by handheld consoles for the first time. Games consoles such as the Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 offer games on digital download too. However, the low cost of smartphone apps makes them an attractive option to consumers.

“The increased consumer desire for 24/7 access on any device leads to greater opportunities for players that can offer subscription-based, unlimited content streaming,” said Juniper’s research author Dr Windsor Holden.

However, pay per download accounts for only 10 per cent of mobile content revenue. Most of the revenue is generated post download.

Content access

Also benefiting from the mobile market are dating services, such as Match.com, eHarmony and Zoosk, and the increased revenue from the mobile channels is helping to drive strong growth in the lifestyle market.

The research also marked a shift from content ownership to content access, as consumer seek to access their content across a number of different devices. This opens up opportunities for companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon and their cloud services. The study said offering consumers access to multiple products would encourage consumers to stay with the brand, rather than risk losing content access.