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Health & Wellness Gamification

Health & Wellness Gamification
Health & Wellness Gamification

Like other industries, gamification has crept in health and wellness sectors too. Your fitness tracker nudges you to complete a set of steps or burn several calories every day – for a banner or a badge. Do it continuously over days and you get an even bigger reward. Share it with friends to go to the next tier – the processes to keep you healthy are numerous, but the underlying principle is the same. Gamification has introduced a sense of fun and competition by assimilating gameplay and interaction mechanics from video games.

Healthcare gamification, as a result, has been valued at $25.3 billion in 2020 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of almost 15% between 2021-2027. As we continue to make strides in analyzing user behavior, more healthcare and wellness organizations are accepting gamification in their daily processes.

How Can Gamification be Employed in the Health and Wellness Industry?

Gamification simply said, is the process to transform day-to-day business processes into milestone-based, incentivized activities. Gamification is a tool that organizations leverage to increase user engagement, interactivity, and retention – while increasing brand and/or product awareness, and even broadcasting customer-centric values and messages to their target demographic.

In the health and wellness industries, gamification points to incorporating the same principles of video games like gameplay mechanics and high user interaction to incentivize and promote physical and wellness activities, and to provide user-centric customization while analyzing several key data points generated during these activities.

Benefits of Gamification in the Healthcare Industry:

In the realm of health and wellness, gamification can be beneficial in more ways than one, including:

  • Increasing user engagement and motivating them to complete their health goals
  • Transforming monotonous activities like daily health checks into fun incentivized activities. This is pivotal for certain key sections of the customer base like diabetes and cancer patients.
  • Promote an organization’s commitment towards their users’ health and help people on their wellness journey.
  • Gather vital user health data via different health trackers to provide better support and customization, increasing customer focus.
  • Building a long-term connection with the customers.
  • Promoting the brand value and boosting brand/product awareness.

Some Examples of Gamification in the Health and Wellness Industry:

Nike+

Nike+ is a program, consisting of an activity tracker and an app. A microchip in certain Nike shoes measures the distance and the pace of a run or a walk and the data is then visible in the app. Nike+ provides a nice leaderboard where users can compare their scores, and the winners stand a chance to win rewards, including coupon codes, tailored fitness programs, and more. Nike+ also released a fitness tracker called FuelBand (now discontinued) that worked in tandem with the iPhone and the Nike+ app.

Fitbit/Apple Watch

The best examples of gamification in the health and wellness industry come in the form of wearables and fitness trackers. The two biggest players in this domain have been Fitbit and Apple, providing users with connected fitness trackers – each replete with their ecosystems. Both Apple and Fitbit use mobile apps in tandem with the data recorded by the fitness band (several to choose from for Fitbit, Apple Watch for Apple). Users get rewarded with different badges for completing their daily quota of physical and mental wellness activities, as well as trying out new workouts. Fitbit is arguably the most popular health and wellness brand in the world, with almost 1500 corporate wellness program tie-ins, including big customers like HP, IBM, Bank of America, etc. These programs have reduced the overall healthcare costs for these employers by boosting employee health and promoting better lifestyles. Close social integration and a full ecosystem around health and fitness have boosted the sales of the Apple Watch to make it the best-selling wearable currently in the world.  

Re-Mission

Re-Mission, a video game developed by the non-profit organization HopeLab, targets a serious problem – people suffering from cancer not taking their medications on time. In “Re-Mission”, players took control of the nanobot “Roxy” to fight cancer with chemoblasters, radiation guns, antibiotic rockets, and other weapons derived from actual medical procedures. The game proved to be a huge success, spawning a sequel, Re-Mission 2.

Mysugr

MySugr is another ingenious example of introducing gamification principles into tackling the task of monitoring and dealing with Diabetes. MySugr mobile app uses attractive graphics and an interactive platform to transform the day-to-day blood sugar monitoring and other tasks that people with diabetes have to go through, into fun, incentivized activities. It seamlessly integrates with blood sugar monitors and ties in with both Google and Apple Health platforms. MySugr transforms diabetes into a virtual ‘monster’ – akin to Tamagotchi creatures – and users must finish daily activities to nurture it so that it does not go out of control. Additional activities can also be completed for more rewards. MySugr also provides a dedicated app for children, further expanding its reach.

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More than 71,000 fitness apps were released in 2020. Our increased reliance on mobile digital platforms and an overall reduction in focus has forced organizations to look towards more attractive, interactive ways to capture our interest. Gamification has led the way – by helping companies integrate many principles that made the video games industry the biggest money-maker in the world today. Health and wellness industry has been at the forefront in the past couple of years due to the pandemic, an uptick in chronic diseases, and the emergence of health consumerism. More creative ways of gamification have benefited. The consumer gets rewards for completing activities beneficial to their health – and the organizations receive increased traffic, revenue, and a plethora of loyal customers. 

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Using Gamification in Food Apps

Gamification in Food Apps
Gamification in Food Apps

The Food and Beverages industry thrives on user interaction, reviews, and word-of-mouth endorsements. However, traditional ways of marketing in this domain have reached their limits – forcing companies to look elsewhere to find inspiration. Gamification has emerged as a revitalizing tool to create new market buzz, attract and convert new customers, retain existing users, and decrease banner blindness. 93% of marketers agreed that gamified, interactive approach to content presentation was effective in educating buyers, and 88% said that gamification played a pivotal role in differentiating their product from the competition.

How can Food Apps be Gamified?

Gamification techniques can be added to the food apps in several key areas to enhance them for better user interaction, create an ecosystem of loyal customers, and generate awareness about brands and their messages. Let’s explore some ways you can do this:

  • Incentivize new user engagement from the starting step, including onboarding rewards, promo codes for signing up, social media sharing, and referral bonuses. Staggered referrals and time-limit bonuses are also good ways to keep users hooked and attract more potential customers.
  • Gamify purchasing by introducing loyalty points, reward first purchases via discount codes or coupons.
  • Create a tiered loyalty program where users gain points for their purchases, referrals, and other actions and then spend those points to unlock more benefits – to incentivize them to stay longer with your app/platform.
  • Incorporate gamification techniques like innovative trivia, quizzes, and other methods to gather user data and analyze them to understand your customer base. Leverage these data points to customize your product to provide a more user-focused, customized experience.

Benefits of Gamifying Food Apps:

Gamification in food apps (including food delivery apps) have quite a few big benefits, including:

  • Boosting user engagement
  • Converting more casual scrollers into loyal customers
  • Less banner blindness
  • Increasing customer retention
  • Better brand awareness and message conveyance
  • More understanding of user demographic by analyzing customer data
  • Offering a more customer-focused, personalized product

Examples of Gamification in Food Apps:

Pizza Hero by Domino’s:

Domino’s Pizza Hero app, created for iPad in 2011, is a perfect example of gamification in the food and beverages industry. Pizza Hero was a fun game where users assumed the role of a pizza maker, intending to create the most perfect pizza. On top of the experience of creating a pizza from scratch, players could order the pizza they created to their home. Not only that, but players with great pizza-making skills also stood a chance to win a jackpot – a job at Domino’s Pizza.

Through the app, Domino’s engaged users attractively and increased their brand awareness. They also incorporated game mechanics into their hiring process seamlessly. While the app was created just for fun, Pizza Hero turned out to be a huge success, with over 300K downloads. 7million pizzas were created through the app, and it increased Domino’s sales revenue by 30%.

Chipotle and ‘The Scarecrow’:


Chipotle, to create awareness about their messages about ethical food sourcing and sustainability, created a short animated film called ‘The Scarecrow’ and an associated game of the same name. The film showed several harmful practices which were fairly standard in the food industry and how Chipotle’s goal was different, eco-friendly, and geared towards the health of their customer base. The Scarecrow lit the market abuzz, with 18.4 million conversations across 17 social media platforms, and a 92.7 social sentiment score. The campaign -originally started in 2013- also won a Cannes Lions award in 2014 and helped Chipotle replace Taco Bell as the top fast-food brand in the United States.

Starbucks Rewards:

Arguably the best example of a gamified loyalty program is Starbucks Rewards. This loyalty program has had a monumental impact on the food and retail industry, boosting sales revenues for the global beverages giant, promoting an ecosystem of customization, pre-ordering, and payment. Loyal customers can get promoted to different tiers – upper tiers come with more exclusive benefits, coupons, discount codes, etc.

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Gamification has moved out of just being a proof of concept to an actual, reliable mechanism that companies are leveraging every year to get big results. Globally, the gamification market is valued at almost $12 Billion. This uptick means that gamification is spreading across every stratum of the market – including the food apps. Food apps have seen a surge in the pandemic years, and the increased competition has forced organizations to look for innovative measures to appeal to their customer base. Gamification has come in handy – in inviting more user interaction through a milestones-and-rewards-based approach. Be it delivery or restaurant apps, the food industry is riding the gamification wave to create newer interaction models between their customer base. If you are an organizational lead or a product owner, the time is now to hop aboard the gamification train!

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Applying Gamification in Ecommerce

Gamification & EcommerceA
Gamification & EcommerceA

Gamification marketing is everywhere – from interactive doodles on the Google homepage to Buzzfeed trivia to various mini-games, spinning wheels, and digital slots on Amazon. Recent years of lockdown have increased our dependence on e-commerce sites, and with general customer interest waning every year, gamification and its added immersion and interaction have become the need of the hour for these business owners.

In e-commerce, gamification indicates assimilating and deploying strategies akin to gameplay methods in video games to boost sales in digital stores – either digital assets or physical items.

Ways to Gamify Your Ecommerce Business:

As a market leader, here are a couple of ways you can harness the power of gamification in your e-commerce business.

  • Use games like Scavenger Hunt to ensure that your customers – both existing and new – visit key pages on your e-commerce site. Gamification marketing strategies like these incentivize user interaction and create the initial hook.
  • Another good way is to use a Wheel of Fortune with different promo codes and discounts at stake. Not only does this game of chance introduce a sense of thrill among customers, but it also turns casual site-browsers into potential buyers.
  • Set up a rewards program. Loyalty points and incentives redeemable via spending those points boost your trustworthiness as a brand. They show users that you care about them – a factor that attracts new customers as well. Vary the rewards into tiers that work like levels of privilege to reap more benefits. Choose the customer behavior that you want to reward – ranging from signing up for your newsletter, sharing in social media, product reviews, etc.
  • Fun behavioral quizzes or trivia are another great way to direct your customers to the product that is best suited for them. You can analyze the vital data generated from these gamification marketing methods to further understand your user base and demographic as well as traction levels for products being sold via your e-commerce site.
  • Recently, some organizations have also benefited by launching dedicated mini-game apps that tie into their e-commerce sites. These game apps can help promote products available in your store as well as generate awareness about your brand and its message.
  • Lastly, make sure your gamified incentivization methods are meaningful. Quite often, users tend to be more loyal to a brand or a site where they can achieve or partake in something bigger than them. A good example of this is Nike’s successful Nike+ campaign – tailored towards covering every aspect of an athlete’s life – including social integration, training, competition, and sports style. 
Source: https://www.knowband.com/blog/ecommerce-blog/gamification-increases-customer-engagement-ecommerce-store/

Some recent examples:

  1. Global beauty brand Sephora has an extensive loyalty program that is the perfect example of a gamification technique applied in e-commerce. Users earn 1 loyalty point per $1 they spend in the store/site and these points can then be used to unlock more privileges (free shipping, deeper discounts, etc.). Moreover, long-time users are also promoted to the next privilege level (VIB, Rouge) with even more rewards.
  1. Karl Lagerfeld’s online store created a retro-inspired video game similar to the cult classic, Pacman, to promote their Spring 2020 pixel collection. The game featured Karl’s very own cat, Choupette. This online game had users catching as many special KARL bonus items as they could while defeating Choupette’s foes – dogs. Winners were rewarded with a shopping spree at Karl Lagerfeld’s store.
  1. Nike released an online game in 2011, dubbed ‘Winter’s Angry. Fight Back’ to promote its line of winter sportswear debuting at the end of that year. Players took control of a virtual avatar of one of three very popular athletes – NFL wideout Greg Jennings, USA Women’s soccer player Alex Morgan and Olympic gold medal sprinter Allyson Felix – to perform a series of training exercises to ‘beat the cold’. Players could win prizes for completing challenges, and ones with top scores were eligible for a trip to meet the athletes. Nike’s game website also doubled as a store to purchase apparel featured on these athletes.
  1. ‘14-Day Blast Off’ from the popular grocery chain Whole Foods encouraged participants to commence on a healthy diet journey at the onset of a new year. Whole Foods cleverly incorporated gamification marketing techniques in this campaign that rewarded users when they completed one or more milestones, in form of rebates on in-store purchases.
  1. Cityville, the now-defunct social city-building game from Zynga, was a mammoth hit back in the early 2010s when it launched. At its heyday, a staggering 71 million users were playing the game on Facebook. Best Buy took advantage of Cityville’s reach by opening the first branded retail store in-game. Players could place the store in their virtual city, gain game currency and points when they collected electronic items, and even roam the city in Best Buy’s widely popular Geek Squad vehicles. This gamification marketing was a clever way to advertise Best Buy’s store to a wide variety of customers beyond their usual demographic.
  1. ALDO’s Instagram Moodboard is also a good example of gamification being used in e-commerce. ALDO tied its release of the “A is for Aldo” fragrance collection with Facebook minigames that encouraged users to match their mood with Instagram images. The result was a shareable collage of images associated with any of the three colors and the perfume represented by that color.

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The global gamification market is projected to reach $32 Billion by 2025. Organizations are being compelled to implement more visually immersive, engaging, interactive ways to attract new users and retain their existing customer base. In the world of e-commerce, the fight is even more fierce. Incorporating gamification techniques can not only make your e-commerce platform stand out from the competition but can also build value and awareness for your brand – assets that are defining factors of success in this fast-moving industry.

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Gamification in Banking

Gamification in Banking
Gamification in Banking

The global gamification market is valued at almost $12 billion in 2021. Much of it is fueled by advertising and marketing campaigns spread across major industries – and the world of banking/finance is not lagging. Financial organizations are increasingly moving their banking products online, and in the day and age of increased competition, and waning user interest, more companies are using gamification techniques to boost customer engagement levels. Introducing mini-games, trivia, wheel-of-fortune-style instant rewards, and above all, a tiered privilege program to enhance user loyalty – all hallmarks of gamification – are being leveraged to inject new life into this domain.

What is Banking Gamification?

Banking gamification, at its most basic, is the process of transforming day-to-day banking processes into milestone-based task and rewards type activities, often by incorporating gameplay mechanics from video games. By mimicking the interactivity and immersion of playing a video game, gamification in banking and finance increases customer engagement, boosts their interest in, and knowledge of, banking products and services, as well as makes the entire experience enjoyable. Rewards associated with these activities provide a sense of instant gratification. Some banks add social collaboration, integration with other apps, and more to further increase their brand value and awareness.

What are the Benefits of Gamification in Banking?

Here are some benefits that banking gamification can bring to the table:

  1. Increased customer engagement, awareness, and retention: Gamified finance and banking apps are more interactive, immersive, and customer-focused, designed to give the customer the feeling of playing a game. This unique combination is a powerful way to engage users and retain them. Gamification techniques can be used to increase product and service awareness among customers as well (tutorial videos that can be viewed to earn points, for example). A boost in user retention also increases brand loyalty.
  1. Lowered costs: Gamified apps represent banking on the internet. By moving away from physical institutions, they save banking companies a lot of money in both operating as well as capital expenditure.
  2. Invaluable customer data insights: Gamified apps can be used to gather a variety of data about banking customers which when analyzed, give banking orgs invaluable insights into their user demographic. Companies can pinpoint their areas of growth and address products that are more catered towards their user base.
  3. Differentiation from competitors: Incorporating game mechanics in a digital banking app can help it stand out from its competition. Banking gamification is still in its primary stages, so early adopters stand out and gather more traction from users via the enjoyable experience gamified apps provide.
  4. Potential to draw more customers: Better user retention in gamified banking apps brings in new customers as well. As existing customers are happier, they spread the word: and word-of-mouth advertising generates more buzz than traditional methods, roping in newer customers.

Examples of Gamification in Banking

Financial organizations have already started to introduce gameplay mechanics into their banking products, tapping into the high user interaction potential of gamification techniques. Recent examples include:

  1. PNC Bank, a US-based financial org, created a Virtual Wallet as a modern solution to incentivize their customers to set up and reach their savings goals. This Virtual Wallet was a hybrid between a checking and a savings account. A feature of this Virtual Wallet was an interactive widget, called Punch the Pig. This appeared as a piggy bank on the bank customer’s screen while using the wallet – nudging the user to transfer money via it to a high-yield savings account.
  2. In 2015, Emirates NBD, the largest government-owned bank in Dubai and one of the largest financial organizations in the Middle East, launched a fitness app to encourage its users towards a healthy lifestyle. Emirates NBD customers could open a ‘Fitness Account’ – a mobile-based savings account that incentivized customers with higher interest rates on their balances based on their level of physical activity. The fitness account synced up with the NBD fitness app – designed to work on Apple Watch and a list of other fitness trackers – and rewarded users of up to 2% p.a. on their savings based on their step count for the day or distance covered while running. The base interest rate of 0.25% shot up to 0.5% for 5,000 steps, 1% p.a. for 8,000 steps and 2% p.a. for 12,000 steps. This gamification strategy helped bring Emirates NBD $4.37 million in savings.
  3. CommBank of Australia in 2011 launched a property-simulator game. Dubbed ‘Investorville’, this game lets prospective home buyers go through the process of purchasing and owning a property – choosing from different mortgage products to renovations and experiencing paying property taxes. The game would also show the consequences and pitfalls of the users’ financial investments and decisions.
  4. Twist and Win from Standard Chartered Bank is another good example of gamification mechanics applied in banking to increase user engagement. Bank customers were eligible to win cashback on their credit card transactions by twisting the levers of a virtual gumball machine that appeared in-app. Standard Chartered saw a noticeable uptick in their customers’ credit card expenditure as a result of this campaign.
  5. BBVA, the leading Spanish digital bank, launched a game in 2013 to increase customer loyalty and retention. Called ‘BBVA Game’ – this web application encouraged customers to watch tutorial videos about banking, paying taxes, and other financial transactions that they could do via the BBVA banking app. Customers received points for watching videos that they could later spend on a variety of platforms. After 6 months, the game had over 100,000 users and increased BBVA’s user satisfaction rate by 18%.

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Several aspects of the banking industry benefit from gamification since most of it is heavily user-centric. The traditional banking experience has many steps involved in them that can be easily translated into a gamified app – from learning about banking terminologies, banking services to account maintenance and knowledge about products and purchase decisions. As banks continue to go digital, added online perks like social media collaboration or brownie points redeemable in stores are becoming pivotal in a highly competitive market. Gamification allows seamless integration of milestones and rewards, either via a separate app in the ecosystem or in-app, offering a win-win scenario for both banks and their customers.

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What are Hyper-Casual Games?

Hyper Casual Games
Hyper Casual Games

Mobile gaming has taken a quantum leap in recent years, becoming the predominant force in the gaming industry. Hyper-casual games are behind this phenomenal success, roping in even non-gamers to put in as much as a few hours every week playing them. These easy-to-learn games have offered many respites from an increasingly stressful outside world, especially during the recent pandemic. Games like trivia and puzzles have integrated a social ecosystem around them that allows people to interact and compete. Even single-player hyper-casual games offer an immersive world free from the usual complexities around learning the nitty-gritty of playing them well. As a result, Hyper-casual games have been shown to retain their users much more than any other gaming category.

Hyper-casual games have become so popular that organizations have started leveraging them beyond their usual mobile domain. For example, Tesla cars come with bundled games that owners can play while the car is stationary at a charging station; companies are gamifying their day-to-day business activities in the hyper-casual model to promote a stress-free work environment.

Flappy Birds and the Beginning of Hyper-Casual Gaming as We Know It:

Vietnamese developer Dong Nguyen and his company, Gears, released Flappy Bird in 2013. It was an innocuous side-scrolling video game where the player guided a bird between a series of green pipes without touching them. The game took off in 2014 – to the point that it became the mobile games chart-topper in downloads on both Android and iOS worldwide, earning $50,000+ in revenue every day.

The rise behind the game was owed to the hyper simplification of its key principles, including UI, gameplay mechanics, and learning curve – things that made it attractive to even non-gamers. Soon, these methods were followed by other developers, giving rise to the hyper-casual mobile games that are a juggernaut today.

The Pandemic Years and the Explosion of Hyper-Casual Games:

In late 2019, the covid-19 pandemic gripped the world. This had an adverse effect in almost all market sectors – except gaming. People were forced to spend time at home, which astronomized game downloads. As a result, mobile gaming recemented its place at the throne during the pandemic years, fueled by the meteoric rise in hyper-casual game downloads. Measurement firm Adjust and game engine developer Unity joint-collaborated in 2020 to determine the pandemic’s effect in the hyper-casual gaming market. The study found:

  • Hyper-casual games grew by 72% at the end of Q1 2020.
  • Installation of hyper-casual games increased 103% between December 2019 and March 2020.
  • The costs per install (CPI – the average cost to get a user to install a game on their mobile device) for Hyper-casual games decreased by 35% by the end of March.
  • Asian markets saw the boom in Hyper-casual mobile gaming sessions the most, with China seeing a 300% increase, followed by South Korea (152%) and Japan (137%). Western market gains were led by Germany (69%).

Why Do People Love Hyper-Casual Games?

Hyper-casual games are favored by many because of their ease, lack of paywalls, and social integration. Facebook Gaming’s Genre and great games report in 2020 looked at why games like Flappy Birds were an overnight success and found these predominant reasons:

  • Hyper-casual games were instant stress-busters
  • Most hyper-casual gamers played these games to pass/kill time
  • Milestone-based gameplay allows them to feel instant gratification for their in-game achievements
  • An immersive experience in hyper-casual games allowed an escape from reality
  • Many hyper-casual games offer unique experiences that keep the gamers hooked
  • Hyper-casual games like puzzles or trivia help to nurture unique traits in gamers
  • Individuals also found hyper-casual games an extension of their real-world passions 

Hyper-Casual Games that Took the World by Storm:

Here are some of the best hyper-casual games that helped to define this genre of mobile games through their innovative, simple gameplay and the immersive, engaging world:

  • Helix Jump: This is publisher Voodoo’s most popular casual game to date and arguably the most popular hyper-casual game of all time. Helix Jump makes you take control of a bouncing ball as it traverses from one circular platform to another. It has over 1 billion downloads on both popular mobile platforms and has given many clones.
  • Acrylic Nails: With almost 40 million downloads worldwide, Acrylic Nails is a simple game where you paint the nails with the colors of your choice.
  • Phone Case DIY: Like Acrylic Nails, Phone Case DIY gives you control of an empty, virtual phone case that you can customize to your heart’s content. It has garnered 60million downloads worldwide so far.
  • Crossy Road: A simple game where you play as a duck (or any other animal) and cross a traffic-heavy road, Crossy Road is a perfect example of a hyper-casual game. It has over 10 million downloads till now.
  • Rise Up: Minimalistic UI at its best is on full display here in this mobile game, where you must save a rising balloon by clearing obstacles from its path. This game’s muted color palette, alongside some calming music, are also USPs of Rise Up, resulting in 10 million-plus downloads.
mobile games
Hyper Casual Games available on Goama Games Platform

Are Hyper-Casual Games the Future of Gaming?

Newzoo predicts that there will be more than 3 billion mobile gamers worldwide by 2023. This user expansion seems to be driven by hyper-casual gaming. Often free, with low learning curves, minimalist UI design, and a focus on community-driven fun, hyper-casual games like Slap Kings and Stair Run continues to attract a large section of people from a key, non-gamer demographic. Hyper-casual games are topping the charts on ad revenues as well, with puzzles and other casual game categories raking in almost 5 million ad creatives. As a result, more developers are now shifting towards building social, hyper-casual games.

This trend also shows a significant change in our societal perception of gaming. Mobile gaming has abandoned the traditional definition of a gamer. The term has now become broader – casual and hyper-casual individuals who previously may not have been comfortable being called gamers are now slowly adopting the moniker. Social stigma around gaming and games, in general, is slowly being replaced with their places in our culture. Mobile gaming – hyper-casual gaming in general – has played a big role in bringing people together in the virtual world, opening up new avenues to collaborate in a fun and engaging way. In recent years of volatile markets and pandemic anxiety, hyper-casual games have dawned upon a large section of us as stress busters – and that trend is only going to gain more speed in the years to come.

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Gaming Trends in 2022 and beyond

Gaming Trends

As the pandemic slowly wears thin, many industries still struggle to find their footing back. Not gaming – among a handful of markets that saw a spectacular rise in the past two years. Globally, the evolution of gaming off late has significantly impacted game dynamics, but some trends have become more apparent than others. The genre-defining shifts in gaming that we have seen in 2021 are likely to continue to 2022 and beyond, shaping the games we know, how we play and interact with them, and even in-game milestones and rewards.

Trends to Look For in 2022 and After:

2020 and 2021 have been a mixed bag for gamers. While gaming as a whole has proliferated, a worldwide boom in cryptocurrency and other factors have resulted in major chip shortages for consumer hardware – including discrete graphic cards (GPUs) for PCs and Consoles. Factors like these have made gamers look away from traditional ways to game. Nevertheless, gaming trends that we think will continue to define the industry next year and beyond include:

Increase in Cloud Gaming or Gaming as a Service (GaaS):

The global chip shortage has made traditional gaming a costly proposition. An increased number of people have hence started to look at alternatives – and cloud gaming has more or less started to fill this void.

Like other cloud-based services, gaming-as-a-service or cloud gaming is a subscription service that provides you access to games installed at remote servers. They are streamed to you via the internet, and you access them via the browser or a dedicated client. While this makes the gaming experience majorly dependent on your internet speed, it removes all other hardware bottlenecks.

Google Stadia, NVidia GeForce Now, Playstation Now, and Xbox Cloud Gaming – all major players in cloud gaming have had a stellar 2021. Newzoo reports that cloud gaming will have 23.7 million paid users and a revenue of $1.6 billion by the end of this year. In addition, the market cap is projected to reach $6.5 billion in 2024.

Cloud gaming has become so popular that even Amazon and Netflix have introduced their own GaaS products to tap into this market. This is arguably the biggest trend in gaming that is sure to get more traction in 2022 and later.

The Continued Rise of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Games:

In 2019, Ericsson’s study yielded that 35% of non-gamers had expressed an interest in AR gaming. The number has only grown in the past two years, given the insane expansion of mobile games. Augmented Reality’s nifty way of incorporating existing elements in your environment is proving to be a major force behind its popularity. 

Virtual Reality games have been in existence for a couple of years now. Unlike AR, VR games immerse you in the world of their own – hence a separate, empty room is often recommended – and require custom, dedicated hardware like VR headsets and controllers. Oculus and HTC dominate the VR market, with major funding coming courtesy of Facebook (Meta) and other investors.

Our increased online presence and the skyrocketing mobile gaming universe will continue to open new frontiers for both VR and AR gaming in the coming years. Reports indicate that by 2023, AR and VR headsets will be selling a substantial 30 million units annually.

Cross-Platform Games to Dominate, More Remasters/Remakes to Come

Mobile gaming’s massive explosion in recent years has forced game developers to make games that run on both Android and iOS. This is a trend that we’re seeing making its way to PC and Console gaming. The latest iterations of many PC or console-exclusive games have been released to all platforms in the past two years. More games are now cross-platform compliant, which means you can play with your peers regardless of your device, be it mobile, consoles or PC. Technologies like 5G and generational performance improvements in gaming hardware will make crossplay development and participation easier in the coming years.

Classic games are also making a comeback – either as remakes or remastered versions with improved feature-sets like higher resolution textures, better gameplay, and others. Remasters like Resident Evil HD have made us re-appreciate them, and remakes like Final Fantasy 7 and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary have been universally praised.

Gaming + Blockchain = the Future?

The buzz around cryptocurrency does not seem to be stopping any time soon. Cryptocurrency runs on blockchains – a technology that decentralizes data by splitting it into tokens and then joining them with cryptography. Blockchains have increased security and speed – something that the gaming industry – largely reliant on in-game purchases – is trying to leverage. Some games already support cryptocurrency-based payments, a trend that will only increase in 2022 and beyond. Moreover, game developers leverage decentralized apps to build blockchain-based games that seamlessly integrate with crypto wallets as payment options. 

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are also seeing a surge in gaming. NFTs allow you to own digital assets like videos, images, and games or in-game content. Even AAA game developers like Ubisoft are getting in on this trend, which is sure to get more traction in the next couple of years.

eSports Rules the Roost:

The pandemic has all but ensured that it shot up top as if eSports wasn’t popular earlier. As a result, Multiplayer games like League of Legends, Valorant, and PUBG have dominated all of 2020 and 2021 – raking in massive revenues – and are poised to continue this trend in 2022 and beyond well. 

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The gaming industry has undergone a tremendous change in the past couple of years. Mobile gaming and eSports dominate the market; AR and VR gaming are on the rise; cryptocurrency and NFTs are just around the corner; cross-platform games are climbing up the charts. By the end of this year, there will be 2.9 billion gamers generating a staggering $175.8 billion in market revenue, driving current trends in 2022 and beyond.

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Are You A Gamer?

Are You A Gamer?
Are You A Gamer?

Gaming is no longer considered a niche word or market. The worldwide market for video games is slated to reach an astounding $545.98 billion by 2028 from $203.12 billion in 2020. Over the years, several concerted researches have been conducted to understand the reach of gaming in our society. Studies have also tried to find out the definition of the term “gamer” – by interviewing a range of people who played video games fairly regularly.

The percentage of video game players who identify themselves as gamers remains low

Back in 2015, a study revealed some interesting statistics about video games and gamers. For example, while the percentage of men and women who said that they played games on mobile, PC, or console was almost identical (50% men v/s 48% women), over 60% of all Americans thought people identified as gamers were predominantly male. Also, while 49% of Americans played some form of video games, only 10% considered themselves gamers (15% men, 6% women).

Mid and younger millennials have much more propensity to identify themselves as gamers

When we consider mobile gaming, the number of people who play occasionally or frequently increases to 78.2%. Mobile gaming has all but exploded in recent years, fueled by the incredible accessibility boom of smart devices in developing countries. AdColony’s Modern Mobile Report shows that people born between 1986-1995 are more likely to self-identify themselves as gamers – 22.5% more than Gen Z, and a whopping 63.4% more than older millennials and Gen X counterparts.

A variety of reasons may be behind this. Video games, especially in consoles and PCs, proliferated in the ‘90s and early 2000s – becoming a pop-culture staple. Millennials born around that era were part of that phenomenon. Many among them still consider video games as a hobby – a good pastime.

On the other hand, Gen Z is part of a time when games have been all but normalized into a part of our daily lives. It can be one of the primary reasons why, despite playing mobile games 5% more than their closest millennial age demographic, they are 20% less likely to self-identify as gamers. Similarly, video games’ cultural and socio-economical importance is not as prolific in the older age group, which accounts for their 3/5th less likelihood to call themselves gamers.

Men identify as gamers more than women, in general

There is a large gender-skewing when it comes to people identifying themselves as gamers. More often than not, men identify as gamers more than women. Across the 18-29 age demographic, the difference is much wider, more than 3x – between men (33%) and women (9%) who consider themselves as gamers. As we move towards older age groups, the gap closes significantly. 15% men between 30-49 years of age identify as gamers, compared to 7% women. For ages 50 and older, both men (4%) and women (3%) are equally unlikely to self-identify as gamers.

Self-identified gamers do not belong to a single socioeconomic group:

AdColony’s study also reveals that the population that identifies themselves as gamers comes from various income groups. The top two spots are taken by households with incomes of $250,000 or more per year, closely followed by houses with annual incomes of $50,000 or less. This staggering statistic tells us that gaming is not limited to a single income group in society – instead, it has a universal reach. However, the study discovers a trend in the frequency of games being played in a household and their average annual income. The more income a household has – the more time they invest in playing games, especially mobile games.

Increasing popularity of social games – especially puzzles and word games is propelling more people to play video games regularly:

Puzzle and word games have brought more people together in the virtual world than most AAA titles. These games are often devoid of any learning curve, can be played on virtually any device, and require little to no system prowess to run. Simple, fun, and varied enough to be engaging – trivia, puzzle, word games continue to dominate the charts on all platforms. Games like PeopleFun and WordScapes have also attracted more people, especially from the older age demographic, to play more frequently.

Conclusion:

Self-identification is often disregarded by scientists while they collate their data to research the effects of gaming. Nebraska-based sociologist Lisa Kort-Butler has done extensive analysis into the reasons why many, despite playing video games quite regularly, are not eager to identify themselves as gamers. “Persisting, pejorative stereotypes surrounding the physical, social and mental wellbeing of those who game“ is often the culprit behind such low numbers, says Kort-Butler. In addition, the lack of a concrete set of characteristics makes someone a ‘gamer,’ and the picture gets even murkier. Lastly, the evolution of video games to an everyday staple and the biggest industry in the world has also diluted the need for people to self-identify themselves as purveyors of something niche.

Whether you self-identify as a gamer should not matter if you love and continue to play video games – be it on PC, consoles, or mobile devices. Video games have emerged as one of the great social equalizers in recent years, prompting more people to accept them in their daily lives, minus the stigma of being called a gamer.

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Why Do People Love Mobile Games?

mobile games
mobile games

Increased accessibility of smart devices, especially smartphones – have all but propelled mobile gaming into the stratosphere. Mobile games were downloaded 80 billion times in 2020 – an 18% increase YoY. The overall market for mobile games is predicted to reach a staggering $218.7 billion by 2024, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.7%. 2.8 Billion people worldwide play mobile games currently, far outnumbering those who prefer playing on PC or consoles.

The immense popularity of mobile games has not only expanded the boundaries of traditional game genres, but it has also caused many old favorites to reemerge – more polished and better performing than ever. In addition, several PC or console-only games have also successfully transitioned into mobile platforms, bringing their AAA experience on smaller screens.

Why do people play mobile games?

Much research has gone into understanding what prompts people to play mobile games and come back for more. For example, 59% of participants in a recent study said that playing mobile games made them feel relaxed. This number is double that of social apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The study also revealed why most mobile gaming users were significantly happier than visiting social sites.

Most users say that they love mobile games because:

  • Mobile gaming makes them feel relaxed, so they return to it to relieve stress.
  • Games on mobile are a good way to pass the time while waiting for other activities.
  • In addition, many people use mobile games to connect with other players socially.
  • The ever-evolving challenges in mobile games make people feel accomplished when they beat a certain level or complete a milestone. Shareable achievements and leaderboards have further enhanced this feeling of instant gratification.
  • Mobile games are continually adding content, so casual users are more likely to come back in hopes of new experiences. 
  • Most importantly, mobile games grant users a hyper-accessible portal into an immersive, virtual world. As a result, 38% of users said that the content in mobile gaming made them feel interested.

What has made mobile gaming so popular?

NewZoo predicts that the gaming revenue from mobile platforms will reach $90.7 billion in 2021, with a 4.4% YoY increase. This now accounts for over 50% of the total gaming market worldwide. A decade of double-digit growth for the mobile games market has been fueled by various technological and socioeconomic trends, including:

Cutting-edge mobile technology has become affordable:

The past decade has seen an astronomical leap in mobile technology. Things like 4G/LTE, the latest Wifi standards, and faster, more efficient mobile hardware development have all made their way from the flagship devices to affordable smartphones and tablets. Generational performance and durability improvements brought by these advancements, in turn, have made mobile gaming accessible to previously untapped markets and demographics.

Increased virtual presence and a mobile-driven market:

Especially in the past couple of years, there has been an increasing trend of moving from bulky software to lightweight mobile apps for everything we need – finances, work, food delivery, and even stargazing. No other industry has benefited more from this than Mobile gaming. The mobile-driven market has forced developers to create more engaging and content-rich games for their customers. The availability of this diverse array of content has boosted the mobile gaming user base significantly.

Easy accessibility and portability:

Mobile gaming wins hands down in its accessibility and portability. You can play games on a mobile practically anywhere – a distinction that consoles and PCs do not have. In addition, most mobile games these days are platform-agnostic. So it doesn’t matter whether your smart device runs Android or iOS – you get the same experience everywhere.

The rise of hyper-casual gaming:

Hyper-casual gaming has dominated the reasons behind mobile gaming’s adoption as a lifestyle companion. A trend where the user spends a small amount of time daily playing a game with repetitive levels and gameplay mechanics is often termed hyper-casual. Here, the game is addictive, and the difficulty between each level only changes mildly – so that the user is hooked yet not deterred. Games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, Subway Surfers, and Temple Run are probably the best examples of hyper-casual games – easy to get into, easy to drop out of, and fun to play.

There’s something for everyone:

Mobile gaming’s rapid proliferation and profitability have caused many traditional game developers to focus on this platform. As a result, the gaming universe in mobile now has the most diverse array of games available for you to choose from. Be it action, strategy, role-playing, puzzle, trivia, word games – if you love a genre, games from it are more likely to exist in mobile platforms than anywhere else. The sheer variety is one of the big reasons mobile gaming continues to rise in popularity.

The revival of classic games in their portable, mobile avatars has increased the overall reach of mobile gaming even more than before. Games like puzzles, board, trivia, and scrabble have been shown to bring in more new users and retain them. In addition, high accessibility fueled by available (4G/LTE) and emerging (5G, WiFi 6) technologies, immersive audio-visual experience, and instant gratification have given rise to the trend of hyper-casual mobile gaming. With the world’s smartphone users projected to reach 4.5 billion in 2024, mobile gaming’s upward trajectory is all set for another round of victory lap.

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Using Branded Games for Content Marketing

Branded Games
Branded Games

Gamified content helped car manufacturing giants Ford Motors to increase their revenue by $8million and generate 600% more likes on Facebook.

Verizon’s decision to gamify it’s website resulted in 30% more logins among its user base. The campaign was highly successful, with nearly 50% of Verizon’s 108 million subscribers participating in the games.

Content Marketing – What Is It?

Content Marketing, like its name, is a marketing approach that relies solely on content and its ability to engage and retain users. Instead of traditional ways of pitching your product to a user base, you use sensory material to attract and retain customers as a content marketer. These mediums can be images, videos, games, blogs, printed material, etc. In addition, shareable and interactive content takes this form of marketing even further, beyond conventional demographics.

Content Marketing Institute defines it more elaborately – “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Content Marketing has been born out of the need to engage customers more effectively and at the higher cost of traditional marketing. Recent improvements in technology have created fierce competition in the realms of custom content-based marketing. While traditional content marketing generates about 300% more leads while being 62% cheaper, market leaders have already moved to the next step : gamification. Leveraging gaming principles in content marketing, organizations have reduced banner blindness, attracted and retained more users, and dramatically increased their brand value. Branded games have increased brand recognition for a lot of small, medium, and large organizations worldwide.

As a business leader, wondering how your content-based marketing can benefit from these branded games? Here are two examples for you to consider:

How Can Branded Games Increase Your Content Marketing Potential?

Branded games can spruce up your content marketing potential in many tangible ways, gathering about their interaction patterns much easier. User data collected can be used to customize your product further to suit your user base.

Some Examples of Content Marketing Gamification:

Many of the world’s most successful and unique marketing campaigns have included gaming principles to differentiate them from their competition. Some of them include:

  • American fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle released a memory-based game, “A Love Story”, in 2016. Intended to be a follow-up after their animated short film of the same name, this game was immensely popular. Not only this, Chipotle also rewarded participants with an online-only buy-one-get-one-free entree offer that players could cash in at any Chipotle outlet in the U.S. or Canada.
  • In 2010, M&M’s Eye-Spy Pretzel game, released on Facebook, gathered 25,000+ likes, 6,000 shares and 10,000 comments. This low-cost, gamified content marketing campaign was created in tandem with the release of their pretzel-flavored candy.

The phenomenal, almost absurd success of Netflix’s Squid Game has taught us many lessons about content marketing. Effectively utilizing social media platforms like TikTok is not enough – creating custom, gamified content across the webspace is essential for your product to stand apart from others. The most successful marketing campaigns of recent years contained some form of gamified content – Starbucks’ Rewards Program is perhaps the best example. Even Google had to give in to the lure of gaming-centric content marketing in Chrome every time it showed you that a website was down. Creating your branded game creates a fun and engaging way for users to interact with your product and creates better word-of-mouth marketing for your brand. 

The question has shifted from if to when is gaming-based content marketing taking over the world – are you all in?Some of the most important ones are:

  • Increased User Engagement:

The biggest and most immediate effect of gamification in content marketing is better user engagement. Games have a universal appeal, and using their principles in your marketing material lessens the chances of banner blindness – a situation where users idly scroll through banner-style marketing content. In addition, gaming-based marketing is interactive, which makes users engage with the material and participate more.

  • Better User Retention:

Gamification in your content marketing campaign rewards users when they complete milestones, or at times even for participating. This instant gratification converts users into customers. Rewards are also seen as a thank-you gesture from your business to your customers, making them stick to your product for longer terms.

  • Improved Brand Awareness and Loyalty:

Branded games not only create awareness for your brand, the overall transcendence of games beyond certain age groups makes the reach much more comprehensive. In addition, well-rounded gamification campaigns deliver your messages to a larger audience – an essential first step towards building brand loyalty.

  • Better Customer Relationship:

Better user engagement and retention improve customer relationships when you use gamification in your content marketing. Your marketing campaign incorporates badges, leaderboards, reward points, and loyalty bonuses to create a sense of bonding between your customer and your product. The more they use certain features, the more milestones they cross and the more rewards they unlock. This cycle ensures long-term relationships are created and maintained.

  • Useful Data Gathering and Customization:

Gaming content is relevant, accessible, engaging, and shareable. Leveraging games in your marketing campaign can significantly increase user participation and make data gathering about their interaction patterns much easier. User data collected can be used to customize your product further to suit your user base.

Some Examples of Content Marketing Gamification:

Many of the world’s most successful and unique marketing campaigns have included gaming principles to differentiate them from their competition. Some of them include:

  • American fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle released a memory-based game, “A Love Story”, in 2016. Intended to be a follow-up after their animated short film of the same name, this game was immensely popular. Not only this, Chipotle also rewarded participants with an online-only buy-one-get-one-free entree offer that players could cash in at any Chipotle outlet in the U.S. or Canada.
  • In 2010, M&M’s Eye-Spy Pretzel game, released on Facebook, gathered 25,000+ likes, 6,000 shares and 10,000 comments. This low-cost, gamified content marketing campaign was created in tandem with the release of their pretzel-flavored candy.

The phenomenal, almost absurd success of Netflix’s Squid Game has taught us many lessons about content marketing. Effectively utilizing social media platforms like TikTok is not enough – creating custom, gamified content across the webspace is essential for your product to stand apart from others. The most successful marketing campaigns of recent years contained some form of gamified content – Starbucks’ Rewards Program is perhaps the best example. Even Google had to give in to the lure of gaming-centric content marketing in Chrome every time it showed you that a website was down. Creating your branded game creates a fun and engaging way for users to interact with your product and creates better word-of-mouth marketing for your brand. 

The question has shifted from if to when is gaming-based content marketing taking over the world – are you all in?

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Why Opt for a White Label Solution to Create Your Own Game?

Why Opt for a White Label Solution to Create Your Own Game?
Why Opt for a White Label Solution to Create Your Own Game?

From gamification marketing to learning and healthcare solutions, using the user-centric concepts of games into non-gaming, day-to-day activities are gaining traction nowadays. To gamify different aspects of their business, organizations are often turning to white label solutions. But why would you want to follow suit and leverage white label platforms to build a highly customized, gamified app for your purpose? Read this article to find out.

What is a White Label Platform or Solution?

Any solution, product or platform created by an organization to sell or lease it to its customers who can then rebrand it for their purpose can be termed white label. However, keep in mind that the company that makes this product remains responsible for any support and troubleshooting.

A simple example of white label products would be the stuff you see in a supermarket sold as their in-home-brand moniker. These are often made by third-party vendors and branded by the supermarket chain to look like their own.

Why Building a Gamified Solution for Your Business from Scratch Might Not be the Smartest Idea:

Many entrepreneurs or start-up owners might take it upon themselves to design or create the perfect solution to gamify their processes. Unfortunately, while the approach is commendable, this try-to-do-yourself solution has many pitfalls, including:

Trying to build a solution similar to others already present in the market is akin to reinventing the wheel – something that causes a lot of wasted effort, cost and time.

Gamification marketing and gamifying other processes are still niche and may require your organization to step out of its core competencies to develop. The increased learning curve also lengthens the time-to-market of your gamified app or solution, negatively affecting your business.

Going out of your comfort zone also means you miss out on already available expertise in the market while developing a focused, gamified solution.

Last but not least, learning new technologies and developing highly customized solutions that gamify your non-gaming standard business processes cost significantly more than using an already available white label solution.

Benefits of Using a White Label Solution While Gamifying Your Business:

White label solutions by their generic, rebrand-able and re-sellable artefacts come with many benefits. 

Quick n’ Easy branding: White label products are often offered as fully integrated suites and ready-made solutions. This makes branding them to your business very easy. You do not need to develop or modify code to ensure your branding and identity is present across your gamified marketing campaign or app. This saves you both time and money that you would spend on research and development otherwise.

Saves time and money: Developing a customized gamified solution from scratch for your business is financial, human capital, and time intensive. While many organizations prefer to build their own products, the time to architect, design, build and test the solution can take a significant amount of time and cost a lot of money. 

Especially if you are looking for faster time-to-market, white label solutions are invaluable. They rid you of the complexities of building and maintaining a product, and are more cost effective, both to buy and in long-term ownership.

Retain your focus on the core competency of your business: More often than not, investing in research and development to gamify your business may fall outside your areas of expertise. It bodes well to pay heed early to compare the gamified solution you need – be it in marketing or to gamify your learning – to the competencies of your available resources to understand the level of time, effort and cost required. 

On the contrary, white label solutions are built by companies with strong expertise in that field. Leveraging one of these solutions lets you avoid similar pitfalls that others have made earlier and use a trusted, stable platform. Moreover, troubleshooting, support and maintenance headaches are also offloaded from your org to the supplier org.

Happier Customers: When it comes to deploying your gamified solution – speed is the name of the game. The more delay you make to deliver your product, the more chances there are that your customers may end up looking elsewhere. On an average, gamification creates 6x more new business users for a business. If you want to tap into this potential, prepackaged white label solutions grant much faster time-to-market for your business, even with your org-specific customizations.

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More and more companies are taking advantage of the universal appeal of games to implement their mechanics into their daily processes. For example, Starbucks and Deloitte have all but pioneered the modern gamification bandwagon, with the former redefining marketing via their gamified rewards and the latter introducing gamified learning. White label solutions not only take away the pain of developing a gamification solution for your business, but they also are easier to own or leverage. Moreover, white label gamification platforms cost significantly less and have a faster time-to-market, making them a win-win across all accounts.

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