Tag: video game

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.

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.

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. 

—

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.

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.

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.

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.

—

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.