
Report: U.S. average daily mobile game time drops over 30% in a year - phodo
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/252522/Report_US_average_daily_mobile_game_time_drops_over_30_in_a_year.php
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cLeEOGPw
Few years ago I remember article specifically saying that rampaging in-game
purchases and greed in general will destroy not only mobile games, but gaming
industry in general. Looks like the results are finally in. Additionally,
article mentioned the rising popularity of watching other people play games.
But I'm not sure that's very relevant in mobile gaming industry, because
nobody watches people play mobile games anyway. Unless we say that Hearthstone
is a mobile game. In general mobile games are such low quality that people
don't want to give them time of the day anymore.

~~~
jmnicolas
"because nobody watches people play mobile games anyway"

I'm one of those nobodies ;-) A quick search on Youtube will show at least
half a dozen Clash Of Clan dedicated channels with more than 100k subscribers
(ie Galadon, Chief Pat, Molt, Nickatnyte ...)

~~~
whoiskevin
why? Seriously why. Like watching paint dry.

~~~
Someone1234
It is identical to watching traditional sports (NFL, NBA, football, etc). Why
do people watch those?

The commentary is definitely a big part of the appeal. The strategy, the luck,
the skill, the occasional swing at the last moments, and the drama (or
metadrama).

I cannot say I like watching every game stream, but certainly watching
Starcraft II with people like HuskyStarcraft commentating is pretty
entertaining.

Each to their own however...

~~~
Jordrok
Personally, I don't find watching sports to be very engaging either, but I
know I'm not typical in that regard. Theoretically, I can see more of an
argument in favor of watching traditional sports since it's harder to go out
and find other players of similar skill in your location and then organize
everyone into teams, etc, etc. The barrier to participation in video games is
much lower though with the internet and automated matchmaking for multiplayer
games. Singleplayer and free-to-play games are even easier to get into.

I love playing video games, but I've never had the patience to seek out and
watch other people play. I'd much rather be experiencing it for myself - but
as you said, to each their own.

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shostack
Personal anecdote...

I used to play a lot of mobile games, mostly on my iPad. Now it is pretty much
limited to checking Clash of Clans in the morning and at night because it
strikes the right balance of brain candy vs. time I need to invest per gaming
session.

I play a lot of desktop games though still, and I think the big thing for me
has been the contrived IAP-focused experiences that have dominated the app
store. Finding games that encourage you to continue playing using the carrot
(by making the game actually fun) vs. the IAP stick to punish you for playing
is a chore.

Steam on the other hand seems to be mostly games that are not P2W, and reviews
are quick to point out details of any P2W or IAP-hell mechanics. I'm more than
happy to pay full price for those games and definitely get value out of them.

Beyond that, I think I've just reached the "peak gaming" point of my life for
now. I realize that every moment I spend playing a game is giving into my vice
and helping me unwind vs. being spent building something or being otherwise
productive. Sometimes I need that to relax, but as I get older I increasingly
become aware of the amount of time I've collectively "wasted" on video games
in my life. I put "wasted" in quotes because I've definitely gained a lot of
value from it over the years, but it has likewise not produced anything
physically tangible to show for it.

~~~
justinhj
Everyone has room for a little entertainment in their life. I don't think it's
healthy or even possible to do productive creative work during all your waking
hours.

Besides, gaming offers a way to escape from reality, which for some people is
essential therapy.

~~~
shostack
I agree that some release is healthy, but it is hard to avoid mentally
tallying all the hours I've spent gaming in my life and wonder what more value
I could have created during that time if I had spent it on something
productive...

I'm sure I beat myself up over it too much, but it definitely becomes harder
to ignore as I get older.

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benhamner
This could potentially be explained by the amount of time non-gamers spend on
mobile devices increasing dramatically relative to gamers.

This explanation could make sense: gamers tend to be early adopters of new
technologies (including mobile), and then make up a smaller fraction of the
total users as technologies become mainstream.

Can someone with access to the data support or reject this explanation?

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e12e
Really odd that the report (and the article) focuses on average minutes,
without going into number of total minutes/total users. Which means the
numbers tells us almost nothing without some more context.

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AmVess
If you seek to design for monetization over fun, it's no wonder that you'd
wind up with neither and have no players, too.

I wouldn't be surprised to see most games settle on $5 with a big NOIAP being
the primary selling point.

The current blight is both an app purchase price and IAP in a pay to win
style.

People aren't stupid, and they don't like being used. Give them a fair product
at a fair price, and they will line up.

~~~
soylentcola
Better yet, use IAP in a manner that benefits customers as well as
developers/sellers: make it the new shareware.

I'm much more likely to spend $5 on a game if the first 10 levels or the first
episode are free, with an optional IAP to unlock the full game. It's a win-
win. I understand that the freemium model works because there's less
"friction" involved in the initial download.

If someone is browsing potential time wasters, it's a lot easier to click on
the free option than the $5 option. Still, developing and supporting a good
game costs money so they need to make it somehow. Too often you end up with a
modern version of the arcade cabinet where you need to keep feeding it
quarters if you want to continue playing or if you want any meaningful
progress.

I would much rather spend money on something I've tested and found to be fun
than something unknown but I also refuse to spend money on the blatant pay-to-
win stuff or really anything that requires Facebook spamming or endless
microtransactions to get anywhere. Free demo with full unlock via IAP or
separate purchase is definitely my preferred setup. Doing it in-app is
probably best for the people selling the game since, again, it removes the
friction of having to go back and download another app in the store. As long
as it isn't insulting or blatantly exploitative, I'm fine with it.

If only more mobile games were sold this way I'd buy and play more mobile
games.

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JacobH
I havn't heard in a while "hey check out this mobile game". All I hear is
about new gaming console games coming out.

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PlzSnow
The 30% decline mirrors my behavior and certainly that of my friends.
Anecdotal I know. Increased time spent watching streaming video, especially
"let's play" gaming type videos/eSports.

Blaming in-game-purchasing is a red herring. It's easy and human-nature to
blame your pet hate for problems. See Trump and immigrant-blaming.

~~~
erikb
Your argument about IAP is true and I also think it's hated too much. It's not
a problem in itself. But there are really too many games which focus too much
on just increasing IAP instead of delivering gaming content. My interest in
playing mobile grows every day. But I see less and less opportunity for it.
Hearthstone and maybe Fallout Shelter are the only two examples that are
playable in my eyes, and both also try to convince you to spend unreasonable
amounts of money on IAP content.

I hope it's a learning process for the development community.

~~~
IkmoIkmo
I felt Fallout Shelter was horrible. There's no real skill involved, only
time, and spending money just speeds up the game. Alright fair enough if the
mechanics are fun, but it's really just looking at a person's bars,
identifying what he's good at, and putting him in the right room where he's
most productive. You keep some guys at the door for security, put weapons on
them... then you wait, and wait. Expand. Wait and wait. Expand. Every now and
then you send or recall a person from scavenging. There's no real story,
nothing to explore, the game isn't very complex. Combat is a game of tag. I
can see why it's popular, but I can't see why it's a good game. And as you say
it's riddled with IAPs (although kudos that there's none of the constant
popups, share with friends, watch an ad etc crap), despite being supposedly
one of the most significant releases this year. Absolutely disappointing.

~~~
erikb
Yes, there are much better games on the planet. But not on Android, afaik. For
a game to be "playable" it doesn't need to be great, right?

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lancewiggs
Comments here and on the article mainly point to in app purchasing. It's
disgusting to see wonderful creativity turned into such mean-spirited
awfulness in the hope of earning more money in the short term.

I hope that Apple (for one) wakes up and realises what this is doing to
destroy the overall iOS experience.

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fsloth
Is it because people rather watch netflix than grind through a games mainly
built around in-app-purchase mechanics?

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VLM
"mainly built around in-app-purchase mechanics"

In-app-purchase mechanics is awesome for Amazon delivering stuff to my house,
listening to music, watching videos, kickstarter type support. As the root of
atari2600 level gaming experiences, it doesn't work well. Once you condition
people to sit on the couch and spend small amounts of money online, don't be
surprised when they spend it on movies, music, pr0n, amazon stuff, instead of
the intended "we wrapped Frogger in an in-app-purchase skin, now give me my
entitled billions".

If I'm sitting on my couch in the mood to blow money on worthless stuff,
almost anything I can buy provides better return than IAP games. So in a
supply and demand sense either games have to get better (good luck) or cheaper
(good luck) or they can collapse down to the point the survivors can do better
or cheaper. Or games have to find a way to destroy online paid shopping /
video / music.

There is another aspect of free hit where a new tech like mobile gaming gets a
free hit... for awhile. Now its not new anymore and they (as an industry)
can't survive, well, that's why they'll go away.

Nobody is making money off Pixel Dungeon and its forks. Oh well, good luck
stopping them. I think they're a lot of fun.

