Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
per projects 64.1 billion downloads of game apps to mobile devices in 2017, com-
pared to the 21 billion downloaded in 2012." (source:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
handheld consoles, such as the 3DS by Nintendo or the PSVita by PlayStation are
suffering from the competition of mobile phones and tablets, thanks to the improve-
ments on mobile hardware and the quality of games.
With regard to market share, a study by Strategy Analytics (source:
ht-
shows that Android is the leading platform in Q1 2013, with 64 percent of all hand-
held sales. Japan being the only market where iOS is on the lead; though, as Apple
is fond of pointing out, iOS users generally spend more money, when compared to
Android estimators.
All the data tell us that the positive trend in mobile devices growth will continue for
several years and that with almost one billion mobile devices in the world, the mo-
bile market cannot be ignored by game developers. Android is growing faster than
Apple, but Apple is still the most lucrative market for mobile apps and games. Mi-
crosoft phones and tablets, on the other hand, didn't show positive trends as to be
compared with iOS and Android growth.
So the question is how can an indie team enter this market and have a chance of
success?
