New research from mobile game recommendation engine PlayPhone has found that middle-aged women account for the largest portion of the mobile gaming demographic. This information provides a new and insightful snapshot of the average gamer, while also revealing that the biggest revenue opportunity for mobile gaming monetization is among those aged between 25 to 39 years old.
The study by PlayPhone evaluated over 1,000 male and female adult respondents in the US to understand their mobile gaming behaviours. It found that 68% of mobile gamers are female. Among those women who played on their smartphone or tablet for at least one hour per day 71% of them were Caucasian, 62% were married and 46% were aged between 40 and 64 years old.
“As mobile gaming expands with increased smartphone and tablet penetration, we’re seeing a very broad and diverse audience develop for mobile gaming, with women comprising 68% of mobile gamers who play on a smartphone or tablet for at least an hour each day,” said CEO of PlayPhone Anders Evju.
“The majority of these women are middle-aged, which can create new opportunities to reach this demographic in particular. It opens the door to create specific types of apps or advertisements that target this audience.”
The research also found that the mobile demographic most willing to pay for in-game features costing $10 or more were adults of either gender aged between 25 and 39 years old. While 60% of gamers between 40 and 64 said they never pay more than $10 for in-game features, a massive 64% of this younger demographic do, possibly due to their comfort and familiarity with the mobile platform.
“There is a lot of good content targeted to this audience that monetizes well, so that helps to boost spending for this demo,” added Evju. “Generally, those younger than 25 have limited disposable income, which can reduce their in-app purchases, though they have a high comfort level with purchasing on mobile.”
Around 72% of consumers are uncomfortable with entering credit card information directly into a gaming app when they are making a purchase. This could have huge implications for real-money mobile gaming offered by sites such as Royal Vegas Casino.
In the future, these games could charge their customers via direct carrier billing, meaning that no personal information is required for the transaction to be completed. With this hassle removed, more players will feel comfortable on the platform, giving operators and developers the chance to more easily monetize their games.
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