Everyone knows it, almost everyone has it: a smartphone. For many, these mobile all-rounders have become an indispensable part of their everyday lives. Whether to make a phone call or to send messages - for billions of people, the first touch automatically goes to their mobile device. Smartphones have changed the way we communicate - and how we play too.
Mobile games successful
Monday morning, a subway on the way to the city center: an elderly lady sorts colorful sweets, the young man next to her tries to score a goal with his thumb. An everyday image that illustrates the triumph of game apps. Mobile gaming is now a popular pastime across all generations.
Up until the 2000s, fast gaming PCs and consoles were mainly used to play mobile games, but today mobile games appeal to many people who have not played or have only played a few so far. In Germany, over 18 million people currently use their smartphones to play games. This makes the devices Germany’s most popular gaming platform.
The main reason why mobile games are so successful is their constant availability and easy accessibility.
“The powerful smartphone is always in your pocket. Add to that the high quality and wide range of games that are easily accessible. In the past, the big studios mainly focused on big hits. With a fixed price and regular additions, the high development costs can ideally be recovered, good profits can be made and possibly less successful titles from the company can be absorbed.”
Jörg Müller-Lietzkow, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Paderborn.
In the app store, players can find small, cross-generational games for in between, so-called casual games, and epic worlds and great graphics no longer have to be done without on the go. With mobile games, everyone can always play what they want and where they want. This change has also led to a rethink in game development. With mobile games, a further business model has been added to the so-called full price games, which is known as free-to-play.
With free-to-play, games can be downloaded and used free of charge. The player decides for himself whether and, if so, how much money he wants to spend. In-game purchases are primarily used to buy new levels or so-called skins, with which the own game character can be personalized. What has remained the same compared to the classic full-price games: You have to convince enough players of your idea.
A mobile game today needs at least one million players to be profitable.
Jörg Müller-Lietzkow
According to Müller-Lietzkow, a mobile game today needs at least one million players to be profitable. Because of this, around ten percent of the players spend money in the game, ten percent of them regularly. In order to break the magical player limit, almost all studios now rely on international productions for the large markets in the USA and Asia.
This new approach is worthwhile: if you make it to the top of the Apple and Google app stores with your idea, you can earn good money with mobile games. The market for gaming apps has been growing in the double-digit range for years. For 2019, experts expect the games industry to generate 60 percent of its sales with titles on tablets and smartphones.
“Game apps are one of the biggest growth drivers of the global games market. According to estimates by the market researchers at App Annie, global sales of gaming apps will increase to over 2022 billion euros by 113. Gaming apps are therefore the main drivers of the entire app economy.”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - Association of the German Games Industry
However, as the market grows, so does the competition. For example, US smartphone users can now choose from a range of more than 800.000 game apps. On average, more than 2.000 game apps are published every month or over 60 per day. The marketing costs in order to be perceived by a sufficiently large number of players in this rapidly growing offer have therefore risen significantly in recent years. In particular, smaller developer teams, which are typical for the games industry in Germany, often do not have the opportunity to keep up due to the difficult financial framework conditions.
“The share of German game developments in the overall local market has been falling for years. Game apps from Germany make up just 3,7 percent. So there is clearly a need for action.”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - Association of the German Games Industry
The games fund of 50 million euros approved by the federal government is therefore an important step and must now be implemented quickly. Examples such as Kolibri Games, Softgames or Fox and Sheep show that there are real mobile success stories "made in Germany".
Kolibri Games - surprise success from the shared apartment
Even if the app market is getting bigger and more confusing and more and more large companies with huge marketing budgets and manpower are pushing for the next success, they still exist - the success stories of small developer studios that achieved international success with just a few people land. Daniel Stammler from Kolibri Games can tell such a story. Stammler and three fellow campaigners developed their game “Idle Miner Tycoon” in a shared flat in Karlsruhe. Today, almost three years later, the app has already been downloaded over 60 million times. Every day around 1,5 million players of all ages go in search of rare gems in their digital mine.
"Idle Miner Tycoon" was very international from the start. Most of the players come from the USA and Europe, but the fan base is also growing in Asia. The players now generate more than 40 million euros in sales per year. A proud sum for a game that was developed within two months and launched with almost no marketing.
“We were convinced of our idea and the good playing feeling. So we wanted to get our app out as soon as possible and keep developing the game in dialogue with the community.”
Daniel Stammler, founder of Kolibri Games
"Idle Miner Tycoon" impresses with its catchiness. Bad decisions only slow down success. But failure is almost impossible. Even without an hourly look into your own mine, the business with the virtual stones is going well. In-game purchases are not absolutely necessary, success also comes about that way. About one to two percent of all players still regularly buy helpful goodies. That accounts for about half of the income. Kolibri Games earns the other half from advertising. Gamers will receive a reward for watching around 30-second clips within the game. The principle was well received from the start. After just a few months, the young company was able to hire its first employees and invest in marketing and the expansion of its gaming world.
Until today there are minor updates almost every week. This guarantees long-term fun and ensures the loyalty of the players. The company now has 90 employees and moved to Berlin last year. An important reason for this step: Mobile gaming experts are easier to find in the capital than in Karlsruhe.
“In the medium term we want to bring more titles onto the market. Five good games would be nice.”
Daniel Stammler, founder of Kolibri Games
Kolibri has already launched a second game. "Idle Factory Tycoon" works on the same principle as its predecessor and is similarly successful. Here, too, the one million player mark was broken after just a few months. From the founder's point of view, the manageable number has two important advantages: contact with the community is not lost and the titles can be continuously developed.
The future of mobile games is in Messenger
Softgames founder Alexander Krug, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach. His Berlin studio has developed into one of the largest developers of HTML 5 and messenger games in the world over the past ten years. More than 500 titles come from his house - variants of mahjong, quiz games, racing simulations or small building games. They all have one thing in common, they can be played for free and very easily. You can find them on numerous websites - like Spiel.de or Yahoo. A business model that has worked well for many years.
The portals hope that the games will keep their users on the website longer and show them more advertising. However, there is still much greater potential in the second focus of the Berlin studio. Instead of being played in a separate app, many softgames games are played directly in Messenger from Facebook, WeChat and the like. Facebook launched its Instant Games game platform in November 2016 with only 15 selected partners, including soft games, and finally opened its Messenger to all external game developers in spring 2018 after a successful test phase. Many other services followed the example of the social network. A step that makes sense: Just text messages and the exchange of videos and pictures are no longer enough to retain users long enough.
And Krug also believes in the enormous potential of messenger games.
“Messengers are used by all ages and all over the world. In Asia in particular, we are seeing a huge boom in messenger games.”
Alexander Krug, founder of Softgames
In fact, the number of messenger app users worldwide could increase to as many as 2,5 billion in the next few years. If only a fraction of them are interested in the games on offer, a big mobile games revolution with “enormous reach” is imminent. From Krug's point of view, the appeal and potential of messenger games lies primarily in the social component. The game takes place in direct interaction with friends and family, sometimes against each other, sometimes with each other. The success can be shared quickly - either in the Instagram story or the WhatsApp group. And indeed: People spend significantly more time with messenger games than with other games. For example, "Cookie Crush" by SOFTGAMES, a fairly successful and colorful 3-in-a-row variant, has an average retention time of 25 minutes.
Fox & Sheep - High quality apps for kids
Mobile games have opened up completely new target groups for game developers – in addition to seniors, this also includes children and their parents. Smartphones and tablets are a natural part of growing up for future generations. A corresponding number of apps for small children can be found in the digital stores of Google and Apple. One of the largest and best-known studios for child-friendly apps is "Fox & Sheep" from Berlin. In 2011, the founder Verena Pausder showed a flair for trends. The iPad had just come onto the German market.
"With their display and intuitive handling, tablets and smartphones are well suited for children's hands. At the same time, the right content was missing at the time.”
Timo Dries, Executive Director
And since then the studio has been delivering precisely this suitable content. With success: at the end of 2014, game manufacturer HABA joined Fox & Sheep. The Berlin founders' secret of success: They are parents themselves and understand the needs of other adults. Because they develop games for children, but they have to convince the guardians.
“Often the mothers or fathers play a round themselves and convince themselves of the pedagogical standards and the child-friendliness. You have to be prepared for that during development.”
Timo Dries, Executive Director
Parents have a strong need to carefully introduce their children to the digital game world. The graphics must therefore not be too flashy and colorful, and the games must not get completely out of hand. Advertising is just as frowned upon as the insistent request to play one level after the other. Instead, adults seek beautiful, ideal worlds. In addition to having fun, learning effects and creativity are very important to them. The Berlin studio has adjusted to this.
When opening each game for the first time, it starts with a tutorial for parents. Only then does the open and intuitive world begin for the children, which in the best case scenario they can help shape and influence themselves. You have to take the adults by the hand much more closely and show them everything. The children would discover the games on their own and, if necessary, ask their parents, explains Dries.
Another important factor: Instead of advertising or in-game purchases, the business model is based on premium products that can be played offline for two to four euros, including all updates. In addition, there are high demands in terms of aesthetics. The worlds are designed by professional illustrators - some apps are more reminiscent of interactive children's books than colorful games. In addition, parents can control the playing time of their offspring with a timer.
With this concept, the makers not only convince German parents and children. Games like "Orchard" or "Little Fox Veterinarian" are translated into 16 languages, developed for iOS and Android and appear throughout Europe, China and the USA. Because without the broad, international orientation, the market for children's apps would not work either. The high-quality illustrations and development are expensive, plus support, updates and marketing budgets. Six-figure amounts for development are more the norm than the exception. This business model does not work without players who are willing to pay.
Mobile games are more popular than ever. Whether for distraction, entertainment or relaxation: every day billions of people around the world access their smartphones and tablets to use game apps.
The mobile titles quickly developed into the decisive growth driver for the entire ecosystem around smartphones, mobile communications and app stores.
Games have also developed into a significant engine of growth for the games industry. The industry experts at App Annie are forecasting a global market share of more than 60 percent for the current year. However, the share of German app developments in this market is negligible. With the games fund of the federal government in the amount of 50 million euros, that is now to change. With it, the framework conditions should be created to improve the entire games development in Germany in the future. So that there will be even more successful game apps "made in Germany" in the future.
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