PGC London 2024 is currently underway and has already sparked numerous insightful discussions. One of them featured Newzoo lead analyst Tom Wijman on stage, discussing the current strong position of mobile gaming in his talk titled “Navigating the transition: maximising your opportunities from mobile development to PC and console”.
Wijman began by highlighting the significant growth in consumer spending from year to year until 2021, and despite a recent decline, Newzoo anticipates a return to growth in the mobile gaming sector. He also emphasized that nearly half of gamers play across multiple platforms, with mobile gaming continuing to dominate single-platform play, representing 35% of the gaming population.
Despite its dominance, Wijman pointed out that the mobile gaming market has become increasingly competitive. Therefore, branching out to PC and console gaming may be one strategy for game developers to stay competitive. Upon examining revenue forecasts, Wijman highlighted that while console and PC gaming are showing better growth prospects, they still account for less than half of total gaming revenue.
Cross-platform potential
“There’s definitely merit in making mobile games available on PC and console, based on our research. Gamers who play on multiple platforms spend more time on games and are more engaged,” Wijman shared. “Porting mobile games can increase profitability and playtime. However, it may not significantly impact user numbers, as it’s unlikely to change the total addressable market.”
Another advantage is the potential to bypass app store fees from Apple and Google by deploying one website across different gaming platforms. Additionally, porting to PC and console is less resource-intensive for mobile game developers compared to developing a new game for these platforms from scratch.
Despite the potential benefits, Wijman acknowledged that “mobile control schemes are not always suited for larger screens and input devices,” which developers would need to address. Ported mobile games may also have a “limited potential to expand the total addressable market,” requiring developers to maintain and update an additional version of the game.
Despite these challenges, Wijman expressed confidence that “mobile game developers are in a strong position to make an impact in the PC and console space” with potential lucrative rewards for those who do so.
There’s still much more to discover from PGC London 2024, with discussions and talks scheduled to continue through January 22 and 23. To learn more about the event and how to participate, visit the official website.
