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How Women Can Help Gaming Companies Win Big

by Babita Earle , 05.06.2014

What do women want? The answer just might be online games. The surprise for many is that women aged 35-44 emerged as the heaviest single group of users of online games, a demographic shift that we believe perfectly aligns with growing access to games from mobile devices and the development of formats that reflect “female-friendly” interests and aesthetics.

Mobile is a hot topic for the games industry. Candy Crush Saga developer King generated $1.88bn revenue in 2013 alone, with rival firm Supercell increasing revenues nearly nine-fold to $892m in the same year. GfK Mobile Insights data shows that nearly a quarter of mobile internet users played a game app on their smartphone in January 2014, suggesting the potential to reach audiences wider than the traditional console gamer demographic. So, what does the advent of this new gaming platform mean for the games industry as a whole and their trend among women?

In such a competitive space, where no individual game reaches more than 10% of mobile gamers each month, data can guide development and marketing strategies to ensure each game targets the right audience at the right time.

That’s the kind of market intelligence that can help savvy game developers create products for a highly engaged niche market, a business strategy that’s ripe for exploitation. Knowing how, when and where women play mobile games can help target advertising and create a significant new revenue stream.

Infograph Gender

The audience for the hit game Jelly Splash, for example, is nearly 70% female. Though it can be tempting to develop a game suitable for the widest audience possible, creating a well-executed game for a tightly defined demographic could pay off just as well.

Data Points
–The largest single group of mobile gamers is women aged between 35 and 44, accounting for 15%.
–Candy Crush Saga developer King generated $1.88bn revenue in 2013 alone
–Rival firm Supercell increased revenues nearly ninefold to $892m in the same year

Mobile devices open up almost endless possibilities for games publishers and developers, creating the potential for new revenue streams and innovative ways to engage existing fans.

As this fast-paced industry continues to evolve, GfK Mobile Insights data on app usage can be used to show how best to take advantage of these exciting opportunities.

For more mobile insights from the World Cup and other current data, visit Our Thinking page.

For more information, please contact Babita Earle, Head of GfK UK Digital Market Intelligence, at babita.earle@gfk.com.