Tablet games market will reach $13.3bn in 2019

27th August 2014

Nat Bowers

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According to a report from Juniper Research, 2019 worldwide revenues from tablet games will reach $13.3bn, up from $3.6bn in 2014. 'Mobile & Handheld Games: Discover, Monetise, Advertise 2014–2019' indicates that growth will be fuelled by improved storage capacity, better graphical capabilities, increasing mobile broadband penetration and consumers’ preference for convenience and ubiquity.

The Juniper Research report argues that greater funding is needed to achieve consumer awareness in marketplaces containing over 1m apps. With the next year potentially critical for smaller, independent games developers, the reports suggests crowdfunding as an increasingly popular funding option. Advertisements are predicted to become increasingly key in revenue generation, with only 6% of mobile games to be paid for in 2019.

Strong growth in monetisation of smartphone games is expected across emerging markets. Carrier billing deployments are increasingly facilitating storefront payments in countries with lower banked penetration rates. With micro-apps now embedded in messenger services, these may provide an additional delivery channel for games in the medium term, stimulating further growth.

Another Juniper report, 'PC & Console Games: Trends, Opportunities, and Vendor Strategies 2014-2019', predicts that, with declining sales, a shift to digital game software distribution and adapting elements of the free-to-play business model are inevitable. Newly emerging dedicated game hardware manufacturers, such as Steam Machine and Shield, are competing with traditional players, as well as providing an opportunity for the segment to revitalise itself.