Tablet users are all set to adopt mobile gaming and according to Juniper Research, they will spend more than $3 billion on in-app purchases in 2016, which is more than 10 times the $301 million calculated for 2012.
According to the report author Sian Rowlands, only a low proportion of gamers make in-game purchases and most of those spend small amounts. However, a small proportion are spending significant amounts, effectively subsidizing games for other players.
Developers are increasingly using virtual currency to monetize their games instead of offering in-game items or pay-per-download titles. This approach apparently increases user engagement as the virtual currency can only be spent within the particular game(s) it has been bought in.
When it comes to which regions will rule this the market, that will be North America and the Far East and China, which will account for 86% of tablet users’ in-app spending in 2016. However, smartphones will remain the primary devices for making such purchases, with more than $6 billion in revenues.
The report also found that many gamers are moving from dedicated portable gaming devices to tablets, and to a lesser extent smartphones…