The topic that I am looking at is “Angry Birds: 200m downloads are the tip of the mobile gaming iceberg.” It is about the game Angry Birds is the phenomenon in today’s gaming industry and has achieved 200m downloads across all platforms. Besides that, it is also well known in United States, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium. Stuart Dredge (2011) said within the seven countries listed above, a research shows that there are more than 63 million iOS gamers who download games on their iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch. More people are playing games on iPads rather than on PSP handhelds in this century which has changes the traditional gaming industry by Stuart Dredge (2011). To view the entire article click here.
Figure 1 - 35m Angry Birds Rio downloads has fuelled Rovio’s success.
As what I have noticed, lately Angry Birds was the hottest game and it has created a rank in today’s gaming industry. Angry Birds was launched not long ago and formerly it is only available to the iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch users, but for now it is also available to the android and tablets users.
In contrast, this trend was known as mobile gaming. While, among the mobile game players the mobile phone are now the primary device to them. According to Dean Takahashi (2011) the Chief Executive of PopCap Games Dave Roberts said, “Smartphones have become a real gaming platform and we are starting to see millions of new users.” The reason why mobile gaming has increased in the past few years is because marketers have figured out ways to explore the opportunities that are available to them. Dean Takahashi (2011) also mentioned that Angry Birds is likely hitting 200 million downloads, it is a huge number compared to the numbers for hit console games.
Apart from that, marketers they identify this trend as mobile viral marketing. Tony Davis (n.d) says viral marketing has substantial value in the mobile market as it takes advantage of the inherent nature of cell phones as a communication vehicle by allowing people to share information and content within friends and colleagues. Mobile viral marketing are to provide mobile content and application to customers, such as gaming and social networking application by Tony David (n.d). A research shows that majority of the subscribers would download an application is usually being recommended by friends or colleagues; this would increase the potential for mobile viral marketing.
Hence, it seems that Angry Birds application has create a new hype in the gaming industry nowadays. Besides that, marketers now have more opportunities to explore in mobile gaming industry and they may create a new direction of job opportunities in this field.
References:
- Dean Takahashi 2011, Our obsession with mobile games is growing (exclusive survey), online, viewed 8th June 2011, <http://venturebeat.com/2011/02/28/our-obsession-with-mobile-games-is-growing-exclusive-survey/>
- Sarah Perez 2011, Mobile Gaming Audience is Younger, Has Strong Female Presence, online, viewed 8th June 2011, <http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/02/mobile-gaming-audience-younger-has-strong-female-presence.php>
- Stuart Dredge 2011, Angry Birds: 200m downloads are the tip of the mobile gaming iceberg, online, viewed 8th June 2011, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/may/19/iphone-game-stats>
- Tony David n.d, Mobile Viral Marketing: An Event Waiting to Happen, online, viewed 8th June 2011, <http://mmaglobal.com/articles/mobile-viral-marketing-event-waiting-happen>
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