The mobile gaming market has become a war zone with Android devices and iOS devices squaring off on the battlefield. The mobile gaming business has become a titanic industry; statistics published by NewZoo predict that the global revenue from mobile games is predicted to reach $23.9 billion by 2016. With the mobile gaming industry reaching critical mass, here is how the Android and iOS gaming market compare.
The iOS Saturation
The iOS platform has one enormous advantage on the Android platform when it comes to getting people to play games on it: iOS devices are practically everywhere.
In June of 2013, SalesApple proudly announced that they had sold 600 million iOS devices since 2007, according to The Verge. The market is so saturated with iOS devices that it is only natural that people would become mobile gamers on the platform they currently own. Games are apps, and iOS users buy more apps than anyone else. Research by Canalys shows that Apple’s iOS users were responsible for 74 percent of all app-related revenue in 2013. Game developers go where the gamers are, and currently they are on the iOS platform.
Android Infiltration
Android devices are quickly exerting their influence in the gaming market, and Android users are primarily gamers. A study by Flurry found that 70 percent of all Android platform users play at least one gaming app every month. There are T-Mobilemany devices that run on Android software like the Galaxy or the Nexus, and this means that there is a device available for everyone’s needs. While the iOS receives many games first or exclusively, games for Android devices reach their audience more frequently. In 2013, Millennial Media released its Mobile Mix report that tracked ad-impressions made via apps and revealed that 64 percent of impressions were made through gaming apps for Android devices.
The Better Mobile Console
While smartphones make up a huge portion of mobile device gaming, the devices that may finally topple the tyranny of home gaming consoles are tablets. In the end, victory in the tablet gaming market will go to whoever produces a tablet better suited for gaming. The iPad Mini Retina is Apple’s latest entry into the mid-sized tablet market, and while performance is smooth, the higher price tag and lack of expandable storage make it a harder sell. Additionally, the 4:3 ratio of the iPad Mini Retina 1.9” screen makes it ill suited for serious gamers.
On the other hand, The LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition is a powerful tablet running on Android with an 8.3” screen and expandable 64GB SD card support. Powered by a Snapdragon 600 1.7GHZ processor and 2GB of RAM, The LG G Pad 8.3 crushes the iPad Mini Retina’s technical specs at a fraction of the cost. According to CNET CNET Ipad Mini barely has a quarter of the G Pad’s RAM. Despite Android’s platform fragmentation across countless device manufacturers, we can expect to see Android powered devices leading the charge in the coming years. While iOS devices try to be everything to everyone everywhere, Android powered devices are developed by many manufacturers looking to create a device for a niche, and gamers are a niche that know exactly what they want from a mobile gaming device.
