Mobile Gaming’s Oddly Addictive Nature

Mobile games aren’t just distractions people carry around in their pockets anymore. Somewhere along the line, they became a multi-billion dollar industry. But just what is it about users’ behaviors when playing these simple games that lets developers rack up so much money?

Analytics and in-app commerce startup SOOMLA may have the answer in its newest release, the Q1 2016 Mobile Gaming Insights Report. In the report, SOOMLA explained how microtransactions in mobile games can have such major psychological effects on players; in fact, users who made an in-app purchase in one application are six times more likely to do so in another game or program. Moreover, what SOOMLA called “quick payers” — users who make their first in-app purchase within 24 hours of installing a game — are nine times more likely to spread the wealth in other apps.

“Attracting payers to your game is like finding a needle in a haystack, but when crossing in­-app purchase data from thousands of other games, our payer prediction technology reveals which user segments will eventually convert and what they’re likely to buy,” Yaniv Nizan, cofounder and CEO of SOOMLA, told VentureBeat in a statement.

The report also uncovered some hidden insights about when customers are forced to negotiate the difference between real and digital in-game currency. SOOMLA found that each purchase with actual money correlates to 18 purchases using in-game money. Also, 65 percent of all in-app revenue can be attributed to transactions totaling just $2.60 on average, and 71 percent of all in-app purchases are comprised of single-use powerups, like extra lives, speed boosts and similar add-ons.

Finally, the SOOMLA report noted that the type of game users find themselves in will drastically affect their behaviors. Strategy games saw the longest average session at 11 minutes, clocking in at 2.6 times longer than other types of mobile games.

So, if revenue is the name of the game, an app for three-player chess replete with extra lives for $2.60 a pop doesn’t seem a bad route to go.