M:Metrics: Mobile gamers are playing old games

Millions of users are playing mobile games but according to a recent M:Metrics report, they aren't downloading new games. The report notes that while more than 98 million users are playing mobile games, most are playing games native to their mobile phone, indicating a huge upsurge of possibility for downloaded mobile games.

by Kristina Knight

M:Metrics tracked the game usage for players in France, Germany, the UK and the US as well as Italy and Spain. More than 38 million of those users played a "native" game (one that was on the phone when it was purchased) while 35 million played a game they had downloaded to their phone. Only about 14 million downloaded a game during the reporting period.

Spain is the most likely country to have downloaded games with more than 12% of Spanish users playing a downloaded game during the reporting period and nearly 6% of users downloading a game at some point to their mobile phone. Meanwhile France is the least likely mobile gaming country with only about 3% of the population downloading or playing a downloaded game on their mobile phone.

Why aren't users downloading more games to their mobiles? The report indicates that free content is the preferred method of receiving games. It also notes that with the abundance of Smart Phones on the market, some users have figured out how to get around downloading fees and are using pirated versions of their favorite mobile games.