# Hooked players drive mobile game explosion (HT Tech) > Fanatical players forking out money to get ahead in games such as Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds are driving explosive growth in the multi-billion-dollar mobile gaming business. # Hooked players drive mobile game explosion ## Fanatical players forking out money to get ahead in games such as Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds are driving explosive growth in the multi-billion-dollar mobile gaming business. Feb 19 2014, 13:43 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) Fanatical players forking out money to get ahead in games such as Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds are driving explosive growth in the multi-billion-dollar mobile gaming business. Once hooked on free-to-download smartphone and tablet games, millions of not-so-brilliant or simply impatient gamers are ready to pay cash to obtain extra moves or new lives, or to avoid time delays standing between them and the next level. It is a lucrative model for businesses such as Candy Crush developer King Digital Entertainment, which announced Tuesday it had filed a request for a US initial public offering worth up to $500 million (364 million euros) and an ensuing listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Also read click here. Indeed, the so-called 'freemium' phenomenon pushed up spending on mobile games, most of it devoted to such in-app purchases, by more than 60 % to $16.5 billion in 2013, according to research house IHS. Double-digit annual growth is anticipated in the next three to five years. 'The way the games are set up is that there is no real limit on how much someone will spend within a single game,' said Jack Kent, British-based mobile analyst at IHS. 'You are encouraged to keep going back and spend more,' he said in an interview ahead of the February 23-27 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona gathering industry players including top app developers. Each in-app purchase may cost from $1 to $60 for anything from a few extra moves in the wildly popular Candy Crush game to 'green Gem' currency in the strategy game Clash of Clans, or even a combined pack of in-game advantages on other titles, Kent said. Though games account for about 40 % of all mobile app downloads, they make up about 80 percent of the revenues, the analyst said. The size of the smartphone and tablet games market is now more than twice that of traditional handheld consoles, such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, he estimated. Technology research group Gartner Inc. predicts overall mobile game revenue will surge from $13.2 billion in 2013 to $17 billion in 2014 and $22 billion in 2015. This month, the Vietnamese creator of smash-hit mobile game Flappy Bird, Nguyen Ha Dong, actually withdrew his app from sale saying its runaway success had ruined his simple life. In an interview with Forbes, he said the game, where the aim is to direct a flying bird between oncoming sets of pipes and which reportedly raked in about $50,000 a day, had become an 'addictive product'. 'The app hooks you' Such qualms are unlikely to spread widely. As developers try to cash in, there are now more than a million mobile gaming apps available, making it hard for individual games even to be noticed. Lawrence Lundy, analyst at Frost & Sullivan technology research house, said mobile messaging providers in Asia were now teaming up with developers to offer games directly to their users. Japanese mobile messaging company LINE or South Korea's KakaoTalk, for example, have effectively become games platforms, analysts said, allowing users to challenge their friends. 'They prove it can be done and you can make a lot of money from those sources,' Lundy said. The mechanics of the in-app purchase are key, said Brian Blau, consumer technology analyst at Gartner. 'You either get the app for free or you pay a very low price. Then, the app hooks you, gets you interested,' he said. Suddenly you find yourself unable to proceed. Perhaps you have to buy extra moves, or part with just $1 to avoid waiting, sometimes for a day at a time, before you can carry on playing. 'There is a certain amount of that addictive gambling type psychology about it but for the most part people just want to play the game. They like it,' Blau said. People have traditionally paid $40-60 to buy a single video game, he said. 'The surprise is that developers have figured out a way for some users to get that kind of money out of mobile apps.' The big money comes from the huge numbers of users, not from gouging individuals for large sums of money, Blau added. 'There is nothing tricky about it. The thing is that you want to play the game. There is a quality of the game that you like and that is what is causing you to do it. Are people impatient? Yes, I have to say that. Do they love playing games? The fact is, yes.' Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 19 Feb, 13:40 IST 71,589,383,217,798 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/hooked-players-drive-mobile-game-explosion-story-CeQAYoeNahoBampprchO9O.html