OREANDA-NEWS. Social gaming comprises games that can be played on social media websites. These games are often low on graphics, which saves the developer’s costs, but can be played along with one’s friends, which increases its appeal.

Increasing Demand for Smartphone-based Social Gaming to Drive Global Social Gaming Market

The increasing demand for smartphones is a major driver for the global social gaming market. Due to the consistent and rapid technological advancements in the telecom sector, the online functionality of smartphones is being enhanced on a regular basis. This has allowed makers of online games to develop their own product portfolio and add innovative features.

The primarily ad-based revenue generation system of social gaming has also benefitted the global social gaming market, as it has resulted in online games being available to play for free. This is a major driver for the social gaming market in developing regions, where the presence of social media is growing but the disposable income of the consumers remains much lower than that in developed countries.

On the other hand, the restrictions on the usage of social media websites in workplaces are a major restraint on the global social gaming market.
 
Women, 19-25 Age Group Emerge as Key Demographics for Social Gaming
 
In terms of the key demographics for the global social gaming market, users in the age group of 19-25 emerged as the key consumers in 2012. By gender, women held the majority in the global social gaming with a 54% share.

Apart from advertising, the in-game sale of virtual goods and lead generation offers are the other two major sources of revenue for the global social gaming market. The virtual goods segment is expected to exhibit a robust growth in demand over the coming years, with the segment expected to exhibit a 15.2% CAGR from 2013 to 2019.

APAC Dominates Global Social Gaming Market
 
By geography, the Asia Pacific social gaming market emerged with the largest share in 2012. The increasing GDP of developing Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, and the robust economic performance of regional giants such as India and China have led to an increasing demand for social gaming. The booming smartphone sales in Asia Pacific are also a key contributing factor towards the dominant share of Asia Pacific in the global social gaming market.

The global social gaming market is primarily dominated by Zynga Inc. The early entry of Zynga Inc. into the nascent and risky social gaming market has paid off in the years since then, with social media becoming one of the most easily accessible modes of mass marketing. Electronic Arts Inc., one of the major game developers in the world, is another major player in the global social gaming market.