Profiles of the key mobile social games platforms, developers and publishers Industry usage and revenue statistics

Market trends and analysis

About this guide

The mobile social gaming market is one of the most rapidly growing industries of the decade so far For mobile ad networks, service providers, mobile social games companies or investors, understanding this sector is a must This guide provides all the details about the mobile social gaming market, revenues, trends and the most successful publishers and platforms Find out more about mobile social games at mobyaffiliates.com

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Index
1 2 3
An introduction to the mobile social gaming market
The Top Mobile Social Games Companies

Mobile Social Games Revenues and Statistics

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Mobile Social Games Market Statistics and Trends The last year has seen a number of big deals and impressive stats emerge from the mobile social gaming space. Big established games publishers are looking to shift away from desktop online games into the faster growing mobile games market. Huge new social platforms for playing mobile games have also emerged, with Japanese companies such as Gree and DeNA, expanding out of their enormous and highly developed domestic markets. Barely a month goes buy without a plucky young mobile social game developer raising a huge new funding round or cashing out with a 9 figure acquisition. With freemium business models that combine huge mass market usage with multi-million dollar revenue streams from virtual goods and inapp purchases this is a huge new market developing. In this article well take a closer look at mobile social gaming drilling down into the statistics, key trends and the major players in what is shaping up to be the boom market of the next decade.

Mobile social gaming, key statistics When you look at the numbers its clear that the mobile social games market is kicking off:

38% of US population currently plays some type of freemium game (NPD) 40% of those who have played a freemium game have made an in-game purchase (IYOGI)

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Freemium accounts for 55% of all mobile game revenues compared to 6% of ad revenue (SuperData) 65% of all revenue from the top 100 iOS games comes from freemium transactions (Flurry) Consumers spend an average of $14 per transaction in freemium games (Flurry) 51% of revenue from freemium mobile games come from transaction over $20 (Flurry) The Gree mobile social gaming platform has 230 million users and the company saw a 186% increase in net income year-onyear to $167 million in Q3 2012 Funzio earned over $5 million a month in Q3 sales from its games Crime City, Modern War and Kingdom Age EA bought out social game developer PlayFish in a deal worth up to $400 million Draw Somethings active users dropped from 15 million to 10 million between April 2012 and May 2012, weeks after Zynga acquired the company for $210 million DeNA and Gree shares dropped more than 20% following the banning of controversial Kompu Gacha game mechanic

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Business Models
Theres now no doubt about it, the freemium business revenue model can work, especially when it come to social mobile games.

Forty per cent of freemium players pay for virtual goods, according to NPD and 38% of the US population play some type of Freemium game. The average transaction value for iOS or Android in-app purchases is $14, with over 50 per cent of revenue from freemium purchases deriving from transactions over $20. Fifty five percent of all mobile game revenues comes from freemium according to SuperData Research.

Zynga has built a $650 million a year empire out of this model and according to some in the industry and we can expect some pretty impressive figures for freemium games over the next few years some of the numbers that are coming out of these mobile games businesses are jaw-dropping. At GDC 2012 Benchmarks Capitals Mitch Lasky called freemium the most important disruption in the video game market, across mobile, casual and core markets. However, that doesnt mean freemium is a guaranteed successful route to monetisation or a magic bullet for developers. For a freemium game to work developers have to approach game design with a different mindset, splitting design intelligence with business intelligence and intertwining gameplay with marketing (Tag Games Paul Farley says that data analysts are going to be more important than game designers in the future). This a huge pivot in game design and its taken place over a relatively short period of time. So as freemium matures, and developers get better at designing game mechanics that encourage users to depart with their cash, the revenue model should grow more robust. The freemium model doesnt have to be exclusive either. Theres already very successful games, such Infinity Blade, that use a hybrid model, combining premium (i.e. paying upfront for the game) with virtual currency and in-game purchases.
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Mobile social gaming platforms

If theres one word to sum up the buzz around mobile social games in 2012 its platform.

The big Japanese players such as Gree, DeNA, as well as western publishers such as EA and Zynga are all looking to establish themselves as the dominant consumer-facing mobile social gaming platform across mobile. This has sparked something of a gold rush of platform and developer acquisitions, as companies aim to build game libraries and userbases as quickly as possible. The mobile social gaming space is therefore looking extremely different to how social platforms developed on traditional games consoles. Unlike on console platforms, gamers are not forced onto the manufacturers pre-installed system. Therefore a number of third party social gaming networks have emerged to carry out the features that users have come to expect from closed platforms such as Xbox Live and PSN such as maintaining friend lists, inviting friends into games, score boards and sharing recommendations. Where mobile social gaming platforms differ the most from home consoles platforms, is in the areas of monetisation and distribution. Mobile platforms provide a vital role in taking the freemium revenue model and expanding it to encompass multiple games allowing players to spend virtual currency across different titles.

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Distribution
As weve discussed in the past on mobyaffiliates, app discoverability is facing something of a crisis with developers struggling to get noticed amid the thousands of apps rolling out every day. Mobile social games face exactly the same problem when it comes to distribution. Check out our Guide to Mobile App Promotion for a detailed review of this.
When it comes to social games specifically, developers have a few unique tools that they can leverage. One of the biggest is the social nature of the games themselves, allowing players to invite their friends over other social platforms, like Facebook, or via email. These invitations can then be incentivised by rewarding players with virtual currency or in-game items. App promotion networks such as ChartBoost and TapJoy, allow developers to cross-promote games between each other. Others networks like Applifier focus entirely on social mobile games, allowing devs to trade users (if the ad on your app generates an install for another dev, theyll send a user over to your app, for no cost). Although incentivised downloads are now banned from the App Store, they are still permitted on Google Play and some app promotion networks work with this model, offering in-game items or virtual currency, to help incentivise installs. Again, check our list of app promotion companies for more detailed look at these networks.

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Social games face a particular problem when it comes to discoverability as the freemium revenue model relies on a small number of high value users- 1% of Zynga players are believed to account for between 25% and 50% of revenues. This is one of the reasons why incentivised downloads are said to be ultimately inefficient disinterested users simply download the promoted app to get the incentive and dont become valuable. Many networks say they can overcome this by better targeting (i.e. promoting your game to users who are playing a similar title). Either way, more downloads regardless of how theyre acquired will always help with visibility in app store charts (which will result in better value users). The final key element to the distribution of mobile social games is the social platforms themselves. These platforms will typically offer developers an API suite with built in social tools, sharing features and leader-boards, allowing developers to easily bolt social elements onto their games that will help with distribution. Platforms such as Gree and Mobage can also offer an app store-style UX that have their own charts, ad networks and promotional displays.

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Fragmentation
As any app developer knows, the problem of fragmentation in the mobile market is getting worse and this issue is particularly pertinent for social gaming, as it potentially prohibits Android users to play with their iPhone-carrying friends. Third party platforms can offer a solution to the issue of fragmentation in the mobile market. For instance, Grees platform allows gamers to play with each other across different operating systems and Papaya features a cross-platform web-based app approach. However, the problem of fragmentation goes beyond the barriers between operating systems and now expands to different versions of the same operating system and the hardware capabilities of various devices. This will probably be more of a problem for Android due to the more fluid nature of its OS updates, the plethora of different Android handsets released each year and the large number of OEMs manufacturing them. In fact, if you take your Android phone onto the Gree platform today (its in beta), youll already find numerous games that run on Android Gingerbread, but not Android 4.0. Games are more greatly affected by fragmentation because of their tendency to be more demanding on hardware capabilities, and social games are particularly impacted as handset incompatibilities dampen the inherent benefit of organic social discovery between friends. The proliferation of third party platforms may simply shift the fragmentation problem into a new space, creating a situation where gamers are forced to maintain multiple accounts across different platforms on the same OS in order to play the latest games.

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Mobile social gaming trends

Japanese expansion One of the most important trends impacting the mobile social gaming market is the expansion of Japanese platforms into US and European markets. Mobile social gaming is more mature in Japan than in Europe or America, but its also reaching saturation, which is why the two biggest players, Gree and DeNA, are opening-up their war chests and acquiring and forming publishing deals with western developers. This influx of Japanese capital has therefore seen the value of fledgling social mobile game devs increase dramatically, with Zynga notably spending over $200 million on OMGPOP and EA shelling out $400 million on Playfish. Grees new social platform went live just last month, but DeNAs Mobage platform has been operational for slightly longer. In Japan Mobage has managed to create average revenues of $12 per user and boasts over 30 million users, with 10 to 15% monetising (compared to 1-2% common to most western devs). However, there are questions over Grees and DeNAs ability to replicate its Japanese success in the western market. Both companies shares plummeted last month after the Japanese government outlawed the Kompu Gacha game mechanic (a mystery box style lottery gambling feature). Kompu Gacha, which encouraged users to buy virtual goods, was a key profit generator for Gree, as well as other Japanese social platforms, and its ban could result in a 20 to 30 per cent decrease in sales according to some analysts. Theres also some debate over whether or western gamers are culturally inclined to spend as much money on virtual goods as Japanese gamers.

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Western games companies shifting from desktop to mobile Weve already seen major publishers EA and Crowdstar reducing activity on Google+ and Facebook (along with Wooga) and Zynga's Facebook users decline in step with shares. The focus for the expansion of western social game publishers is now mobile and this trend will probably continue. Wooga has released one iOS game this year and is planning to release two more. EA and Zynga have both been active in buying up mobile game companies (Zynga got through more than 10 acquisitions in the last year, including Area/Code, Tokyobased Unoh Games, Conduit Labs and Frankfurt-based Dextrose AG). Western platforms will have to catch-up with the Japanese platforms in this respect, as Gree and DeNA have been mobile-focused for the last three years. Freemium refined Asa mentioned above, the freemium model has been performing well for developers and platforms and is likely to continue to grow. But it will also have to change and mature in order to keep players interested. The Farmville-style social freemium games that dominated 2011 will probably start to look crude over the next few years, as developers move onto more sophisticated freemium variants, where the gameplay and revenue model is integrated in a much more cohesive, fun and, ultimately, profitable way.

Flurry chart showing the shift from mobile advertising revenue to virtual goods between 2009 and 2010

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Will distribution get better? Integrating your game into a social platform can obviously aid distribution, user engagement and promotion. However, down the road theres nothing to stop such platforms facing the same distribution problems as app stores. The increasing number of social platforms may also end-up confusing users, who will have to maintain multiple accounts. This winner takes all approach wont benefit developers tied to an ailing platform. The other problem is that most platforms are owned by publishers that make first party games, which raises questions over how 3rd party titles will be treated when it comes to promotion. HTML5 HTML5 lurks in the background with its promises of cross-platform applications and a universal app store. Many developers view it as the holy grail and theres already a few HTML5 social platforms out there such as Mocospace and Papaya. Issues such as not having access to native APIs and to what extent Apple would tolerate forgoing its 30% cut of app sales, means theres still questions over the role mobile HTML5 apps will play in social gaming, but we could still see it gain traction over the next year. For more coverage check out our Guide to Mobile HTML5 Companies and Tools. So-mobile gaming remains an incredibly dynamic market even at the enormous scale it has already reached. Theres also a lot of questions to be asked amid the flurry of acquisitions and growth projections. How will the freemium model evolve in order to accommodate different game genres and avoid a backlash from more traditional gamers? Will Apple really tolerate multiple social gaming platforms along with its own? How will the traditional big gaming platforms from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft fit into this mix? Whatever the answers, theres obviously is plenty more to come in this story and it will be fascinating to what new businesses emerge around this new industry.

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The Top Mobile Social Games Companies

Zynga
Social game publisher that established itself on the Facebook platform with games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars, and then went on to dominate the Facebook platform with 250 million users as of May 2012. Zynga has since made a concerted effort to increase its mobile presence with a number of high-profile acquisitions of mobile social game specialist studios. Following the acquisition of OMGPOP Zyngas active mobile users rose to 21 million. The companys revenues rose to $321 million in Q1 2012, largely on the back of its expansions into mobile. OMGPOP Developer of the hugely successful social mobile game Draw Something. Also operates its own desktop social games platform. Was bought out by Zynga earlier in the year. Buzz Monkey Game developer that began developing titles on consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PS3, before moving onto smartphone games. Buzz Monkey was bought out last month by Zynga and has now been rebranded as Zynga Eugene. Wild Needle Mobile game developer that was set-up to focus on games targeted at females. Wild Needle was bought out by Zynga in May in a talent acquisition deal.

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Astro Ape Mobile social gaming developer based in New Jersey and founded in 2010. Astro Ape developed popular social games such as Office Heroes before it was acquired by Zynga in 2011. Area/Code Developer of popular Facebook and mobile games. Best known for Ubisofts CSI Facebook game. Area/Code was bought out by Zynga at the beginning of last year. GameDoctors German based mobile game developer that created the popular Zombie Smash game. GameDoctors was bought out by Zynga in January 2012. Page 44 Studios Game developer that began developing titles on the original PlayStation. Most famous in the smartphone space for bringing World of Goo to iOS. Bought out by Zynga at the end of 2011. Asian market. Zynga acquired XPD in 2010. Dextrose AG German studio that developed the Aves HTML5 gaming engine, designed for high-end graphics on HTML5 games. Zynga bought the company in 2010.

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Gree
Japanese mobile game developer, publisher and social mobile game platform. Gree is one of the largest and most profitable mobile social game companies in the world, recording profits of $168.6m in Q3 and net sales of $529m. The company is currently making a big push into western markets, following a number of acquisitions including Funzio and OpenFeint. Gree launched its new global mobile social platform in May 2012, which will be integrating the OpenFeint platform by the autumn. Gree aims to feature 60 new titles by the end of the year and amass a userbase of 1 billion. OpenFeint Mobile social gaming platform that lets players share scores, friends and recommendations. The OpenFeint platform was one of the first social game platforms to achieve success in the mobile space. It is now owned by Gree, which has plans to integrate it into its own eponymous platform. Paprika South Korean social mobile game developer, acquired by Gree earlier this year. IUGO San Francisco-based mobile developer that has developed social mobile games for a number of major publishers including Capcom. Recently received an investment from Japanese publisher Gree to bring games to Grees platform. Funzio One of the biggest and most profitable developers in the mobile social space. Developed the successful Crime City IP. Now owned by Gree following a $220m acquisition.

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DeNA
Japanese mobile game developer and publisher. DeNA is Grees biggest rival in Japan, with revenues of 1.8bn in fiscal year ending March 2012. DeNA owns the Mobage mobile social game platform, which it developed with its biggest western acquisition to date San-Francisco developer Ngcomo. The publisher is now busy expanding the Mobage platform and continuing to look westward, with content partnership deals with a variety of big name publishers such as Disney. The company is also integrating Ngcomos Plus+ platform into Mobage. DeNA owns some of the most popular mobile social IPs on the market, including Rage of Bahamut, which rocketed to the top of the iOS app charts on its release last month. Ngcomo San-Francisco based developer of the some of the most popular mobile social games, including WeRule and the Plus+ social platform. Ngcomo was bought out by Japanese publisher DeNA in 2010. Gameview California-based social mobile game developer that developed Tap Fish and Tap Mall. GameView was acquired by Japanese publisher DeNA in 2010. Grasshopper Japanese mobile game developer that created the popular Frog Minutes mobile game. Recently announced a partnership with DeNA to bring Frog Minutes to the Mobage platform. Mobage Mobage is currently one of the biggest social game platforms on iOS and Android devices. Its owned by Japanese publisher DeNA and incorporates DeNA subsidiary ngcomos Plus+ platform. Plus+ iOS social mobile game platform owned by DeNA subsidary ngcomo. Plus+ has been integrated into DeNAs Mobage platform, although some games still carry the Plus+ branding.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 1)

Natural Motion British Publisher with a heritage in console games engines, that recently raised $8m US to expand has published a range of mobile social games including Jenga, Icebreaker Hockey and My Horse Papaya Beijing-based social mobile game platform and publisher that operates across iOS and Android devices. Papaya claims over 25 million users on Android and has partnered with numerous developers, including Kiloo and Bulkpix. EA EA is one of the biggest videogame publishers in the world and has made a concerted effort to break into the mobile social games market with its Sims franchise, Origin platform and purchases of mobile social game companies such as PlayFish and Chillango.

Origin EAs social gaming platform that encompasses mobile and desktop games. Origin supports in-game achievements and leaderboards across a number of EA mobile games, such as Scrabble and Deadspace.
PlayPhone Mobile content publisher that runs the PlayPhone Social mobile gaming platform. PlayPhone claims 3 million users on its platform, which runs across iOS, Android and Windows Phone. PlayPhone features its own virtual currency and allows cross operating system multiplayer.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 2)

Scoreloop Mobile social gaming platform that offers similar leaderboard, friend-tracking and achievements features to other platforms such as OpenFeint. Scoreloop operates across Android, iOS and BlackBerry and was acquired last year by RIM. Skillpod South African social and casual games publisher and platform. Recently began developing a new mobile social game platform that will allow multiplayer gaming between desktop Facebook users and mobile gamers, which is expected to roll out this summer. Game Center Apples proprietary social games platform thats preinstalled on iOS devices. Lets gamers add friends, track high scores and earn achievement points. Claims 65 million sign-ups.

entag! Recently launched (January 2012) Japanese mobile social game platform. Owned by MTI. Unlike Gree and DeNA, entag! appears to be focusing on the Japanese domestic market rather than expanding westward.
Kabam Inc Publisher and developer of massively multiplayer social games on desktop platforms. Recently moved into the mobile space with the successful Kingdoms of Camelot iOS game.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 3)

SGN Social game developer and publisher with over 150 million users across mobile and desktop platforms. Formally known as Mindjolt and led by former MySpace founders. Gameloft One of the oldest videogame publishers that focuses exclusively on mobile games. Headquartered in France, Gameloft claims 45 million monthly active users across its titles. Gameloft Live The recently launched mobile social games platform owned by French publisher Gameloft. Currently only available on Android, Gameloft Live lets users create avatars and keep up-to-date with Gameloft games. Gamevil One of South Koreas biggest mobile game developers and publishers. Gamevil recently announced that over 90% of its revenue now comes from in-app purchases. CrowdStar Social game developer and publisher that made a name for itself on Facebooks platform, but is now scaling back its desktop activities and moving strongly into the mobile space. Recently announced partnerships to expand into the Chinese and South Korean markets.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 4)

CyberAgent Japanese developer and publisher that creates social games for mobile and Facebook, as well as the FreeAppKing game promotion network run by its US arm. Hangame South Korean mobile game platform and publisher that specialises in casual games and massively multiplayer titles. Hangame operates in China as Ourgame and in the US as Ijji. The9 Chinese developer of mobile and PC massively multiplayer games. Used to own the World of Warcraft license in China. Now making a big push into the mobile space with its Game Zone platform. Game Zone Mobile social gaming platform owned by Chinese publisher The9. Powered by the OpenFeint platform and boasts over 600 titles from 500 developers. Renren Chinese social gaming platform. Recently announced a partnership with DeNA to bring a number of titles from the Mobage platform to RenRens new mobile platform. GameInsight Russian social and mobile game developer that has over 14 studios. Developer of Android title Paradise Island and iOS game My Country.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 5)

Wooga German developer that made a name for itself with a number of popular social Facebook games. Recently began porting its games to mobile. Storm8 One of the most popular independent social gaming publishers. Creators of iMobsters and owner of subsidiary Team Lava. Storm8 recently announced it had surpassed 300m downloads.

Team Lava Claims to be the leading mobile social game developer on iOS. Created popular Story franchise, including Bakery Story, Restaurant Story and City Story. Owned by Storm8.
TinyCo One of the most popular social mobile game developers. Responsible for TinyZoo, TinyPets and TinyVillage mobile games. Based in San Francisco. Launched a $5m fund to help mobile developers. Glu Mobile games developer based in San Francisco and founded in 2001. Glu operates successful social game Bugs Village and recently announced a deal with Blammo to expand its social game portfolio.

Glu Network Glu Network is the social platform run by Glu. The platform lets gamers earn achievement points on Glu games, interact with the community and earn rewards.

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Independent mobile social game publishers, developers and platforms (Part 6)

iWin Multiplatform casual game developer and publisher with an established presence in the desktop space through its own casual game portal. Recently signed partnership deal with Gree to bring mobile games to Grees platform. Ubisoft Established console game developer that also has a strong presence in the mobile space. Signed a partnership with Gree to bring integrate its mobile games into Grees social platform. Haypi Chinese developer that focuses on massively multiplayer mobile games. Haypi recently entered into a content partnership with the Gree platform. Responsible for the popular Haypi Kingdom iOS game. Wizcorp Mobile game developer based in Japan that specialises in HTML5 games. Gree invested in Wizcorp in April this year just before it launched its new social platform. 2K Games Publisher of a number of leading videogame franchises on console platforms. Recently announced a partnership to bring its Pirates and Civilization franchises to Grees social platform

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Following on from our previous post explaining the mobile social games industry, and our round-up of mobile social games companies, we thought it would be interesting to delve a bit deeper into the games that are behind all of these multi-million dollar acquisitions and massive user bases. In this post youll find five of the top grossing mobile social games across Android and iOS, with all the key revenue stats we could find, as well as an explanation on how the revenue models and gameplay work. As you can see, there are some really big numbers flying around, but also a distinct lack of innovation when it comes to applying the freemium revenue model to power different gameplay genres. In the long term as gamers eventually tire of the same virtual-currencyfunded experiences with different graphical overlays more innovation is going to become essential. But in the short term theres evidently still a lot of money to be made. With the major social games players being acquired for $100s of millions there is every incentive to develop new monetization and distribution strategies and techniques. Mobile social gaming, key statistics When you look at the numbers its clear that the mobile social games market is kicking off:

38% of US population currently plays some type of freemium game (NPD) 40% of those who have played a freemium game have made an in-game purchase (IYOGI)

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Rage of Bahamut
Key stats

No official revenue figures, but Nikkei reports RoB generated $1.3 million in monthly sales in April on Android alone Amassed more than 1 million installs since March 201 Sees average revenue per daily active user of $0.60 to $1.25 in western markets DeNA claims iOS and Android revenue are almost equal on RoB Top grossing Android app June 2012 Top grossing iOS app June 2012

Top in-app purchases (iOS)

Satchel of RageMedals$2.99 Sack of RageMedals$19.99 Pouch of RageMedals$0.99 Bag of RageMedals$9.99 Case of RageMedals$49.99 Chest of RageMedals$99.99

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Rage of Bahamut is a trading role-playing card game developed by Japanese gaming company Cygames and published on the Mobage social platform, which is run by DeNA. Its been hugely successful in its native Japan and was recently brought over to European and US app stores by DeNAs San-Francisco-based subsidiary Ngcomo, where its become one of the top grossing Android and iOS apps. Gameplay and Revenue model RoB is a card game, with role-playing elements. Players battle different monsters by fielding different types of cards that deal damage, or heal the player. When players defeat enemies, they win more cards adding a strong collection-focused gameplay element. Within the Mobage platform players can invite friends to join them in multiplayer battles, join guilds (collections of players) and win more cards and special items that make the game easier. RoB is free to download. Actions within the game require you to spend stamina points and once these stamina points are depleted you have to wait a certain period of time before they recharge. Players can pay for Rage Medals, which can buy you extra stamina points, which in turn allow you to play the game for longer periods. You can also spend Rage Medals on gaining extra attack and defense points, which will make battles easier, and spend them on buying better cards for your deck. A pouch of Rage Medals the smallest unit costs $0.99 and prices go all the way up to $99.99 for a Chest of Rage Medals.

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Paradise Island
Key stats

Generated more than 5 million installs on Android store since May 2011 Broke 1 million installs in its first three weeks Generated $640k in revenue during its first month (Google Play) Generated $1 million in revenue during its second month (Google Play) According to Game Insight, Paradise Island achieved above revenue through pure organic growth (no promotions/offer walls/or ads) Game Insight says it aims to make $150m in revenue from its games in 2012

Top in-app purchases (iOS)

66 Piastres$9.99 24 Piastres$3.99 144 Piastres$19.99 100,000 Island Bucks$3.99 270,000 Island Bucks$9.99

600,000 Island Bucks$19.99

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390 Piastres$49.99 Bonus Pack 4$9.99

Bonus Pack 2$4.99

Bonus Pack 1$0.99

Paradise Island is developed by Russian publisher and developer Game Insight, which was set-up in 2011 and has since gone to release a number of top grossing social mobile games such as Airport City, Big Business and Crime Story. Paradise Island initially released on Android, just after in-app billing was enabled on Google Play, and quickly amassed a loyal following. The game has been ported to iOS and the Mac app store. Game play and Revenue model Paradise Island is a city-building, resource management, game that tasks players with building an island community, with different buildings, ornaments and facilities. Its very similar to other sim-style games such as Bug Village and Smurfs Village. The player must complete various quests and build different types of buildings to earn more currency, which in-turn allows them to expand their city further, increase their level and earn more currency. The game is free to download and offers its own Piastes virtually currency. Like with other games in the city building genre, each building takes time to generate money (ranging from 15 minutes to 24 hours) and it takes a certain amount of time for different buildings to finish construction. Paradise Island therefore makes it money by allowing gamers to speed up the process by buying virtual currency, thus eliminating the need to wait around. Virtual currency can also be spent on special edition buildings that cannot be bought with money earned in-game.

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Modern War
Key stats

Ranked second in top grossing iOS charts in Dec 2011 6.82 million downloads as of March 2012

Saw 50 years of gameplay clocked within first fives days of release

Modern War, along with Crime City and Kingdom Age earned Funzio $5 million in April 2012 Funzio earned $12 million in sales from its three games during JanMarch 2012

Top in-app purchases (iOS)

Bag of Gold$4.99 Stash of Gold$9.99 Stockpile of Gold$19.99 Bag of Cash$4.99 Stash of Cash$9.99 Vault of Gold$99.99

Bank Truck of Gold$49.99

Bag of Gold$3.99
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Stash of Gold$7.99 Stockpile of Gold$15.99

Modern War is developed by Funzio, which also released the hit social game Crime City. Funzio made headlines earlier in the year when it was bought out by Japanese social mobile game publisher Gree, for $210 million. Funzio is now focused on spearheading Grees expansion into western markets and bolstering its catalogue of titles on Grees social mobile platform. Game play and Revenue model Modern War plays very similar to Funzios other hit Crime City, as well as Zyngas Mafia Wars and Vampire Wars titles although Modern War has been recognised a particular good example of this genre. Players have to build an army base that generates cash, which in turn can be spent on building stronger troops and better defenses. Players then carry out a missions such as repelling enemy attacks and attacking enemy bases (though these are simply, one click affairs). The social elements allow players to team up into armies and then attack opposing armies, stealing their money and equipment. The game makes money by implementing a stamina system. Building your base, or attacking, requires stamina points. Once these deplete you have to wait for them to replenish. Or you can buy extra points to continue gaming. Modern War also allows players to spend money on better items to make their army more powerful and on other aspects to make the game easier, such as speeding up the erection of buildings.

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Tiny Village
Key stats

Inside Apps estimates Tiny Village monthly revenue to be around $5 million TinyCo says its seen strong results on Amazons Kindle Fire and makes 80% more revenue on Amazons store than on Google Play or the App Store (April 2012) Makes 43% more revenue on Kindle Fires than iPads Average revenue per user (ARPU) on Android is 65% of iOS ARPU Average revenue per paying users is equal between Android and iOS ARPU on Kindle Fire is double that of iOS

Top in-app purchases (iOS)

Stack of Crystals$0.99 Stack of Coins$0.99 Pile of Coins$19.99 Bunch of Crystals$4.99 Bunch of Coins$4.99 Dino Progress Pack$4.99

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Basket of Crystals$9.99 Pile of Crystals$19.99

Basket of Coins$9.99
Basket of Crystals$5.99

Tiny Village is developed by San-Francisco based mobile social gaming company TinyCo, which is also responsible for the Tiny franchise, including Tiny Zoo, Tiny Monsters, Tiny Pets and Tiny Chef. The company says it generated more than 10 million installs of its games in less than 9 months and is turning a profit. Following the buyout of other mobile social game studios such as Funzio and OMGPOP, TinyCo has been pegged as a possible acquisition target for bigger publishers. Game play and Revenue model Tiny Village takes its cue from other city building games like Capcoms Smurfs Village and Glus Bug Village. Players must create a thriving prehistoric community with shops, houses and other buildings and attractions. You do this by collecting resources and crafting items in shops, which are then combined to create different buildings. The revenue model solely revolves round lessening the grind of the gameplay and speeding up progression. Nearly everything you build in Tiny Village takes time to complete, and spending virtual currency can speed this up. Theres two different types of currency Crystals and Coins. Crystals can be bought with real money and enable the most progress, allowing you speed up building times and purchase premium buildings that generate more resources.

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Tap Fish
Key stats

Over 10 million downloads as of Feb 2012 Ranked no 1 grossing iOS and Android app on numerous occasions since release Earns $1 million in sales per day (September 2011) Revenues slightly more on Android, with some days seeing 30% more sales on Android than iOS

Top in-app purchases (iOS)

Bundle of 55 Fish Bucks $1.99 Bundle of 150 Fish Bucks $4.99 Bundle of 325 Fish Bucks $9.99 Bundle of 25 Fish Bucks $0.99 Bundle of 650 Fish Bucks $19.99 Bundle of 500 Coins $0.99 Bundle of 325 Fish Bucks $7.99 Bundle of 150 Fish Bucks $3.99

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Bundle of 4000 Coins $4.99 Bundle of 1100 Coins $1.99

Released in 2010, Tap Fish was an early success in freemium social games developed for iOS and was one of the first social games to take advantage of in-app purchases on the iTunes store. The game is developed by Gameview, which was acquired by Japanese mobile game giant DeNA shortly after Tap Fishs release. Gameview has since gone on to create a number of similar titles such as Tap Mall, Tap Jurassic, Tap Bistro and Tap Town. Game play and Revenue model Tap Fish gives players an aquarium, where they can buy fish and ornaments, as well as breed fish and sell fish. The game requires you to complete various objectives, such as feeding your fish to keep them happy, and cleaning your fish tank. Completing these objectives, and selling the fish that you breed, earns you experience points and money. The money can then be spent on buying new fish, extra fish tanks and different decorations. As you level up, more fish and decorations are unlocked. Users can also spend money on a roulette style gambling machine that lets you win ornaments. Despite its different UI, the gameplay and revenue mechanics of Tap Fish are very similar to city-building sim games such as Paradise Island and Bug Village.

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Your Next Step

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