guidebook of solomo & locaiton gamers game play behavior

1. Social Local Mobile (SoLoMo) Game-Play
Behavior in Free2Play, Virtual Goods & Hybrid
Ecosystem
http://mindcommerce.com/Publications/SoLoMoGamingB
ehavior.php
Published: Dec 2012 Pages: 46
Single User: $995.00 Company Wide: $2,995.00 Team License: $1,865.00
Contact: Kabir@mindcommerce.com
From local search to location gaming SoLoMo (Social Local and Mobile) is becoming
powerful force with big implications for many applications and gaming in certainly no
exception. SoLoMo gaming has passed the honeymoon phase and is revitalizing the
mobile gaming ecosystem resulting a huge disruptions for certain existing players. A
few key technology developments are driving this disruption including LTE, smartphone,
tablet device, HTML5, and the Cloud.
Based on surveys among mobile social gamer, location gamer, and emerging eco-
system players, Mind Commerce releases this research focusing on SoLoMo game-play
behavior. This report is must reading for anyone with a vested interest in the mobile
gaming industry or considering a market entry strategy. This research is also critical for
any company in the social and/or location-based mobile application space as SoLoMo
gaming is poised to become a significant source of revenue throughout the value chain
for players who identify, understand, and capitalize upon these trends.
Target Audience:
 Social media companies
 Mobile network operators
 Mobile application developers
 Location-based service developers

2.  Gaming industry companies of all types
Report Benefits:
 Learn how “Consumption – Engagement – Interaction” based model will manifest in
SoLoMo gaming platform
 Identify the SoLoMo gamer base and regional split vs. split over device platform
payment stream and engagement 2013 - 2018.
 Learn who among existing vs. emerging market players will succeed
 Identify SoLoMo gamer perceptions, spending patterns, and the industry
scope/attributes of ad monetization
 Learn the psychological predisposition, demographic classification, and market factors
driving game-play, spending, and revenue opportunities
 Learn how SoLoMo gaming will adopt new market technology as well as anticipated
gamer actions, new payment modes, and disruptive innovation over the next 5 years
Table of Contents:
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8
2.0 CHANGING “CONSUMPTION-ENGAGEMENT-INTERACTION” ECO-SYSTEM METRICS
AND SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER ROLE 10
3.0 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER PROJECTION 12
3.1 WORLDWIDE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER (CORE + SHIFTED) PROJECTION 2012
– 2018 12
3.2 % OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER AMONG TOTAL MOBILE GAMER 2012-2018 12
3.3 CORE VS. SHIFTED GAMER % AMONG TOTAL SOLOMO GAMER 2012-2018 13
3.4 MOBILE SOCIAL GAMER % SHIFTING TREND TO SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER
2012-2018 14
3.5 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER PREDICTION IN REGIONS 14
3.6 TOP 10 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER COUNTRIES 15
3.7 CASUAL VS. REGULAR SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER % 2013 – 2018 15
3.8 MICRO TRANSACTION / VIRTUAL GOODS GAMER % : SOLOMO & LOCATION
GAMER VS. WORLDWIDE MOBILE GAMER 2013 – 2018 16
3.9 SMARTPHONE VS. TABLET DEVICE VS. FEATURED PHONE GAMER % 2013 -2018 16
3.10 ADULT VS. TEEN RATIO AMONG TOTAL TABLET DEVICE GAMER UNDER SOLOMO &
LOCATION GAMER 2013-2018 17
3.11 DAU VS. MAU AMONG SMARTPHONE VS. TABLET DEVICE GAMER IN SOLOMO &
LOCATION PLATFORM 17
4.0 REVENUE TREND IN SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING PLATFORM 18
4.1 REVENUE GENERATING % BY SMARTPHONE VS. TABLET DEVICE VS. FEATURED
PHONE CATEGORY 2013-2018 18

3. 4.2 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING ARPU TREND 2013-2018 18
4.3 REVENUE GENERATING RATIO AGAINST % OF TOTAL MICRO TRANSACTION IN
DIFFERENT EXPENDITURE RANGE 19
4.4 REVENUE CONTRIBUTION % BY VIRTUAL GOODS ONLY VS. HYBRID GAME 2013-
2018 19
5.0 SPENDING BEHAVIOR OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER 20
5.1 GAMER SPENDING % AMONG TOTAL SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING REVENUE
2013 -2018 20
5.2 GAMER SPENDING PORTION SPLIT OVER DIFFERENT CATEGORY OF REVENUE
SOURCES 2013-2018 20
5.3 VIRTUAL GOODS CATEGORY: SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMERS SPENDING PORTION
21
5.4 MOBILE APP GAMER VS. SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER: EITHER MAKE IN-APP
PURCHASE OR UPGRADE FREE TO PAID VERSION 21
5.5 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER SPENDING PREFERENCE OVER PAID VS. VIRTUAL
GOODS GAME 22
5.6 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMERS AGE BRACKET WISE SPENDING HABIT ON
TRADING VIRTUAL GOODS 22
5.7 MALE VS. FEMALE YEARLY SPENDING ON VIRTUAL GOODS WHILE PLAYING CASUAL
GAME VS. MMG & REGULAR GAME IN SOLOMO & LOCATION PLATFORM 23
6.0 GENRE PREFERENCE OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER 24
6.1 TOP PREFERRED SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING GENRE 24
6.2 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME REACH VS. GAME PLAY ENGAGEMENT % BY POPULAR
GENRE 24
6.3 MALE VS. FEMALE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME GENRE PREFERENCE 25
7.0 GAMER PSYCHOLOGY AND SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING TREND 26
7.1 FREE2PLAY / VIRTUAL GOODS VS. PAID / FREEMIUM VS. HYBRID GAME
PREFERENCE % 2013 – 2018 26
7.2 MOBILE VS. TABLET DEVICE PREFERENCE OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER UNDER
DIFFERENT AGE BRACKET 26
7.3 MOBILE VS. TABLET DEVICE OWNERS SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING PREFERENCE
2013-2018 27
7.4 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER PREFERENCE OVER IOS VS. ANDROID VS. OTHER OS
PLATFORM 27
7.5 MOBILE VS. TABLET DEVICE: % OF DEVICE TIME SPENT ON SOLOMO & LOCATION
GAMING (EXCEPT VOICE / SOCIAL MEDIA TIME) 28
7.6 TIME SPEND VS. SESSION OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER DURING DAY PART 28
7.7 OTI VS. OTA DOWNLOAD TREND OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME 2012-2018 29
7.8 REAL LIFE CASH SPEND TREND ON VIRTUAL GOODS 29
7.9 SOLOMO & LOCATIVE GAME PLAY LOCATION 30
7.10 GAME PLAY LOCATION INSIDE HOME 30

4. 8.0 FACTORS AFFECTING SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER ENGAGEMENT 31
8.1 REASON FOR PLAYING SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME 31
8.2 FACTORS INFLUENCING POSITIVE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME PLAY 31
8.3 BENEFIT EXPERIENCED FROM SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME PLAY 32
8.4 VIRALITY / COMMUNITY FACTORS INFLUENCE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME PLAY 32
8.5 IPHONE VS. ANDROID VS. OTHER PLATFORM WISE HOURS SPENT & % OF
DEDICATION ON SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING 33
8.6 GAME FEATURES THAT INFLUENCE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER RECOMMENDING
TO OTHERS 33
9.0 DEMOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER 34
9.1 MALE VS. FEMALE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER 34
9.2 AGE BRACKET WISE MALE VS. FEMALE RATIO 34
9.3 MALE VS. FEMALE: AVERAGE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMERS AGE 35
9.4 AVERAGE INCOME VS. % OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER 35
9.5 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER VS. TRADITIONAL MOBILE GAMER % UNDER
DIFFERENT AGE BRACKET 36
9.6 AVERAGE AGE OF SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMER VS. MOBILE TRADITIONAL GAMER
36
9.7 MALE VS. FEMALE REAL LIFE CASH SPENDING ON VIRTUAL GOODS IN SOLOMO &
LOCATION GAMING 37
10.0 IN-GAME AD MONETIZATION IN SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING PLATFORM AND
LOYALTY ISSUES 38
10.1 GAME VS. OTHER APPS WISE AD IMPRESSION % 1Q 2011 – 3Q 2012 TRACKING
38
10.2 BRANDED GAMES VS. LOCATION TRAILED IN-GAME AD VS. BRANDED VIRTUAL
GOODS % 2012 – 2018 38
10.3 GAMERS PREFERENCE OVER BRANDED GAME VS. IN-GAME ADS VS. BRANDED
VIRTUAL GOODS 2012-2018 39
10.4 BIG BRAND VS. SMBS PREFERENCE OVER BRANDED GAME VS. LOCATION
TRAILED IN-GAME AD VS. BRANDED VIRTUAL GOODS 2012 - 2018 40
10.5 LOCATION TRAILED IN-GAME ADS: IMPRESSIONS VS. CTR VS. REPEAT 40
10.6 SOCIAL ADS IN COMMUNITY / CASINO CLUB BASED GAME 2013 – 2018 40
11.0 ADOPTION TREND IN SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING PLATFORM 41
11.1 SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING % IN TOTAL MOBILE GAMING 2013 – 2018 41
11.2 PROFITABLE VS. NON-PROFITABLE SOLOMO & LOCATION GAMING 2013 – 2018
41
11.3 SINGLE VS. MULTIPLE DEVICE PLATFORM GAME-PLAY TREND 2013 – 2018 42
11.4 SINGLE VS. MULTIPLE PLATFORM GAME DISTRIBUTION 2013 – 2018 42
11.5 BRANDED VS. NON-BRAND GAME / VIRTUAL GOODS TREND 2013 – 2018 43
11.6 GPS ADOPTION PREDICTION IN GAMING DEVICE 2013 – 2018 43
11.7 HYPER LOCAL VS. GAMIFICATION TECHNIQUE ADOPTION IN SOLOMO &

5. LOCATION GAME 2013 – 2018 44
11.8 COMMUNITY / CASINO CLUB GAMING VS. IN-GAME MONEY GAMBLING TREND
2013 – 2018 44
11.9 HMTL5 VS. CLOUD PUBLISHING TREND 2013 – 2018 45
11.10 BANNER AD VS. BRANDED GAMING / VIRTUAL GOODS MODEL TREND 2013 -
2018 45
11.11 NFC CHIP WITH DEVICE VS. NFC PAYMENT WITH SOLOMO & LOCATION GAME
ADOPTION 2018 46
11.12 AUGMENTED UTILITY VS. RFID VS. LIFE LOGGING PLATFORM VS. MASS SOCIAL
EXPERIENCE ADOPTION 2018 46
Illustrations
Figure 1: “Consumption-Engagement-Interaction” Metrics & Identified Task Behavior in
SoLoMo & Location Gaming Eco-System 11
Figure 2: YOY SoLoMo & Location Gamer (core + shifted) 2012-2018 12
Figure 3: YOY % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer among Total Mobile Gamer 2012-2018
13
Figure 4: YOY Core vs. Shifted SoLoMo Gamer % 2012-2018 13
Figure 5: YOY % of Mobile Social Gamer will be shifting to SoLoMo & Location Gamer
2012-2018 14
Figure 6: SoLoMo & Location Gamer Split in Regions by % 14
Figure 7: % of SoLoMo & location gamer holding by Top 10 Countries 15
Figure 8: Casual vs. Regular Gamer % among total SoLoMo & Location Gamer 2013-
2018 15
Figure 9: Micro Transaction/Virtual Goods Gamer % in SoLoMo & Location Gamer vs.
Worldwide Mobile Gamer 2013 -2018 16
Figure 10: % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer on Smarpthone vs. Tablet Device vs.
Featured Phone Platform 2013-2018 16
Figure 11: Total Tablet Device Gamer Split in Adult vs. Teen under SoLoMo & Location
Gamer 2013-2018 17
Figure 12: Smartphone vs. Tablet SoLoMo & Location Gamer DAU vs. MAU ratio 17
Figure 13: Smartphone vs. Tablet Device vs. Featured Phone category wise revenue
generating % 2013-2018 18
Figure 14: SoLoMo & Location Gaming ARPU in US $ 2013 – 2018 18
Figure 15: Micro Transaction % Split in different expenditure range vs. Revenue
generating ratio 19
Figure 16: Virtual Goods only vs. Hybrid Games revenue contribution ratio 2013-2018
19
Figure 17: Gamer spending ratio in SoLoMo & Location Gaming Revenue 2013-2018 20
Figure 18: Split of Gamer Spending Portion on Categories of Revenue Sources 2013 -

6. 2018 20
Figure 19: SoLoMo & Location Gamers Spending % on Different Virtual Goods Category
21
Figure 20: SoLoMo & Location Gamer vs. App Gamer % either make in-app purchase or
upgrade free to paid version 21
Figure 21: Spending Preference of SoLoMo & Location Gamer on Paid vs. Virtual Goods
game 22
Figure 22: Age Bracket Wise SoLoMo & Location Gamers Virtual Goods Spending Habit
22
Figure 23: Male vs. Females Yearly Spending on Virtual Goods while Playing MMG &
Regular vs. Casual Game 23
Figure 24: % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer Prefer Different Genre 24
Figure 25: Reach vs. Game Play Engagement % by Popular SoLoMo & Location Game
Genre 24
Figure 26: Male vs. Female SoLoMo & Location Game Genre Preference list 25
Figure 27: % SoLoMo & Location Gamer Prefer F2P, Paid, Freemium or Hybrid Gaming
2013-2018 26
Figure 28: Age Bracket wise % of SoLoMo & Location gamer prefer Mobile vs. Tablet
Device 26
Figure 29: % of Mobile vs. Tablet Device owner prefer SoLoMo & Location Gaming
2013-2018 27
Figure 30: % of SoLoMo & Location gamer prefer iOS vs. Android vs. Other Platform 27
Figure 31: % Device time of SoLoMo & Location Gamer spent Gaming by Mobile vs.
Tablet Device (except voice / social media time) 28
Figure 32: Time Spend % vs. Sessions of SoLoMo Gamers during different time slot of a
day 28
Figure 33: OTI vs. OTA download trend of SoLoMo & Location Game 2012-2018 29
Figure 34: % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer Prefer Real Life Cash spending on Virtual
Goods 29
Figure 35: % of total Time spend on different Game Play Location 30
Figure 36: % of SoLoMo & Location Home Gamer Spend time on different location
inside home 30
Figure 37: Why SoLoMo & Location Gamer Play 31
Figure 38: Factors that influence positive SoLoMo & Location Game Play 31
Figure 39: % of Benefit Experienced from SoLoMo & Location Game Play 32
Figure 40: % of Influence Weight among Virality / community medium to SoLoMo &
Location Game Play 32
Figure 41: Hour Spent & % of Dedication on SoLoMo & Location Gaming by iPhone vs.
Android vs. Other Platform 33
Figure 42: % of SoLoMo & Location gamers recommendation based on game features
33

7. Figure 43: % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer is Male or Female 34
Figure 44: Male vs. Female % under Different Age bracket 34
Figure 45: Average age of SoLoMo gamers by Male vs. Female 35
Figure 46: Average Income of SoLoMo Gamer vs. % distribution among Income Bracket
35
Figure 47: Age bracket wise % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer vs. Mobile Traditional
gamer 36
Figure 48: Average Gamers Age of SoLoMo & Location vs. Mobile Traditional 36
Figure 49: % of Male vs. Female spends real life money on virtual goods on SoLoMo &
Location gaming 37
Figure 50: Ad Impression % of Games vs. Other Apps: tracking 2011 - 2012 38
Figure 51: % Branded Games vs. Location Trailed In-Game Banner Ad vs. Branded
Virtual Goods among total SoLoMo Game 2012 – 2018 38
Figure 52: % of SoLoMo & Location Gamer prefer Branded Game or In-Game Ads or
Branded Virtual Goods 2012-2018 39
Figure 53: % of Big Brand vs. SMBs Prefer Branded Game vs. Location Trailed In-Game
Ad vs. Branded Virtual Goods 2012 - 2018 40
Figure 54: Sure Success vs. Repeat % of location trailed ad impressions and CTR 40
Figure 55: Social Success vs. Repeat success % of Ads in Community / Casino Club
Bases SoLoMo Games 40
Figure 56: % of SoLoMo & Location game among total mobile game 2013 – 2018 41
Figure 57: Profitable vs. Non Profitable SoLoMo & Location game ratio 2013-2018 41
Figure 58: Single Device vs. Multiple Device Gaming Trend % 2013 2018 42
Figure 59: Single vs. Multiple Platform SoLoMo & Location Game Distribution 2013 –
2018 42
Figure 60: Branded vs. Non-Branded SoLoMo & Location game & Virtual Goods % 2013
– 2018 43
Figure 61: GPS adoption % in Gaming Device 2013-2018 43
Figure 62: Hyper Local vs. Gamification adoption % in SoLoMo & Location game 2013 -
2018 44
Figure 63: % of Casino Club vs. money gambling trend 2013 - 2018 44
Figure 64: HTML5 vs. Cloud Gaming % in total SoLoMo & Location gaming 2013-2018
45
Figure 65: Banner Ad vs. Branded Game/Virtual Goods trend 2013 – 2018 45
Figure 66: % of NFC chip vs. payment adoption prediction 2018 46
Figure 67: % of Augmented Utility vs. RFID vs. Life Logging Platform vs. Mass Social
Experience Adoption by 2018 46