Even though Apple made no mobile games of its own, the company made $8.5 billion in 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal, and many are wondering if the future of gaming lies more in mobile than on console.
Though Apple has disputed this figure, saying that it’s inaccurate and too high, most still agree that the profits that the company generates far outweigh other companies, and this comes from the cut that they get from mobile game purchases.
With every purchase from the App Store, Apple takes a 30% cut. This cut, combined with the large amount of Apple products in circulation that use the App Store, such as the iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, lead to huge profits.
Over the past four years, Nintendo has sold around 90 million Switches, while Apple sold 196.9 million iPhones just in 2020.
Even many companies that primarily deal with console gaming recognize this market and produce mobile games themselves.
Nintendo has found great success in the mobile market with games like “Pokémon GO” and “Super Mario Run.” Bethesda has also had hits with “Fallout Shelter” and “The Elder Scrolls: Blades.”
In 2015, Konami Digital Entertainment CEO Hideki Hayakawa announced that the company would be shifting its model to focus primarily on mobile gaming.
“Gaming has spread to a number of platforms, but at the end of the day, the platform that is always closest to us, is mobile. Mobile is where the future of gaming lies,” Hayakawa told Nikkei, as translated by a user on gaming forum NeoGAF.
There has even been a recent trend of games that were first made for console getting popular mobile versions such as “Fortnite,” “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” and “Minecraft.”
“Fortnite” developer Epic Games has actually challenged Apple when it comes to profits. In August 2020, the company filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that it held a monopoly over how software is sold on its devices by forcing developers to use the App Store.
“Fortnite” is a free-to-play game and needs in-app purchases to make a profit, and Epic Games saw Apple’s 30% cut as unfair.
The trial took place in May 2021. Apple argued that its system was similar to ones used by other companies like Microsoft and Google.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers mostly agreed with Apple but ordered that developers should be allowed to inform users of alternative ways to pay inside the app that would circumvent the 30% cut.
A study released in 2018 by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research found that mobile devices are the most popular gaming platform, according to Variety — with 90% of Americans who play video games on at least one type of device playing on their smartphones, tablets or both.
“I don’t really play a lot of mobile games,” said Kyle Cawthon, a senior accounting major. “I play ‘Pokémon GO’ mostly, and ‘2048’ when I’m waiting somewhere to kill time.”
“I do play mobile games,” said Taylor James, a senior mass communication. “I play games like ‘Gardenscapes’ and ‘Voxel Land.’”
