Newly released games (Mario Kart and Call of Duty), have created an immediate surge in downloads all over the world. Both of these games were heavily marketed before the release, hand have already passed expectations on how popular the game would be to users. These two app releases are considered to be “two of the most successful app releases ever”. During October COD mobile had about 148 million downloads, making it the top app for most downloads. Mario Kart mobile which is extremely popular for students of all ages has had about 40 million downloads, which is still extremely substantial.
COD and Mario Kart were also in the top 30 for top grossing games in October. This is still a pretty good statistic because these apps may not contain a whole lot of options in which users can pay a certain amount of money to upgrade their characters or levels. PUBG Mobile was first in revenue followed by Honor of Kings and Candy Crush. All of these statistics combined proves that the video game industry is taking over, and increasing at an extremely high rate. As technology continues to develop, then app downloads will continue to surge. App developers have also made it extremely easy for users to download these games in which they just have to tap a few buttons from their phones or consoles. One of the biggest factors in which COD and Mario Kart have become so popular is because they are free from the App Store. This option has given the opportunity for people of all ages to test out the game first to see if they like it, and if they do they can upgrade the game by paying low amounts of money. Overall, the app developers of these two games have created an App Store surge.
Call of Duty and Mario Kart front a siege of console IP on mobile
I think it is really awesome how much success Mario Kart and Call of Duty have had in their app downloads. As someone who grew up playing both of these games almost every day for multiple years, it is cool to see the game providers now giving people the opportunity to play on their smartphones, thus giving them the opportunity to play at essentially any time throughout the day or night. However, with that being said, this brings up the age old question about gun violence games inciting harsh feelings or aggression in children. Especially now that kids have the opportunity to play these games all day, every day. Additionally, as you mentioned, Call of Duty even beat out Mario Kart in their downloads in its first month. Over 24 million downloads occurred in one day in the beginning of October. It’s sales have brought in over $53.9 million dollars in its first month of existence. However, this is not a bad thing, because time and time again, as the question has risen, the thought process has been debunked. Video games do not cause violence.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/09/no-evidence-that-violent-video-games-are-causing-mass-shootings.html
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-11-12-call-of-duty-mobile-beats-mario-kart-tours-first-month-downloads
After reading this article and a few articles about the scale of the mobile game industry I agree with that these 2 apps caused a surge but that it should not come as a surprise. Despite video games being traditionally played on the PC or a console, the current state of the video game industry has mobile gaming not only being the biggest but the most profitable. On top of that both Call of Duty and Mario Kart are established franchises so they already have a large potential player base. I agree with you that having the games be free really helped increase sales and not only that but in general mobile games have the largest possible audience compared to games that require a specific, gaming dedicated device like a gaming PC or a console . So with all these factors mixed together it was a perfect storm for these apps to be a major smash hit on the app store.
https://www.mobvista.com/en/blog/mobile-gaming-now-bigger-console-pc-gaming-combined-still-growing-always-changing/
This post caught my attention, as I am an avid user of the Mario Kart app. I agree that the app being free is the main way to attract users. The app uses a freemium model, like many apps we talked about in class. It is free to download, but you can buy gems, which are then used to unlock characters, karts, etc. According to Thomas Bardwell, “Day-one downloads reached a staggering 10.1 million globally” (“Mario Kart Tour Is Nintendo’s Most Successful Mobile Launch To Date”, 2019). This amount of downloads in the first day is extremely impressive. Mario Kart’s success leads me to believe that the freemium model is the best way to attract users. This can also be seen on apps like Spotify, or other gaming apps where users can pay to remove ads. Although I have not purchased anything on the Mario Kart app, I would not be surprised if the freemium model convinced me to make a purchase in the future.
https://www.ccn.com/mario-kart-tour-is-nintendos-most-successful-mobile-launch-to-date/#:~:targetText=Mario%20Kart%20Tour%20Records%2010.1,App%20Store%20in%2093%20countries.
While I agree with what you are saying, I think a huge factor in the success of these video games is the nostalgia and the already established fan base of these video games. Mario cart was extremely popular, especially when we were kids, so there is definitely an aspect of being excited about something that we used to love being available on the app store that is exciting. I would be careful drawing conclusions from these statistics by blatantly stating that the video game industry is taking over. The most downloaded apps of 2019 are a majority of social media apps. 1. Whatsapp, 2. Facebook messenger, 3.Facebook, 4.Tiktok, 4. Instagram, 6. snapchat etc. Social media is definitely on top and far more successful in terms of downloads than video game apps. The insurgence of video games apps is very interesting and i enjoy some of the points that you made however i have to disagree with some of your statements.
https://sensortower.com/blog/top-apps-worldwide-q2-2019-downloads-data-digest
https://sensortower.com/blog/top-apps-worldwide-q2-2019-downloads-data-digest
By and large, the biggest secret to these game’s success on the app store is the fact that it is free to play, and the monetary transactions happen once you’ve already been hooked. This works so well because the $0 price tag makes the game seem like a “no-brainer” to customers, and some of them will get incredibly invested in the game, and then they notice the optional purchases that can be made in the games virtual store. They reason, since they got the game for free, that they can afford to make little purchases in game. This was the secret to the success behind the notorious game fortnite, and it is probably also much to do with these mobile games.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/fortnite-success-business-model-season-five
Considering Call of Duty’s and Mario Cart’s popularity in the console format, I am not surprised by this outcome in the App Store. Call of Duty has had consistent success on both the Xbox and Playstation consoles. They are always innovating their games and keeping the following game fresh, new, and exciting for their users. Call of Duty has been alternating between the modern warfare series and the black ops series consistently over the past decade. Mario cart has been successful long before Call of Duty as well. This game series has dominated the Nintendo consoles since the Nintendo64.
These trends have proven that both their users are dedicated and loyal to buying and using all the products that each company produces. Call of Duty and Mario Cart has successfully recognized the usability of their games. The designers of these games have recognized how the user intends to play the games and this is why they are consistently producing successful content. Both companies noticed that their users will set aside large amounts of time to sit in front of a TV to play their respective video games, so making their games mobile and accessible at any time and place sets them up to dominate the App Store.