據研究公司SuperData Research和Unity Technologies聯合進行的一項研究顯示，2016年，全球手游市場的營收入達到了創記錄的406億美元，基本上與同期的全球電影票房收入持平。

手游市場目前已經占據了全球數碼游戲市場的半壁江山。今年的熱門手游包括《Pokémon Go》和《Super Mario Run》等。此次發布的調查報告涵蓋了手游、移動VR和總體VR市場，并且首次同時采用了這兩家公司的數據。

SuperData Research公司的研究與戰略副總裁斯蒂芬妮·利亞馬斯表示：“全球手游市場的可持續增長也正在促進傳統媒介游戲的手游化。手游市場的規模也吸引了業內領先企業紛紛采取動作，比如動視暴雪收購了手游公司King，騰訊收購了手游公司Supercell（即《部落沖突》的開發商）等等?！?

亞洲是目前全球最大的手游市場，2016年，亞洲手游市場的營收入達到248億美元，而北美和歐洲市場的營收入分別只有69億和57億美元。

如今，美國人花在手游上的時間已經超過了在Netflix、Hulu和YouTube上看視頻的時間。2016年他們在手游上的花銷也比上年增長了5%。兩家研究公司認為這一開銷還將繼續上漲。

Unity Analytics公司總經理約翰·程指出：“玩家現在安裝的應用比以往任何時候還多，而且比起看電視和網絡視頻，他們現在更喜歡玩手游。他們平均每周有六天都在玩手游，而只有五天會看視頻。在不同的手機和VR平臺上，用戶對手游的參與度的增長都是非常顯著的。在可預見的將來，這種增長趨勢還會繼續下去?！?

2016年，用戶玩手游的時間在iOS平臺上增長了12%，在Android平臺上增長了9%，每名玩家平均每天要玩30分鐘的手游。隨著消費者花在手游上的時間越來越長，手游開發商和營銷商預計也將有更大的機會利用這種趨勢生錢。

這份研究報告還發現，58%的手游玩家喜歡玩解謎游戲，40%的玩家喜歡玩動作游戲，26%的玩家喜歡玩策略游戲。解謎游戲一般不要求高水平的圖像處理能力，也比較適合在出行的路上玩耍。

不過如果按裝機量計算，動作游戲則占到了手游裝機量的30%，而解謎游戲只占14%。和解謎游戲不同的是，動作游戲很快就能過關，而且它的玩家保持率也能達到解謎游戲的70%。

美國是唯一一個iOS玩家多于Android玩家的國家。Android游戲占據了全球手游市場78%的份額，但iOS平臺貢獻的營收入總體上還是要超過Android平臺。

在美國，對于開發者來說，每名iOS玩家貢獻的營收入平均要超過Android玩家45%。但是在中國，Android玩家的價值則達到了iOS玩家的8倍。

2016年，印度尼西亞手游市場的廣告價值猛增了三倍，手游裝機量上漲了192個百分點。印尼手游玩家在手游上的花銷平均也比印度玩家高出84%，因此為開發者帶來了無可爭議的商機。

另外，用戶對虛擬現實（VR）的參與頻率甚至超過了游戲、電影和電視。移動VR用戶平均每月會玩48次VR，而PC或游戲機用戶平均每月會玩36次VR。

2016年VR市場的總營收為18億美元，共售出VR設備630萬臺。三星的Gear VR由于相對Oculus等高價競爭對手的進入壁壘較低（加之價格優惠力度大），因此以450萬臺的銷量領跑VR市場。（財富中文網）

作者：Dean Takahashi

譯者：樸成奎

Mobile games hit a new record by generating more than $40.6 billion in worldwide revenue in 2016, up 18 percent from a year ago, according to research by SuperData Research and Unity Technologies. That money is equal to all global movie box office sales during the same time, the companies said.

Mobile games now account for half of the entire global digital games market. The year’s big hits included new titles such as Pokémon Go and Super Mario Run. The report examines the combined mobile, mobile VR, and overall VR markets, and it’s the first to use data from both companies.

“The sustained growth of the global mobile games market is helping to legitimize games in the traditional media landscape,” says Stephanie Llamas, the vice president of research and strategy of SuperData Research, in a statement. “The size of the market is also attracting the leading players in the gaming market, as can be seen with Activision’s Blizzard deal to buy King and Tencent acquiring Supercell.”

Asia represents the largest mobile games market in the world, producing $24.8 billion in revenue in 2016, while North America and Europe generated $6.9 billion and $5.7 billion respectively.

Americans now play mobile games more often than they watch Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube. They spent 5 percent more in 2016 versus 2015, and the companies believe that number will continue to rise.

“Players are installing more apps than ever and are more engaged with mobile games than TV and online videos,” said John Cheng, general manager of Unity Analytics, in a statement. “They play six days a week and watch content only five. It’s been phenomenal to watch engagement on the different mobile and VR platforms grow, and that trend will continue to increase in the foreseeable future.”

During the year, time spent on mobile games grew by 12 percent on iOS and 9 percent on Android respectively, with gamers averaging almost 30 minutes of play time each day. As consumers continue to spend more time playing on mobile devices, the companies expect mobile gaming will continue to give marketers and developers an even greater opportunity to monetize this trend.

In other details, the report found 58 percent of mobile gamers play puzzle games, compared to 40 percent who play action games and 26 percent who play simulation games. Puzzle games don’t require high-level graphics and are ripe for on-the-go play.

However, action games represent 30 percent of the share of game installs by genre, while puzzle games represent 14 percent. Unlike puzzle games, action games are quick to play through, and retain players at 70 percent the rate that puzzle games do.

The U.S. is the only country with more players on iOS than Android. Android gamers represent 78 percent of the global market, but iOS continues to yield higher spending overall.

In the U.S., developers made on average 45 percent more on a player using iOS over Android, but in China, Android players were worth eight times more than those on iOS.

Indonesia tripled its potential for advertisers, seeing a 192 percent increase in installs in 2016. Spenders also play 84 percent more than the average Indian player, creating an undeniable opportunity for developers.

Users engaged with virtual reality more often than they did with games, movies, or TV. Mobile VR users engaged in 48 sessions per month, while PC/console users engaged in 36 sessions per month.

Total VR revenue in 2016 was $1.8 billion, with 6.3 million devices sold. Samsung Gear VR came out as the leader with 4.5 million devices sold due to a low barrier to entry (and promotional deals) as compared to high-price competitors like Oculus.