Mobile Gaming Nets $91 Billion in 2016, Beats PC and Consoles

2016 could be remembered for a bunch of things happening, and mobile gaming is likely one of them. The market is now the leader when it comes to the generation of revenue in the sector, according to a report by SuperData research.

$91 billion was generated through mobile. This was not unexpected, given we talked for a large part of the year about hit apps such as Nintendo’s Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run.

As for the rest, retail made up for $26 billion while free-to-play raked in $19 billion. The publishers of the report also commended the industry for finally feeling like mature enough to come up on its own.

“The mobile games market has started to mature and now more closely resembles traditional games publishing, requiring ever higher production values and marketing spend.”

In its research, the company included more than 2.6 billion users across platforms to reach its claims. Almost all of the expenditure done on gaming came from the developed Asia-Pacific region, though the international spending could show signs of growth.

Another rising blip on the horizon is eSports, which despite being $892 million worth, are highly catching publishers’ and televisions’ eye in terms of the attention they garner. That figure is an increase of almost 20-percent from last year.

Consumers also are spending more on digital downloads from their console. That market now stands at $6.6 billion.

One, which didn’t do as well as expected was virtual reality. The revenues for the sector despite much enthusiasm remained at $2.7 billion. However, as newer, better and cheaper competitors join the fray, the market could grow up to $17.8 billion in 2019. Augmented and mixed reality also stand at $1 billion and $100 million, respectively.