Everyone knows that mobile gaming is more popular than ever. It’s one of those facts that is being constantly thrown around in connection with the broader rise in smartphone usage across the globe. But while these statisticians are keen to tell us who is playing – practically everyone, but older professional types, in particular, seem to be the demographic that is really on the rise – they say less about what they are playing.
Let’s change all that by digging into the minds and research notes of the statisticians and count down the top ten types of games are most commonly played on smartphones today.
10) Casino games
It’s in the top ten for the first time and is the biggest indicator of that shifting demographic. Online casinos are hugely popular across the UK and central Europe – visit this link for a perfect example – and will be getting bigger across the US over the coming months, too.
9) Word games
Another genre that’s popular with the older generation of gamers who would otherwise be flexing their muscles with crosswords and word searches, this includes games like Zynga’s Words with Friends.
8) Simulations
Everyone loves a good sim game, whatever the platform, and they are as popular on mobile as they are on Mac, being enjoyed by 14 percent of mobile gamers.
7) Board games
Most of us have fond memories of playing board games as kids, and its great that classics like Battleships and more recent games such as Catan can now be played on our mobiles.
6) Card games
Another classic type of gaming that has effortlessly transitioned across to mobile. Even the earliest smartphones had solitaire, and it was the electronic age that made freecell so popular. Today there are hundreds of different card games, all with different levels of complexity.
5) Adventure games
Mobile adventure games get deeper and more immersive with every new generation of smartphone, meaning the gaming experience in this genre is quite different today to even two or three years ago. Pokemon Go fits into this category and changed the way we think of mobile gaming.
4) Strategy games
With mobile eSports gaining traction with every passing month, there has been a subsequent burst of interest in strategy games like Vainglory and Clash Royale.
3) Racing games
Many of those older gamers will remember playing classics like Speed King and Outrun in years gone by, and will still enjoy today’s mobile racing games such as Asphalt 8 as much as younger gamers.
2) Action games
From Into the Dead, based on the immensely popular Walking Dead franchise, to first person shooters like Critical Ops, nothing gets the adrenaline flowing like a good action game.
1) Arcade games
Despite all the change and evolution in gaming, arcade games are still the most popular and are played by more than 50 percent of gamers. Those of us who grew up on Space Invaders and Pac Man can only smile to know that gaming is such a broad topic these days, but that the arcade style is still its most popular form.Â