1）iResearch最新数据显示，从7月至9月，中国手机游戏市场规模达6亿美元（36亿人民币）同比去年第三季度增长了75%。

与此同时，中国网游市场规模为37亿美元，同比去年增长41%。

iResearch将手机游戏爆炸式的发展归功于腾讯微信游戏平台的发布，以及该行业不断增长的并购交易趋势。

但从游戏发布情况来看，该市场却开始呈现饱和状态。据iResearch所称，在9月份中国Android市场发布了584款新游戏。

2）App Annie最新数据显示，日本智能手机用户普及率已达42%，而2012年的这一比例则是28%（游戏邦注：美国智能手机用户比例达44%，去年则是39%）。值得注意的是，日本人口仅为1.27亿，只是美国人口（3.17亿）的一半左右，但日本在应用商店收益上已经超越美国。

Japan Over takes US Graph(from App Annie)

App Annie认为出现这一情况的关键原因之一就是，日本用户原先就已经习惯在高端功能性手机上付费购买数字产品，他们使用智能手机时也延续了这一习惯。

另外，日本还是唯一一个Google Play收益与App Store持平的主流市场，该国月收益最为领先的五大游戏发行商分别是GungHo Online（《Puzzle & Dragons》下载量突破2000万次），以及Line、Colopl、Sega和Namco Bandai。

预计2014年日本智能手机用户比例将达62%，而同一时期美国智能手机用户这一比例则是50%。

3）Urban Airship针对2400款应用及5亿次推送通知的调查结果显示，选择接受推送通知的用户粘性比一般用户更高，这类用户平均开启应用的次数比选择关闭该服务的用户多26%，游戏应用的这一比例则平均增加至35%。

让用户选择接受推送通知也是保证用户留存率的关键。在应用下载一个月之后，选择推送通知服务的用户留存率达55%，而一般用户的留存率仅为29%。

push-notifications-research(from urban-airship)

值得注意的是，推送通知接受率最高的应用类型出现在媒体和零售领域（92%），其比例超过了娱乐和体育类应用。

但所有应用类型的推送通知平均接受率仅为35%，博彩类应用的这一比例仅为28%。

4）Frost和Sullivan最新数据显示，64%年龄介于15-65岁的新西兰人是智能手机用户，预计2018年这一比例将增长至90%。

Android是该国最受欢迎的手机操作系统，市场份额占比64%，iOS仅占比24%。

在过去12个月中，61%新西兰人使用移动设备登陆社交媒体，28%使用手机购买实体商品。

15-65岁的新西兰平板电脑用户占比26%，42%的家庭至少拥有一台平板设备。预计到2018年，新西兰平板电脑用户比例将从目前的44%增长至78%。

5）Vibrant Media UK最近发布信息图表指出，14%受访者认为自己在上网时常被电话或短信所打断。15%在使用社交媒体时被电话打断，21%在玩游戏过程中被打断，31%在听音乐时被干扰。

mobile personal space(from Vibrant)

85%受访者表示，如果他们事先就知道是谁打的电话，他们就会更主动及时地通话。Vibrant Media UK总经理Tom Pepper表示，营销人员需慎用干预性的媒体形式，因为强迫用户接触营销内容可能会对品牌产生不利影响。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1)Chinese mobile games market rises 75% in Q3 to $600 million

by Jon Jordan

According to data from iResearch, the Chinese mobile games market rose 75 percent during the three months from July to September, compared to Q3 2012.

In terms of absolute figures, iResearch estimates the market size to be $600 million (RMB 3.6 billion).

This compares to $3.7 billion for the Chinese online games market, which grew 41 percent during the same period.

We play everyday

In terms of the explosive growth in mobile games, iResearch put this down to the launch of Tencent’s WeChat games platform (part of the WeChat v5.0 release) in August.

WeChat released five internally-developed games on the platform, which takes advantage of its extreme virality to drive engagement via short-term leaderboard tables; a similar dynamic to the rise of Kakao in Korea and LINE in Japan.

Structural change

Another significant trend during the period included increased mergers and acquisitions with Tangel Publishing buying Magic Universe, Phoenix Publishing & Media buying 64 percent of mobile developer Muhenet for $50 million, and Ourpalm buying Dovo Technology for $130 million.

In terms of game releases, however, the market is starting to become saturated.

According to iResearch, in China 584 new games were released for Android during September.(source：pocketgamer）

2）Japan overtakes the US as leading market for app revenue

by Zen Terrelonge

It’s also the only major country where Google Play and iOS are tied for profit.

Japan is a trailblazer when it comes to technology, recognised as a leader of 4G adoption, while 42 per cent of locals own smartphones – up from 28 per cent in 2012.

Given that, new data from App Annie shows Japan has overtaken the US for app store revenue leadership as consumers continue to leave feature phones behind.

It’s a remarkable achievement, particularly when you consider 39 per cent of Americans owned smartphones last year, which is now up to 44 per cent.

Furthermore, the Japanese population of 127 million is less than half that of America’s 317m.

App Annie says one of the key reasons for the turnaround is because Japanese consumers have been familiar with making digital purchases on advanced feature phones, which has made the transition to smartphone purchases pretty seamless.

Interestingly, Japan is also the only major country where app spend on Google Play is on par with App Store, which is a massive change of direction from a year ago when iOS doubled Android.

There a five stand-out publishers leading monthly game revenue, including GungHo Online – whose Puzzle and Dragons game has topped 20m downloads and partnered with Angry Birds – messaging company Line, Colopl, Sega and Namco Bandai.

The share of Japanese smartphone users is set to hit 62 per cent in 2014, overtaking the US in that sector too, as America is set to hit 50 per cent next year.（source：mobile-ent）

3）Chart of the Week: Why getting players to opt-in to game push notifications matters

by Jon Jordan

As any viewers of our Monetizer videos will know, I’m a big fan of push notifications.

I just think almost all game developers use them dreadfully – a push notification prompt is often the first thing a potential player will experience when they boot up a game.

Surely a much better place for a push notification prompt is after someone has completed the tutorial?
Yet as an in-depth survey – 2,400 apps and 500 million push notifications – from mobile infrastructure outfit Urban Airship reveals, the power of push notifications remains clear.

The power of push

One key finding is that users who opt-in to your push notifications are significantly more engaged than those who don’t.

Opt-in users will on average open your app 26 percent more times than opt-out users, and for games the average increase is 35 percent.

Getting users to opt-in to push notifications is also crucial for retention. In the first month after an app download, 55 percent of opt-in users are retained versus only 29 percent of opt-out users.

Bad games, good games

Looking specifically at the games category, the news is good and bad.

The maximum opt-in rate for the best individual games is comparable with media and retail apps (at 92 percent), and higher than entertainment and sports.

Yet the average rate (35 percent) is the lowest of all categories, and the minimum opt-in rate of 16 percent is well below the best – gambling apps (28 percent) and media apps (23 percent).

Urban Airship points out that while games seem to have an uphill battle to use push notifications for longterm retention, this also provides a strong opportunity if game developers can better optimise their push notifications – both in terms of getting players to opt-in and in terms of the information they provide.（source：pocketgamer）

4）New Zealand to have 90 per cent smartphone ownership by 2018

by Phil Tottman

64 per cent of Kiwis aged between 15 and 65 currently own a smartphone, with number expected to grow to around 90 per cent by 2018, according to Frost and Sullivan.

Android is proving to be the most popular operating system in the country owning 64 per cent of the market compared to 24 per cent going to iOS. Cheaper devices are also taking favour, meaning that Apple could lose even more market share in the coming years.

61 per cent of New Zealanders tend to use their devices most for social media, closely followed those who use their mobiles most for shopping processes.

51 per cent have used their smartphone to locate a store, 3 per cent to compare prices, and 28 per cent have purchased physical goods during the last 12 months on their mobile.

Entertainment is also a favourite activity on a mobile device.

Phil Harpur, senior research manager, Australia and New Zealand ICT practice, at Frost and Sullivan, said: “Boosted improvements to processing speeds and upgrades to screen sizes and resolution, over 56 per cent of smartphone users are watching user generated content such as videos on YouTube at least once a month, while 26 per cent do so most days.

“Driven by portable tablets such as Apple’s 2013 releases of the iPad Air, usage for consumers on the move will also rise.”

26 per cent of New Zealanders aged between 15 and 65 currently own a tablet, and 42 per cent of all households have at least one tablet device. The penetration of tablets is expected to increase from 44 per cent this year to 78 per cent in 2018.

Apple’s 59 per cent share of the tablet market is expected to drop to less than 40 per cent in the next five years, as more vendors enter the market with cheaper devices.

Forst and Sullivan previously reported that 70 per cent of Australian mobile ad spend would be on tablets by 2018, and that smartphones would be more than half of Asia’s phone shipments by 2015.（source：mobile-ent）

5）INFOGRAPHIC: How to really annoy a smartphone user

by Phil Tottman

14 per cent of people have said that they find being interrupted while they are browsing the web by a call, or text the least disruptive.

This is compared to 15 per cent while using social media, 21 per cent playing games, and 31 per cent whilst listening to music.

85 per cent revealed that they would be more responsive to a communication on their mobile device if they knew who it was before they answered.

Tom Pepper, MD of Vibrant Media UK, said: “On the smaller screens of mobile devices disruption to content consumption is amplified. Marketers who deploy interruptive formats should take note, as seeking to forcibly initiate contact between brands and consumers can be harmful to the brand.

“It’s vital for brands to deploy ad formats which respond to the unique environment of mobile and show more respect for consumers’ content browsing on their handheld devices.”（source：mobile-ent）