With the world increasingly moving towards a more mobile-centric approach, the mobile app market has become one of the foremost consumer markets in the world. In a quest to make the most of this potential, app developers are taking a page from mobile gaming companies. Mobile gaming has long been a successful industry, attracting over 2.2 billion unique players worldwide. This success has encouraged developers to implement mobile gaming techniques and features into their apps, allowing them to leverage the industry’s success for their own apps.
One major feature that mobile gaming has had a major influence on is in-app purchases. In-app purchases are a popular way for app developers to monetize their apps and have been increasingly used in both mobile gaming and non-gaming apps. Mobile gaming companies have had an undeniable impact on this practice, using it to their advantage with their consumable microtransactions of in-game items and power-ups. Many app developers have taken a page from mobile gaming’s playbook, selling their own consumable and durable digital goods.
Another way app developers have leveraged mobile gaming’s success is through gamified experiences. By adding customization, in-game rewards, leaderboards, and achievements, many apps and websites have been further engaging their users. Mobile gaming companies have been pioneers in gamification, helping inspire app developers to follow suit and further engage their users. The success of these techniques has proven that users appreciate being rewarded for their interaction with an app, giving developers more incentive to include them.
On top of these more monetization-focused strategies, mobile gaming companies have also had an impact on app design. The rise of user-friendly UI/UX designs in mobile gaming apps has encouraged app developers to follow suit with their own app designs. Relying heavily on flat design, bold colors, and gestures, mobile game developers have led the way in user-friendly design, allowing developers of other types of apps to take advantage.
The mobile app market has become an increasingly lucrative business, and app developers have taken notice. Taking a page from mobile gaming companies’ books, many developers have incorporated their monetization techniques, gamified experiences, and user-friendly designs into their apps. With mobile gaming companies’ influence, app developers have been able to leverage their success to better monetize, engage, and design their own apps.
