A mobile game is able to soar up to top charts, and this is not that impossible: through raising high awareness before launch and getting fast adoption in the first few weeks after (or when awareness reaches critical mass). But the challenge lies in staying on top of the charts, not that much in breaking in there.
What usually happens to the so-called “big bang” titles (think of Clash Royale, Fallout Shelter and Pokémon Go) is that in a few weeks the passionate early adopters become less satisfied, and move on to the next big title or back to previous games they’ve played. “Leaving with them is the buzz and excitement that started the momentum behind the title to begin with. If developers can re-engage early adopters before they lose interest and switch to a different title, it can prolong the momentum behind mobile games and lead to more sustained user acquisition”, researchers from Nielsen suggest. They have analyzed several titles released in the last year that fit the “big bang” adoption curve and found the probable cause of this departure: unmet demand for new content.
In the majority of cases, new content demand among gamers reached a peak three to five weeks after a new title launched. This plateau usually occurs when early adopters run out of content to enjoy or grow fatigued with the gameplay still available. This trend held true for most of the titles Nielsen analyzed regardless of game genre or target audience. For newer titles, especially those riding a wave of momentum, developers should plan to release new content to re-engage their early adopters during this three-to-five week window. Releasing new content while you still have your early adopters engaged not only retains their attention, avoiding the cost associated with bringing back an old consumer, but it puts your new content in the hands of consumers who have already shown a propensity to spread the news about your content, which leads to more free buzz.
There is no one-size-fits all solution for which aspect of a game should be released as players begin desiring new content. In looking at the results from our recent analysis, emphasis on which features developers should put more resources behind to improve retention depends on game genre and target audience. In the matching puzzle genre, for instance, it’s gameplay and value, while graphics have little bearing on gamers’ satisfaction. Comparatively, high-quality graphics are essential in the sports genre. For roleplaying games (RPGs), a strong storyline is understandably important, but social features are equally important. Developers of RPGs should spend more time crafting engaging stories and enhancing player interactions than on polishing game graphics.
Regardless of genre, developers should consider the gender of their target audience. Graphics are much more important for driving male satisfaction than female satisfaction. Comparatively, social features drive slightly more satisfaction for females than males.
Whether your title is the next big game to break the top download charts or has been a mainstay of the mobile category for some time, maintaining your user base means acting quickly to respond to demand for new content while making sure to focus on the aspects of the game that drive the most satisfaction for your users.
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