The gaming industry was projected to hit $135 billion dollars in 2018, according to the findings of GamesIndustry.biz. With massive revenues to be earned, it only made sense women leaders in the gaming sector, like Celine Holzmann of Namco Bandai, would start to pay attention to the enormous amount of information compiled and analyzed. This led big game manufacturers to embrace a mobile direction for 2019. It was clear that big data had firmly established this mobile game revolution.

Data on Old Gaming Habits

Around 211 million Americans play video games on at least one type of device, according to the study by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research. Roughly 52% of that number play their games on static platforms like personal computer rigs (PC) and consoles where a common concern of gamers is data loss. This is why, since the launch of Atari and Microsoft, most gaming companies focused on improving their hardware to better handle data. It was those platforms they relied on to provide a more enjoyable gaming experience for their players. Their belief was that PC and console gamers would continue to dictate the direction that the gaming establishments would take. As it turns out, this was far from the reality of the situation—and that’s all thanks to big data.

The Mobile Revolution

Gaming companies and software developers like Blizzard, Valve Software, and Nintendo turned to data analysis to seek the direction they should take moving forward. They use data to harvest and build data-driven improvements and designs. They also found was that the mobile gaming industry accounted for 53% of total game sales in 2018. Almost immediately, Blizzard announced they would lean toward developing mobile games. Namco Bandai’s mobile games, under the jurisdiction of Holzmann, will be launching Tales of Crestoria sometime in 2019. Kongregate, under the leadership of co-founder Emily Greer, created more mobile friendly games to suit tablets and mobile phones to facilitate access for a wider gamer base.

The Future of Big Data in Gaming Analysis

If anything, the swerve toward mobile gaming shows that big game companies are paying very close attention to the information business intelligence can yield. More gamers are using their smartphones to play a wider variety of games, and big data can now comprise app engagements, site traffic, and social media ads. Chief data officers can use their expertise to analyze data available from servers and client engagements, using it to find out what new consumer habits are arising. That way, they can better tailor their services to the growing marking needs.

Big data will continue to play a continuous part in the evolution of the gaming industry. In its present state, the data available enables gaming giants to take steps toward embracing mobile gamers and their needs. Only time will tell what other trends will arise. It is safe to assume that the watchers of big data will be right there at the helm of the trends, telling game manufacturers what direction to take.

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