MobileRated Delivers 1 Million Game Downloads Per Month
Do people play mobile phone games? With over 1 million downloads per month at http://www.mobilerated.com, the answer is obvious.
MobileRated is a free and legal site for mobile phone games and applications. Games vary from demos and ad-supported versions to full-featured, totally free products. The site supports over 2000 unique mobile phone models and devices and offers a selection of over 500 mobile phone games.
"The nature of mobile phones change the gameplay dynamic, but less than many would have believed," said MobileRated president, Richard Mosher. "Some people see the medium as only effective for simple, casual games but we've had great success with certain highly engaging action games too. The truth is that successful games work within the limitations of the hardware they run on. Older and/or cheaper phones have more limitations and thus fewer successful game paradigms. New phone models incorporate significant capabilities and allow for gameplay that few could envision on a mobile phone as little as one year ago. The marketplace is not stagnating, it is evolving. Our downloads have grown 33% in a little more than three months and I firmly believe we are only scratching the surface of the true marketplace today."
Mobile developers have difficulty reaching their intended audience today due to gatekeepers and structural limitations built into the mobile distribution system by carriers. Only a handful of large publishers successfully distribute games directly to major carriers and have limited deck space to promote product, so many games are ignored by these channels.
However, selling games direct remains difficult due to practical considerations such as purchase methods and marketing reach. Outside of sites like MobileRated, it is difficult to be noticed. Customers are naturally reluctant to pony up for an unproven game by an unknown developer from an unfamiliar website.
And this is where MobileRated shines. As the games are all offered for free download, the customer experience is positive. While many games are totally free (and are always free to customers), using Kalador's FreePlay technology, developers can monetize their products with in-game advertising. Furthermore, if after trying a game people grow tired of viewing ads, FreePlay allows the option of outright purchase, without another download, to remove the ads from the game experience. Truly, FreePlay allows for the best of both worlds for customers and developers.
With over 1 million game downloads per month, MobileRated proves their model right.