Today, we live in a world where the iPhone is 4 generations old and well on its way to world domination alongside the Android platform which has emerged as a dominant player in the space. Sony and Microsoft have both released motion sensing controllers and Nintendo, not to be outdone, has released in 2011 the world’s first 3D gaming device. No longer just a niche platform, social gaming has risen to lofty heights, approaching $1 billion in the U.S.
If 2011 is remembered as the year that games on mobile platforms grew quickly and games on social networks continued to mature, 2012 is quickly becoming the year that mobile games ecosystems are beginning to mature as well. Given massive changes in the Facebook monetization ecosystem over the last year, last year’s hit games are fighting for their lives, and new developers and games are climbing the leaderboards. At the same time, larger players are consolidating smaller studios and teams, investing heavily in a portfolio approach across mobile and social, and large media companies and traditional game developers continue to plot their social and mobile gaming strategies.