The mobile phone gaming industry is a fairly new creative industry with the first mobile game having been introduced in 1997 (Osborn 2014). In a 2012 study, 44% of participants admitted to playing mobile games on a regular basis (Osborn 2014) which suggest to me that the mobile phone gaming industry is an area with the greatest potential to see increase a perfect area for celebrities to also increase their reach.
Mobile phone games are easily accessible for those who have a smartphone with around 3.8 billion people having access to a smartphone which equates to 48.2% of the world’s population (Smartphone users 2026 | Statista 2016). This is again proving the immensely large reach of people this industry. With it only becoming more popular as the access to smartphones increases.
To put this industry into perspective, Candy Crush Saga was the first mobile phone game to reach $1 billion in revenue and although it hit its peak in 2015, it still continues to release new levels and as of 2020 has 273 million users playing the game at least once a month (Candy Crush Revenue and Usage Statistics, 2021). In 2020, the game was able to generate sales of $1190 million in revenue continuing to prove it is still a highly profitable game.
These statistics would impress anyone, but a celebrity or a celebrity’s manager may find these statistics as more than just impressive, they sound exciting and look like an amazing new business venture to delve into. It may also sound like a great way to continue to capitalise profits. With my DA, my goal is to look into reasons why celebrities have developed mobile phone games. Was it just to make money? Were fans asking for a game? Who reached out to who first? Was it the game developer or the celebrity?
My DA Celebrity Games, will require me to actively play a variety of celebrity mobile games in my free time (not that i’m complaining) to then review and give my opinions on as well as finding external research which will help to identify the reasons this gaming industry is continuously growing.
Looking at my DA, I will be analysing each game from the perspective of a mobile phone gamer who strictly sticks to her games and doesn’t stray far from them or tries to expand her phone game collection. My DA will examine the role of marketing and financial benefits celebrity mobile phone games have.
Celebrity Games will be made public through my youtube channel with mini reviews posted weekly around 5-8 minutes in length. I will also try to film parts of my gaming experience to include into these weekly review videos to be able to talk on how the game experience made me feel. Did the aesthetics make me enjoy the game more? Did the music and sound effects make sense in conjunction to the game? These will be some of the questions I will look at unpacking with each review of a celebrity’s game.
To gain more of an understanding on my DA, please check out my DA pitch video below.
To this I say, lets get gaming!
References
Candy Crush Revenue and Usage Statistics (2021) 2021, Business of Apps, viewed 18 August 2021, <https://www.businessofapps.com/data/candy-crush-statistics/>.
Osborn, G. (2014). Always on the Move: A History of Mobile Gaming. (Article). (Accessed: 18.8.21). http://www.proelios.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/A-History-of-Mobile-Gaming.pdf
Smartphone users 2026 | Statista 2016, Statista, Statista, viewed 18 August 2021, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/>.
Olivia Lopez 