Mobile games market to hit $28.9 billion by 2016 - Juniper

According to a new report from Juniper Research, total revenues from the mobile games market are expected to reach $28.9 billion by 2016, representing 38 percent growth from the $20.9 billion Juniper cites for 2014. Juniper stresses that "in an effort to maximize their apps' potential, developers are turning their focus on increasing user lifetime value."

Rather than focusing intently on bulk acquisition of casual players, many developers and game companies are now looking harder at what can be done to get higher returns on each user that does come on board. To that end, many developers may want to target tablets more heavily than smartphones, as Juniper found that tablet users actually will spend more on in-game purchases - Juniper also believes that the stronger graphical capabilities of tablets has led to "accelerated migration from traditional portable gaming devices."

Despite that migration, Juniper still sees dedicated gaming hardware continuing to "serve a niche gaming audience." The traditional games industry is continuing to evolve and adapt its business to an increasingly online and mobile world. Juniper points to Sony as an example, noting that "software will embrace elements of mobile games as reflected by the introduction of PlayStation Now, which aims to let users play games through online streaming via a per-game or subscription basis."