Crushin' it
Mobile game still going strong with 200 million players a month
Three of the top 10 highest-grossing mobile games ever launched in 2012. Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans and Puzzle & Dragons have each generated billions of dollars in revenues, before counting spinoff titles or licensing deals. They came out when smartphone screen sizes were getting larger, giving developers more real estate to play with. Games makers were beginning to master the business model of free-to-play games that charge for extra lives, power-ups or personalized outfits.
Today, mobile has gone from being a sideshow in the gaming market to its biggest source of revenue. Turning games into “live services” with a constant stream of new levels or limited-time events can sustain a popular mobile game for just as long as a console title, if not longer. Candy Crush Saga has been the most enduring global hit of that 2012 cohort. It has had three billion downloads and it still attracts more than 200 million players a month.
Financial success has not, however, been matched by cultural impact. The game's lifetime earnings are estimated to be similar to those of the Star Trek or Superman franchises, but it possesses only a fraction of the cachet of those pop-culture stalwarts. Attempts to cross over into other forms of entertainment have struggled: in 2017 CBS tried to turn Candy Crush into a TV game show in the U.S., but it did not last longer than its first season.
At 10, Candy Crush shows little sign of disappearing. The game has held on to its spot among the highest-revenue mobile games in the U.S. for several years straight.
Critics say this is because Candy Crush is a puzzle game, at best repetitive, at worst designed to addict, with casino-esque sound effects and dopamine-triggering rewards. And they may have a point. But even within the games industry, snobbishness about mobile seems outdated. Candy Crush may not have the narrative sweep of The Legend of Zelda or the wit of Grand Theft Auto but it takes skill to build software that feels as solid and satisfying as clearing a Candy Crush level does.
Part of the problem may be the lack of a central protagonist or Mario-style mascot that would lend the game extra personality. It's something that has not gone unnoticed by pretenders to Candy Crush's throne. The developers of one fast-rising puzzle app, Royal Match, have created a jovial, grey-bearded figure named King Robert to lead its players along. Soner Aydemir, chief executive of the company behind Royal Match, describes him as “a companion” for players.
A bigger challenge in mobile games' battle for cultural recognition may be the format itself. We watch movies in groups to share in the spectacle. Smartphone gaming is about owning the most personal, intimate screen in our lives. And when you realize you've lost an hour to Candy Crush on the sofa, you don't usually rush to the pub to argue with friends or vent on Twitter and Reddit about it.
The Financial Times Ltd. (2017). All Rights Reserved. FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd. Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.