Gaming
FROM FIFA TO THE FANS: ICONS SHIRT BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR FIRST TIME
Gaming and football fans can buy the official FIFA 22 Ultimate Team (FUT) ICONs shirts for the first time as Sports Direct become the only high street retailer to stock the legendary home and away strips.
Designed with EA SPORTS as exact replicas of the in-game kits, both home (white) and away (black) shirts feature the striking gold colourway inspired by the iconic status of the legends who once graced the field. Fans will now be able to don the same shirts as those worn by over 100 existing FUT ICONs, including the latest additions to FUT 22: Wayne Rooney, Cafu, Iker Casillas and Robin van Persie.
Sports Direct will also connect virtual and real footballing worlds by giving fans the ability to personalise the ICONs shirts with their console gamertag (Xbox, PlayStation or PC) for the first time. Available at its Oxford Street Flagship Store, the personalisation innovation will add additional characters to the MY ID service so football lovers can play with their online gaming name on the back of the shirts.
Hashtag United founder and Sports Direct Ambassador, Spencer Owen, said:Â “I love it when the worlds of gaming and “real life” sports collide. It’s amazing that so many icons of football are in FIFA and the fact that I can now wear a FUT ICON shirt from the game in real life, with my own name on it, is very cool!”
Beckie Stanion, Chief Marketing Officer Sports Direct, added: “We take pride in being the number one destination for football – whether that’s in the virtual or real world. Being the first high street retailer to stock the ICONs shirts is just the beginning of an exciting partnership with EA SPORTS, so watch this space for more products and in-store experiences that blur the lines between the real and virtual world for our customers.”
James Salmon, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS FIFA Brand, said:Â “EA SPORTS’ ambition is to embed FIFA in the fabric of football, and our partnership with Sports Direct is another step towards this. FUT ICONs are a celebration of the greatest to ever play the game and have been a much-loved addition to the EA SPORTS FIFA series since they were first introduced in FIFA 16. We’re delighted to be partnering with Sports Direct to retail the FUT ICONs shirts for the first time and are excited to offer fans the opportunity to wear the same kit as these legends.”
As part of its Game Recognises Game platform, Sports Direct is the only sporting goods retailer to sell the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 video game and ICONs shirt. The retailer seeks to blur the lines between the virtual and the real world, enabling fans to elevate their gameplay and inspiring them to unleash their inner legend on the pitch.
Gaming
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuriesâthis time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studioâs second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrashâą in Skate or Die – but this time itâs a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit âstopâ to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldnât have stopped. But hereâs the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit Cityâs high-volatility slots, is rated as âMedium Volatilityâ but donât let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? Weâre bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and itâs packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). Weâre thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!â
âOutsourced: Slash Gameâ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.
“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
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