App Annie & IDC Portable Gaming Report: iOS App Store, Google Play Games Combined Eclipsed Dedicated Handheld Games in Consumer Spending in Q4 2012

SAN FRANCISCO and FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- App Annie and International Data Corporation (IDC) today unveiled the App Annie & IDC Portable Gaming Report^TM, a quarterly report that charts mobile application downloads and consumer spend alongside worldwide dedicated handheld gaming packaged software shipments. The inaugural report includes key 2012 takeaways on the portable gaming market, in addition to more detailed data for the fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2012.

A key takeaway from the report is that combined consumer spending on iOS App Store and Google Play games eclipsed that of dedicated handheld games in Q4. Dedicated handheld gaming showed particular seasonality; close to 60 percent of Q4 consumer spending on Nintendo and Sony handheld gaming software occurred in December, a significantly higher share than was the case for December iOS App Store or Google Play game spending.

"The App Annie and IDC partnership and resulting Portable Gaming Report provides a broad picture of the gaming industry in order to inform business and investment strategies across gaming devices, platforms and regions," said Bertrand Schmitt, CEO, App Annie. "The marriage of App Annie's leading app store market data with IDC's worldwide video game and entertainment physical shipment data allows for industry insights not currently available to the various portable gaming stakeholders."

"While the most popular games and their business models are quite distinct, Nintendo and Apple were surprisingly close in terms of aggregate consumer spend on game software in the fourth quarter of 2012," said Lewis Ward, IDC's gaming research manager. "Seasonality is more pronounced in the dedicated handheld space and we hope this report series will help clarify the evolution of portable gaming dynamics in 2013 and beyond."

To obtain a free copy of the full report, visit: http://blog.appannie.com/app-annie-idc-portable-gaming-report/.

About App Annie

App Annie is the industry leader in app store analytics and market intelligence for the global app economy. More than 80 percent of the Top 100 iOS publishers by worldwide revenues use its services, and more than 190,000 apps rely daily on App Annie Analytics to track their downloads, revenues, rankings and reviews. The company is tracking more downloads and revenues than any other app store market data company – to date, over 13 billion downloads and more than US $2 billion in app store publisher revenues. App Annie is a privately held global company with offices in Beijing, San Francisco, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. For more information, and to stay up to date on App Annie news, visit www.appannie.com, check out our blog and follow @AppAnnie on Twitter.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help its clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

SOURCE App Annie