The arrival of the iPhone 15 Pro last year brought with it the promise of high-quality hardware capable of running triple-A games on mobile platforms. However, the reality seems to paint a different picture. Major console titles released for iOS, such as games from the Resident Evil franchise, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage, have failed to capture the interest of iPhone users. A new report reveals that these games, targeted at iPhones and select iPad models, have been commercial failures.
Poor Revenue Generation
According to an analysis by mobilegamer.biz, the number of iPhone users willing to pay full price to unlock these games beyond the initial free playable section is disappointingly low. Despite offering discounts on the App Store, with prices going up to Rs. 3,999 in India, the revenue generated from these triple-A console games has been dismal. For example, under 3,000 users paid $49.99 to fully unlock Assassin’s Creed Mirage on iPhone 15 Pro. The game’s gross revenue amounted to $138,000, based on estimates, which is negligible compared to free-to-play games with millions of downloads.
Other triple-A titles like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, and Death Stranding Director’s Cut have faced similar challenges. The data suggests that while these games have seen hundreds of thousands of installs, the number of users paying to access the full game is significantly low. For instance, Resident Evil 4 Remake has recorded over 3,50,000 installs with estimated revenue of $208,000, indicating that only around 7,000 users have paid for the complete experience. Similarly, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding Director’s Cut have struggled to convert downloads into revenue, with a small fraction of users opting to unlock the full game.
An alternate set of download and revenue data from data firm Appmagic presents a slightly more positive outlook. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, for instance, has generated $221,000 in revenue from 2,79,000 downloads, indicating a higher revenue-per-download ratio. Similarly, Resident Evil 4 has seen 710,000 installs, contributing $347,000 in revenue to date. Despite these somewhat optimistic figures, the overall trend still points towards a lack of substantial user engagement and revenue generation in the triple-A console games segment on iPhones.
The underwhelming performance of triple-A console games on iPhones raises questions about the viability of such titles in the mobile gaming market. Despite the advanced hardware capabilities of devices like the iPhone 15 Pro, it seems that users are either not interested in paying premium prices for these games or are simply content with the wide array of free-to-play options available. Moving forward, developers and publishers may need to rethink their strategies and pricing models to attract and retain users in this competitive space.
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