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Kindle Fire HD emerges as popular gaming device

Amazon says that its own Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX 7 were the best sellers on its website during the weekend that included Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The news comes on the heels of another report showing that the Kindle Fire is the second most popular device for mobile gaming, after the iPad. According to the App Annie & IDC Portable Gaming Report, about 13% of mobile gamers prefer the Kindle Fire, versus about 17% who choose the iPad.

Affordability may be a strong determinant of the devices chosen by mobile gamers, with roughly 25% saying they use an Android smartphone for gaming. Only 5% use an Android tablet. More affluent gamers tend to use iOS devices, and IDC says that during the third quarter iOS generated 3 times as much game revenue as Google Play in the United States.

Mobile games generate more revenue than all other mobile apps combined, according to investment bank Digital Capital. This year the firm projects that mobile apps will generate $24 billion in revenue, with 72% of that going to mobile games. In a sign that non-game apps may be catching up, IDC said that between Q2 and Q3 this year, revenue growth was greater for app categories other than games than it was for the gaming category.

Many games offer players the opportunity to make purchases within the game. The vast majority of these purchases are small, but some popular games are experimenting with big-ticket in-game offerings. Rovio’s Angry Birds created some angry customers recently by offering to sell a virtual car in a game for $100.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.