Which smartphone features do mobile gamers prioritize?

It is old news that mobile gaming has become the most lucrative branch of gaming – in 2023, mobile gaming revenues globally were estimated at USD 92.6 billion compared to USD 56.1 billion for the console segment and 37.1 billion of downloaded/boxed PC games. But do mobile gamers simply play games on the same types of devices that everyone else uses or do they tend to prioritize specific features?

YouGov Profiles data reveals that gamers in the US are more likely to scrutinize cellphone features than the overall US population. Out of the 15 features they were polled about, mobile gamers over-indexed on all of them except one (water resistance – for which they were on par with the overall US population).

What this means is that the average American gamer analyses smartphones on more parameters than the average American. But the degree to which they show a preference for various features varies quite a bit.

Like with the overall audience, battery life is the most cited feature among gamers among the ones they rate as important when deciding about purchasing new smartphones (79% vs 71%). Battery concerns expand beyond just its overall capacity with well over a half of smartphone gamers citing charging time as a key factor too (57% vs 48%).

The biggest difference between the two groups in terms of percentage points comes with respect to memory capacity (69% vs 55%). Other features with a higher relative preference among gamers compared to the overall audience operating system (59% vs 48%), processor speed (48% vs 37%) and security features (42% vs 33%). More niche factors like integrated dual sim (12% vs 7%) and electronic payment functions (18% vs 13%) also are a much higher draw among smartphone gamers, although rates remain relatively modest.

But while performance-driven and other niche features are somewhat naturally score higher among gamers, even more mainstream features like camera quality (62% vs 54%), speaker quality (41% vs 36%) and durability (44% vs 40%) also cover higher ground among smartphone gamers – even if the relative differences are slightly lower.

Profiles data like this can provide a robust framework for marketers looking to effectively target segments of wider audiences. Brands can also go deeper by investigating topics of interest further by fielding questions to YouGov’s consumer panel using YouGov Surveys. For instance, brands might want to explore how gamers feel about the performance of these features on their existing devices in order to better identify gaps in the market.

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.