Where’s My Water?, with Disney unveiling the first line of merchandise in May. Surprisingly, this game is played by only 13 per cent of the sample. Places five to seven went to Temple Run, Diamond Dash and Doodle Jump – at the time of going to press all three are without a toy licence. However, a special Disney/Pixar Brave version of Temple Run has launched to promote the brand, which has a film and toy line.
GAUGING DEMAND
Having a large number of players is not a guarantee that a mobile game could become a successful toy: not all convert into attractive toys for kids. This is why Dubit asked the children who played the games whether they would like them turned into toys. Doodle Jump, Triple Town and Zuma were the games with the greatest level of demand from their players (42, 39 and 38 per cent respectively). However, some of these games have more players than others, so Dubit combined the results to see which games married a high number of players with healthy demand for a toy. The resulting data showed that Temple Run and Zuma are in highest demand, followed by Diamond Dash. Dubit isn’t suggesting that Temple
Run toys would fly off the shelves: the popularity of Temple Run, Zuma, and Diamond Dash are closer in terms of player numbers to Fruit Ninja and Worms (which also benefits from being on the market for over 15 years) than Angry Birds. Out of the 500 children surveyed, 99 played Temple Run and 31 of them wanted it turned into a toy. That represents only six per cent of the sample.
It goes to show that while the mobile gaming industry is big business, it’s going to take something special to knock Rovio’s Angry Birds from its perch.
Dubit is a specialist youth research agency and digital development studio. By utilising a deep understanding of young people’s motivations and behaviours, Dubit works with brand owners worldwide to create digital experiences that children love. Phone: 0113 394 7920 Email: research@dubitlimited.com