Singapore Mobile Game Market
Overview
The Republic of Singapore is a city-state in the islands of Southeast Asia, separated from the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula by the Straits of Johor. It borders on the sultanate of Johor, which is part of Malaysia, and the Riau Islands, a province of Indonesia.
The name Singapore comes from the Malay word “singa” (lion), borrowed from Sanskrit “sinha”, and Sanskrit “pura” (city).
Singapore’s size is 719.1 sq. km. (according to data from 2015). It is gradually expanding thanks to a land reclamation program that has been active since the 1960s. As of now, the country of Singapore spans 63 islands. The largest of them are Singapore (main island), Ubin, Tekong-Besar, Brani, Sentosa, Semakau, and Sudong.
The national language of Singapore is Malay, in which the national anthem is written. Its official languages are: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
Since the country gained independence, the government has actively used English. Many advertisements, newspapers and other publications are printed only in English and Mandarin.
Mobile games market in Singapore
Overall revenue in the games market in Singapore in 2016 totaled 109 million USD (according to Statista) and 211 million USD (according to NewZoo).
Revenue is expected to grow by 7.3% a year, reaching 158 million USD by 2021.
In 2016, 31.7% of residents used mobile devices, and this is expected to grow to 39.5% by 2021.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) is USD 77.40.
Average CPI in the country: for iOS – USD 2.54, for Android – USD 1.8.
Singapore is a leading market for games in Asia. Many start-up companies choose Singapore for their Asia headquarters. With its advanced infrastructure and the behaviors and habits of Singaporeans, Singapore has several advantages that make it an ideal place for media and advertising companies to settle in Asia. Singapore has some of the world’s most advanced digital marketing. The mobile population penetration rate is fairly high. This means that Singapore should have a high rate of smartphone penetration worldwide. In addition, Singapore has a well-regulated legal system and a well-developed economy that forms a strong foundation for the development in the PC and mobile Internet market.
The most popular mobile platform is Android. Over 40% of the country’s inhabitants use it.
According to data from Statista, the number of users of mobile games and apps will grow every year.
Who is using mobile apps in Singapore? Singaporeans are among the most active consumers of social media in the world. Social media varies greatly in Singapore. In terms of mobile social media penetration, Singapore leads the way at 87%, almost 4 times the Asia-Pacific average (22%), while the global average rate is 24%.
As can be seen in the table above, Facebook has the highest penetration (70%), followed by Google+, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn with average penetration rates.
In terms of user activity, Facebook ranked No.1 (39%). YouTube has gained high popularity in Singapore (50%). Pinterest has a penetration rate of 12%, less than Instagram.
In terms of Instant Messaging, WhatsApp is the most active app, followed by Facebook Messenger.
WeChat has become increasingly popular in recent years with a user activity rate of 13%.
Facebook is a social media website used not only by Singaporeans, but also by many foreign students studying in Singapore who have made their own Facebook pages. Facebook impacts various aspects of life in Singapore.
Twitter, like Facebook, has a good reputation in Singapore, but has fewer users than Facebook. Twitter is more widely used among young people.
Yahoo Messenger was the first instant messaging app to enter the Singapore market. After some years of operation, Yahoo Messenger has gained popularity in Singapore.
MSN Messenger was launched at almost the same time as Yahoo Messenger in Singapore. MSN Messenger has many supporters. Singapore MSN Messenger users have declined in recent years, mainly because of growing social networks such as Facebook, WeChat, etc.
Although Skype has many users in Singapore, various high-efficiency and low-cost communication systems are gradually moving Singaporeans away from this program.
The increasing popularity of the WeChat app has disrupted the structure of social networking in Singapore. WeChat has impressive performance in App Store rankings in Social Networking in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, India, and Malaysia.
YouTube is globally recognized as the best streaming media service popular among Singaporeans.
Popular games of 2016 (according to App Annie):
Large developers and publishers
Payment systems
Top 5 mobile payment systems in Singapore:
- Dash
- UOB Mighty
- Apple Pay
- Android Pay
- Samsung Pay
It has been possible to transfer funds over the Facebook and Twitter social networks in Singapore since early 2017. Now all you have to do to pay or transfer funds is have an account on a social network, link your bank account to it, and enter your ID.
Transfers are currently made in the national currency – Singapore dollar. But local experts assert that very soon, other global currencies will appear.
Localization into languages of Singapore
Although the national language of Singapore is Malay, English is also very popular.
The Chinese diaspora in Singapore is relatively large, although its composition is specific and non-homogeneous. There are several dialects that differ significantly from each other. The most widespread dialect is Mandarin.
In addition, the Cantonese and Teochew dialects are used, but they are significantly less widespread.
Tamil language
Indians amount to roughly 10% of the overall population of Singapore. But in spite of the fact that Tamil isn’t the most widespread language in the country, there are roughly ten schools that teach in this language.