🚨 Fake Ad's And WHALES 🐳

These days, you must be seeing ads for various games while using social media or youtube and other apps. But after downloading the games, you will realize the game you have seen in ad does not exist. it feels like खोदा पहाड़ निकली चुहिया. Isn't it? You would be surprised to know that despite these fake and misleading ads, these games still get over 100 millions of downloads.

(Photo Credit Internet)

But the question here is, why do mobile game app companies show fake ads? Haven't you ever wondered what they aim to gain by making 100 million people download such fake games?

Answer to this question is one word: WHALES. In gaming, a "whale" refers to players who spend a significant amount of money on mobile games. Such people get completely addicted to mobile games, and start spending money by making in-game purchases to make the character stronger, look fancy etc.

In order to find these "whales" video and mobile game companies create such misleading ads. Despite having over 100 million downloads, the majority are those players who do not spend a single rupee on in-app purchases. Most people stop playing these games after a couple of hours, and few spend a small amount of money. However, a very small number of people will spend a significant amount on in-app purchases. To offset the many players who don't spend any money, companies need to attract more whales to balance it out. So, a greater number of downloads means more chances of getting whales.

The global games market, including mobile and other platforms, generated more than $184 billion in revenue in 2023, growing +0.6% YoY. Out of $184 billion generated in 2023 by all types of games, the mobile game market share is 49% or $90 billion. The average revenue per user for mobile games in the US is $57. It is predicted to reach $64 by 2027. And in India ARPU is 152.5.

Therefore 2% of 100 million players is much more than the 2% of 100 thousand downloads.

2% of 100 million = 2,000,000

2% of 100 thousand = 2,000

Doesn't this mean showing false ads is illegal and these companies could be challenged in court? While showing a completely fake ad is illegal, technically these companies are not displaying entirely false ads. The segment seen in the ad is part of the game as a mini-game, which guides players towards the main content of the game. When most people understand this, they uninstall the game, but 2-5% of those who get hooked on the rest of the game start spending money in the game again and again.

When millions of people download games from misleading ads, the question arises: why do these game companies bother developing the entire game? Game already has received thousands of negative reviews, with many users demanding the exact game shown in the ad. The answer lies in the fact that these games, despite their visually appealing and entertaining aspects, lack elements like stratergy, limited-time offers and special deals, time-saving mechanics, competition etc to effectively monetize. 'Whales,' who are the significant spenders, don't merely spend money because they are visually attracted or have disposable income, they do so after becoming addicted to a game. As a result, these companies prioritize creating numerous ads and small games. These smaller games are designed to lead players towards one core game that offers deeper engagement,  time-saving mechanics, competition etc even though it may not be as visually captivating. Despite this, a small percentage of users—typically 2-5%—become deeply engaged and addicted to the core game, start spending significant amount of money.

Therefor these misleading advertisements are doing the same thing which they supposed to do. Bring more and more downloads to attract more WHALES, that's it.

Thank you for give it a read 😁. Your feedback is appreciated.