Apple, Google chase exclusives in mobile games

According to a detailed report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) are battling each other for the most popular mobile games. Each company wants to offer its respective users the latest and greatest mobile games, and both are offering mobile gaming developers promotional incentives to encourage them to focus only on iOS (for Apple) or Android (for Google) with their game launches.

Specifically, the WSJ reported that Electronic Arts agreed to offer "Plants vs. Zombies 2" exclusively in the Apple App Store for two months before offering the game on Android. In return, the games publisher received a prominent placement in the App Store. Similarly, the sequel to ZeptoLab's popular "Cut the Rope" game was available exclusively in the App Store for three months before expanding beyond iOS, the report said.

The companies involved declined to comment, the WSJ noted.

Such exclusive arraignments come as no real surprise. Indeed, Apple prominently features a category in its store that highlights apps exclusive to its iOS platform. And players of video game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox are already familiar with exclusive game titles.

Nonetheless, the news highlights the maturation of the mobile gaming space. According to Gartner, mobile games are the fastest-growing segment of the video game market, with revenue set to nearly double between 2013 and 2015 from $13.2 billion to $22 billion. Article  (sub. req.)