Based on a survey carried out by Iran’s Digital Games Research Center, the top five popular video games in Tehran are Clash of Clans, PES, FIFA, Counter-Strike, and GTA.
Published on the center’s website, DIREC.ir, the most popular gaming genres in Tehran are listed as sports, racing/driving, puzzle, shooter, platformer/runner.
The most popular game in the metropolis is the Clash of Clans, a freemium mobile strategy video game developed and released by Finnish game developer Supercell. The game which is normally played online was released for iOS platforms in August 2012, and on Google Play for Android in October 2013.
Freemium is a pricing strategy by which a product or service is provided for free, but money is charged for additional features, services, or virtual or physical goods, which are commonly categorized as “in-app purchases”.
In the case of Clash of Clans, the only available in-app purchases are various quantities of “Green Gems”, the premium currency within the game. The gems enable players to purchase other virtual goods within the game and boost their gaming experience.
Furthermore, players who are advanced in the game and have established “strong virtual clans” sell their accounts online. The market for such accounts is relatively heated among teenagers.
> Football Lovers
Pro Evolution Soccer, better known as PES, and FIFA are two series of association football simulation video games respectively developed and released annually since 2001 and 1993.
Generations of football lovers around the globe and also in Iran have profound memories of playing in the two series.
The fourth most popular game on the list is Counter-Strike (CS), a series of multiplayer first-person shooter video games, in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking) and counter-terrorists try to prevent it. The series began on Windows in 1999.
While the game can be played ‘solo’, most Counter-Strike enthusiasts prefer to play it in groups and normally online. Initially, when the game was introduced in Iran some 15 years ago, due to the slow speed of Internet services, gamers were not able to play it online so they gathered in gaming centers locally known as “Game Nets”, connecting computers via a local area network (LAN) and played Counter-Strike in groups.
The custom of gathering and playing at Game Nets has survived the introduction of speedy Internet services in Iran, and still, around Tehran, you can find Game Nets crowded with teenagers playing Counter-Strike and other video games.
The last name on the list of popular video games in Tehran is the action-adventure video game series Grand Theft Auto (GTA). The first installment in the series was released in 1997; GTA has been vastly popular with game lovers since.
Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging in side activities, all consisting of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements.
While immensely popular with game lovers, GTA has often been criticized by parents and authorities for elements of violence, which are prevalent in the game.
Officials have tried to ban distribution of the game in the country. However, in the age of communications, censorship and banning digital products are in vain and doomed. Even if authorities succeed in barring the sales of a game, with a few clicks people can download them from the Internet.
> Sector’s Overview
There are 5.157 million gamers in Tehran, which means from every 100 people, 39 are into video games. Majority of the players in the metropolis are men (68%).
According to data provided by the center, 47% of gamers living in Tehran play video games every day and their average age is 21. On average Tehran-based gamers spend 94 minutes playing every day.
The gaming industry’s revenue was 2.753 trillion rials ($18.98 million) in Tehran during the past fiscal which ended in March. Almost 65% of the money was spent on purchasing gaming devices and 35% on the games themselves.
