Turkish Market Research - 2013 - Table of Content Full report available at https://gumroad.com/l/LGzh or on the ICO Partners website - http://www.icopartners.com

1. TURKEY
MARKET RESEARCH
2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS

2. Turkish Market Research 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Part 1- Country general overview............................................................................................................ 7
Country Overview ................................................................................................................................ 7
Geography ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Population ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Age Structure ................................................................................................................................... 9
Currency ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Income and Employment .............................................................................................................. 11
Other key insights .......................................................................................................................... 12
Part 2- Internet landscape ..................................................................................................................... 13
Turkish Internet Users ....................................................................................................................... 15
Location & Device .............................................................................................................................. 20
Browsers / Devices ............................................................................................................................ 23
Part 3- Internet activities, business opportunities and trends .............................................................. 26
Search Engines ................................................................................................................................... 26
eCommerce ....................................................................................................................................... 26
Social Media and video ...................................................................................................................... 27
Facebook........................................................................................................................................ 28
Twitter ........................................................................................................................................... 30
Video .............................................................................................................................................. 33
Mobile............................................................................................................................................ 35
Mobile Operating Systems, Vendors and Device Features ........................................................... 37
Mobile social networks.................................................................................................................. 42
Online advertising.......................................................................................................................... 42
Online advertising and user acquisition ........................................................................................ 42
Most popular websites / platforms ................................................................................................... 44
Games websites, games media and PR ......................................................................................... 45
Part 4- Games Market ........................................................................................................................... 48
Market size ........................................................................................................................................ 48
Console/PC Games ............................................................................................................................ 49
Console/PC Gamers demographic profiles: ................................................................................... 53
MMO Games ..................................................................................................................................... 53
Browser Online Games .................................................................................................................. 53
Client Online Games ...................................................................................................................... 57
Shooters......................................................................................................................................... 58
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MMORPGS ..................................................................................................................................... 60
MOBAs/other client MMOs ........................................................................................................... 61
Demographic profile/habits .......................................................................................................... 63
Social Games...................................................................................................................................... 70
Social Gamers demographic profiles: ............................................................................................ 74
Mobile games .................................................................................................................................... 74
Mobile Gamers demographic profiles: .......................................................................................... 79
Games and Internet Cafes ................................................................................................................. 80
Metin Baltaoğlu, the Chairman of Istanbul Internet Cafés Association, IIKB (Istanbul Internet Kafeciler
Birliği) ............................................................................................................................................. 81
Kerem Irgan (Adeks Internet Café Association)............................................................................. 82
Nizamettin Çayır - Internet Café Owner and an Active Member of Istanbul Internet Cafés Association,
IIKB (Istanbul Internet Kafeciler Birliği) ......................................................................................... 83
Part 5 - Payment Methods..................................................................................................................... 85
Online and mobile banking................................................................................................................ 85
Credit cards........................................................................................................................................ 86
Mobile Payments ............................................................................................................................... 86
Paypal ................................................................................................................................................ 87
Epin .................................................................................................................................................... 87
Turkish Market, Insights and Advices for Publishers by Payment companies .................................. 87
Onur Ergüney (Game Sultan, General Manager)........................................................................... 87
Alper Akcan (3 Pay Mikro Ödeme, CEO) ........................................................................................ 88
Part 6 – Prominent Turkish games publishers. ...................................................................................... 90
Mynet ................................................................................................................................................ 90
Peak Games ....................................................................................................................................... 90
Joygame & SHR Interaktif .................................................................................................................. 91
Nfinity Games .................................................................................................................................... 91
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND THANKS ....................................................................................................... 92
Authors .................................................................................................................................................. 96
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Table of tables
Table 1 - Average Annual Real GDP Growth (%) 2002-2011 ........................................................................... 11
Table 2 - Top 20 Countries With Highest Number Of Internet Users - June 30, 2012 .................................... 13
Table 3 - Largest countries on Facebook ......................................................................................................... 27
Table 4 - Top 10 Global Markets by Average Social Networkings per Hours per Visitors, November 2012 ... 28
Table 5 - Top 5 Socially Devoted Facebook Brands ......................................................................................... 29
Table 6 - Top Facebook Apps in Turkey ........................................................................................................... 30
Table 7 - Top 3 Video Sites in Turkey............................................................................................................... 34
Table 8 - Top 10 Youtube channels ................................................................................................................. 34
Table 9 - Top 20 Sites in Turkey ....................................................................................................................... 44
Table 10 - Top 5 Websites in Turkey ............................................................................................................... 45
Table 11 - Turkey Most Visited Casual Games Websites September 2012 ..................................................... 46
Table 12 - Turkey Most Visited MMO and "Gamer" Websites September 2012 ............................................ 47
Table 13 - Turkey Most Visited Games Media Websites September 2012 ..................................................... 47
Table 14 - Best Seller Games Retail D&R / 2012 ............................................................................................. 50
Table 15 - Best Seller Games Retail D&R / June 2013 ..................................................................................... 50
Table 16 - Most Popular Browser Games ........................................................................................................ 54
Table 17 - Top 10 Browser Based MMOs Level Magazine Readers ................................................................ 55
Table 18 - Most Popular Client Online Games ................................................................................................ 57
Table 19 - Top 10 Client Based Online Games Level Magazine Readers ......................................................... 57
Table 20 - Top 10 Facebook Games in Turkey ................................................................................................. 71
Table 21 - Most Popular games fan pages on Facebook in Turkey ................................................................. 73
Table 22 - Google Play Store, Turkey, All Games, Free, September 2013 ....................................................... 75
Table 23 - Google Play Store, Turkey, All Games, Paid, September 2013 ....................................................... 75
Table 24 - Google Play Store, Turkey, All Games, Grossing, September 2013 ................................................ 75
Table 25 - iPhone Apple App Store, Turkey, All Games, Free, September 2013 ............................................. 76
Table 26 - iPhone Apple App Store, Turkey, All Games, Paid, September 2013 ............................................. 76
Table 27 - iPhone Apple App Store, Turkey, Top Overall, Grossing, September 2013 .................................... 76
Table 28 - iPad Apple App Store, Turkey, All Games, Free, September 2013 ................................................. 77
Table 29 - iPad Apple App Store, Turkey, All Games, Paid, September 2013 ................................................. 77
Table 30 - iPad Apple App Store, Turkey, All Games, Grossing, September 2013 .......................................... 77
Table 31 - Internet Cafés and Geographical Regions ...................................................................................... 80
Table 32 - Top 10 Cities ................................................................................................................................... 80
Table 33 - Gamesultan Users per age group ................................................................................................... 87
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Table of figures
Figure 1 - Location of Turkey ............................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 2 - Regions of Turkey .............................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 3 - Main Cities of Turkey ......................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 4 – Age Structure in Turkey .................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 5 - 2008-2012 Turkey and Europe Median Age Comparison ............................................................... 10
Figure 6 - Population Estimates Turkey and EU5 Countries 2015-2060.......................................................... 10
Figure 7 - Average Annual Real GDP Growth (2012) ...................................................................................... 11
Figure 8 - Devices owned................................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 9 - Share of IPs in Turkey ...................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 10 - Distribution of time spent on internet Minutes per day ............................................................... 16
Figure 11 - Engagement Across EU Audiences ................................................................................................ 16
Figure 12 - Internet Audience Age................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 13 - Users who play video games online .............................................................................................. 18
Figure 14 - Internet Users per Gender ............................................................................................................ 19
Figure 15 - Internet Users per Gender and per Age ........................................................................................ 19
Figure 16 - % of children using the internet .................................................................................................... 20
Figure 17 - Subscribers per connection type ................................................................................................... 20
Figure 18 - Fixed broadband users per connection speed .............................................................................. 21
Figure 19 - Internet service providers market share ....................................................................................... 21
Figure 20 - Internet access location................................................................................................................. 22
Figure 21 - Mobile internet users and 3G subscribers .................................................................................... 22
Figure 22 - Internet usage (15+) ...................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 23 - Internet Connection from mobile ................................................................................................. 23
Figure 24 - Top 5 Browser in Turkey May 2012 - May 2013 ........................................................................... 23
Figure 25 - Operating System .......................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 26 - Screen Resolution .......................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 27 - Browsers / Desktop Users ............................................................................................................. 24
Figure 28 -Colour bit ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Figure 29 - Mobile Browser ............................................................................................................................. 24
Figure 30 - Mobile Screen Resolution.............................................................................................................. 24
Figure 31 - Device used ................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 32 - Connection time : desktop vs mobile connection ......................................................................... 25
Figure 33 - Turkish Facebook users demographics : Male/Female ratio ........................................................ 29
Figure 34 - Turkish Facebook users demographics : Age ................................................................................ 29
Figure 35 - Top 20 countries in terms of Twitter Accounts (accounts created before 01-07-2012)............... 30
Figure 36 – Top 20 cities by number of posted tweets ................................................................................... 31
Figure 37 - RT Network .................................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 38 - Language........................................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 39 - Turkey And Europe Mobile Penetration % .................................................................................... 35
Figure 40 - Smartphone Penetration per age per group % ............................................................................. 36
Figure 41 – Turkey Mobile Internet Traffic Share per Mobile service Operators ........................................... 36
Figure 42 - Mobile OS Market Share ............................................................................................................... 37
Figure 43 - Top 8 Mobile Operating Systems in Turkey from May 2012 to 25 May 2013 .............................. 37
Figure 44 - Top 10 Mobile Vendors in Turkey from May 2012 to May 2013 .................................................. 38
Figure 45 - Proportion of Smartphones that are Internet-connected in developing markets among urban
professionals (among those who own a smartphone) .................................................................................... 39
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Figure 46 - Revenue Share Per Business Model in The Apple App Store For iPhone ...................................... 40
Figure 47 - Number of Downloaded Paid Apps For Every 100 Downloaded Free Apps.................................. 40
Figure 48 - Proportion of top 200 highest grossing apps per country that is among top 200 highest grossing
apps in the US as well ...................................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 49 - Proportion of Revenue Generated By Applications Available In The Local Language And
Proportion Of Apps Available In Local Language............................................................................................. 41
Figure 50 - Ad Spend share .............................................................................................................................. 42
Figure 51 – Turkish Market games segments - revenue ................................................................................. 48
Figure 52 - Turkish Market games segments - # of gamers............................................................................. 48
Figure 53 – Turkish Market games segments - revenue ................................................................................. 49
Figure 54 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes"- PC/Console games ..................................................................... 51
Figure 55 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" PC/Console games - genres ....................................................... 51
Figure 56 - Web Search interest for PC/Consoles Games Between 2007 - 2013 ............................................ 52
Figure 57 - Web Search interest for PC/Consoles Games Between September 2012 - September 2013 ...... 52
Figure 58 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" PC/Console games - Gender ....................................................... 53
Figure 59 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" PC/Console games - Age ............................................................. 53
Figure 60 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes"- Browser games .......................................................................... 55
Figure 61 - Web Search interest for Browser Games Between 2007 - 2013 ................................................... 56
Figure 62 - Web Search interest for MMO Browser Games - Between September 2012 - September 2013 . 56
Figure 63 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" Client MMOs -Biggest games ...................................................... 58
Figure 64 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client FPS ................................................................................... 58
Figure 65 - Web Search interest for FPS Games Between 2007 - 2013 .......................................................... 59
Figure 66 - Web Search interest for FPS Games - Between September 2012 - September 2013 ................... 59
Figure 67 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MMORPG ........................................................................ 60
Figure 68 - Web Search interest for MMORPG Games Between 2007 - 2013 ................................................ 60
Figure 69 - Web Search interest for MMORPG - Between September 2012 - September 2013 .................... 61
Figure 70 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MOBA/Others.................................................................. 61
Figure 71 - Web Search interest for MOBA and Other Games Between 2007 - 2013 .................................... 62
Figure 72 - Web Search interest for MOBA and Others - Between September 2012 - September 2013 ....... 62
Figure 73 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes"- Browser games - Gender ........................................................... 63
Figure 74 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes"- Browser games - Age ................................................................. 63
Figure 75 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes"- Browser games - genres ............................................................ 63
Figure 76 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client Online Games -Biggest games Gender ............................ 64
Figure 77 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client Online Games -Biggest games Age .................................. 64
Figure 78 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client FPS - Gender .................................................................... 65
Figure 79 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client FPS - Age .......................................................................... 65
Figure 80 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MMORPG - Gender ......................................................... 66
Figure 81 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MMORPG - Age ............................................................... 66
Figure 82 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MOBA/Others - Gender................................................... 67
Figure 83 - Turkish Facebook users "likes" - Client MOBA/Others - Age ........................................................ 67
Figure 84 – Level Magazine Readers’ Gender ................................................................................................. 68
Figure 85 - Level Magazine Readers’ Age Groups ........................................................................................... 68
Figure 86 - Level Magazine Readers’ Cities of Residency ................................................................................ 68
Figure 87 - Level Magazine Readers’ Processors ............................................................................................. 69
Figure 88 - Level Magazine Readers’ Browser ................................................................................................. 69
Figure 89 - Level Magazine Readers’ Gaming Platform ................................................................................... 70
Figure 90 - Turkish Facebook Users Likes - Social Games ............................................................................... 72
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Figure 91 - Turkish Facebook Users Likes - Social Games - genres.................................................................. 72
Figure 92 - Turkish Facebook Users Likes - Social games - Gender ................................................................. 74
Figure 93 - Turkish Facebook Users Likes - Social games - Age ....................................................................... 74
Figure 94 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" - Mobile games ........................................................................... 78
Figure 95 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" - Mobile games - genres ............................................................. 78
Figure 96 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" - Mobile games - gender ............................................................. 79
Figure 97 - Turkish Facebook users "Likes" - Mobile games – age .................................................................. 79
Figure 98 - Level Magazine survey - means of payment ................................................................................. 85
Figure 99 - Active customers (last 3 months) - Turkey .................................................................................... 86
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Introduction
If I had to choose one word to describe the Turkey in regards of the video games market, it would be
“young”, with everything it suggests about its potential and its current maturity. It might be surprising,
considering the country itself is ancient, with a cultural background going back to the first human
civilisations and a very rich history throughout the centuries. But the truth is that where video games are
concerned, Turkey is still a youngster:
-
-
-
It is only quite recently (2005-2006) that the first video games got really successful in the region,
justifying a dedicated service to manage the audience expectations. Even now, it is considered a
second tier country by some platform holders (the next gen of consoles won’t be available officially
there for their launch for instance).
With the first successes, Turkey saw the emergence of a local industry. Of course, there were local
companies long before this period, but they were only a few with little support from institutions.
The fact that new companies are now started all the time in the country and that they now cover
the whole spectrum of the value chain (from developers to publishers) is a clear sign of that market
maturity happening.
The population itself is young. 43% of the population is 25 years old or younger, making Turkey one
of the “youngest” country of the region. With that young population comes a very fast rate of
adoption of new technologies (social networks, smartphones) and a lot of opportunities with the
typical audience of video games.
These tremendous opportunities have been clearly identified by many actors in the industry as they moved
to the Turkish market, sometime a little bit blindly. And for every success story you will hear about, there
are 10 untold stories of failures to build a sustainable business.
The purpose of this report is to enable as many companies as possible to create a success in Turkey and
contribute to the growth of that fascinating market. Hopefully, armed with key information on how the
market operates, the mistakes of some of the predecessors can be avoided, and more success stories will
be eventually be told and that very specific market will reach the maturity it deserves.
In that spirit, we have constructed the report around the following chapters:
-
-
-
-
General overview. Covering general data on the country, its population and its economy, this
section provides the reader with a couple of key information to have in context of the development
of the video game market.
Internet landscape. In this section, we introduce key data related to the current situation of the
internet penetration for the Turkish market, including the penetration of mobile internet.
Online activities. There, we cover the Turkish internet habits, specifically around their activities and
the most efficient channels to connect with them, including what to expect from an acquisition
point of view.
Games Market. The centre piece of the report offers a description of the video game market,
broken down by segments of the industry, from Consoles to Online PC Games to Mobile Games.
We also included a selection of interviews from representatives of the internet cafés sector.
Payment methods. This is the section where we discuss the payment habits of the Turkish players.
Prominent Turkish games publishers. We conclude the report with an overview of Turkish game
companies publishing games locally.
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We hope that this report will provide you with the required insights to build a strong strategy to expand in
the Turkish market.
Thomas BIDAUX, October 2013
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Authors
Smart N Digital Marketing
Fusun Fidan Ozogul (Main contributor)
Born and bred in Istanbul, Fusun is a marketing strategist and digital enthusiast with over 10 years of
experience in developing and implementing marketing, brand and monetisation strategies on an international
scale. Working with local and international companies in games, online entertainment, digital media
publishing & broadcasting, cultural relations and education industries, she managed market research
projects, developed go-to-market strategies, managed product launches, digital marketing and social media,
CRM, user acquisition, retention and monetisation projects on both local and international levels.
Throughout her professional career, she worked in Turkey, Ireland and the UK. She currently resides in
London, UK and offers a variety of marketing services through her company Smart N Digital Marketing Ltd.
Fusun has a thorough expertise in market research, strategic analysis and multichannel marketing and PR
management, and extensive knowledge on games, online entertainment and digital publishing in Turkey and
EMEA. As a seasoned marketer with a unique experience in Turkish games market, she managed largescale marketing programs for MMOs, social and mobile games.
Contact: fusunozogul@gmail.com
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ICO Partners
Diane Lagrange (Main contributor)
Co-founder, Chief Analyst
Diane Lagrange graduated from French business schol ESSEC MBA in 2005, where she specialized in Marketing,
including media planning, PR and advertising. A passionate gamer, she started her career as a trainee at Ubisoft
in France as Assistant Product Manager, working on marketing strategy and campaigns for the French market,
before being hired by NCsoft in September 2005. She worked with Thomas on Business Development, building
relationships with third party developers, sourcing, evaluating and negotiating online games projects, and
heading submissions at local and global Product Review Committees. She also focused on expanding NCsoft's
market research channels and studying emergent business models in online games.
In late 2008, she joined Thomas BIDAUX in creating ICO Partners where she leads all the firm’s market research.
Contact: diane@icopartners.com
Thomas Bidaux (Main reviewer)
Co-founder, CEO
Thomas Bidaux started his professional career in online games more than ten years ago at France Telecom,
within the GOA team.
In 2004, Thomas left to set up the European subsidiary of the online game giant NCsoft in the UK. As Director of
Development, he managed the team responsible for bringing several major MMOs to the European market,
including Guild Wars and City of Heroes. As a participant in NCsoft's Global Portfolio Steering Committee, he led
the company's efforts to expand its game portfolio. In April 2008, he left NCsoft to found the consulting agency
ICO Partners where is guiding the development of the company and acts as the main consultant on strategic
development for their clients.
Contact: thomas@icopartners.com
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13. Turkish Market Research 2013
T U RKISH
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