In this edition of Mobile Monday, we’re celebrating both Bloomberg’s commitment to improving the mobile user experience as well as RuneScape’s cross-platform future.
Bloomberg’s Boost
Consumers expect content to be available immediately. It’s why Instant-Play™’s creation was so important on the mobile video front, it’s true for all forms of content: consumers simply don’t have the patience to wait for content to load. Last fall, Bloomberg had a bit of a loading problem, as noted in a recent piece by Ross Benes of Digiday.
Indeed, the speed at which Bloomberg’s content loaded on mobile was so slow that received “poor” grades on speed tests. Today, that’s not the case.
After months of development and finesse, Bloomberg has reduced its page-load time nearly 50%, and the impact is already measurable via a 17% increase in session depth and 10% increase in session impressions. While this increase might seem modest compared to the performance improvements, it must be noted that the site’s page-load times still have room for improvement — as many do — and earn a “needs work” grade according to speed test tools.
Nonetheless, it is always promising and comforting when a major publisher takes mobile user experience concerns to heart & implements changes to improve.
So what do all these changes amount to? For a property with two-thirds of its 32 million unique monthly visitors coming from mobile, it means a noticeable improvement for millions of users every single day.
RuneScape’s Revival
Since 2001, millions of users have played RuneScape, and hundreds of thousands still subscribe for premium features to this day. Originally, the MMORPG was designed for in-browser play only, though a standalone version was created in 2016. Regardless, gameplay was effectively limited to desktop settings, though that limitation is about to be released.
How so? Soon, RuneScape developer Jagex will release the game for mobile platforms, with its Old School RuneScape version slated for a late 2017 release and its newer version slated for early 2018.
While the move will undoubtedly make the game more accessible to a broader audience, the developers are still targeting its core, particularly those whose activity may have lapsed. To lure these users in and re-engage them, true cross-platform compatibility was key, and the mobile version of the games will allow players to pick up where they left off on PC.
While the title is already profitable and has seen an uptick in recent years, it will be interesting to see if the mobile app release provides further renaissance for this classic and beloved IP.
About AdColony Mobile Mondays
Mobile Monday examines the latest news, trends, and developments in mobile apps, tech, and advertising. Do you have a story to share for the next Mobile Monday? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
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