The sale of virtual goods within mobile apps is already worth four times as much as mobile ad revenue, according to Flurry.
The mobile analytics firm says that whereas a year ago, virtually all revenue via the iPhone iOS platform came from advertising, now the sale of goods from within apps is the dominant source.
Flurry admits the idea that sales of “virtual swords, gold coins and respect points can outperform advertising seems counter-intuitive; however, this phenomenon is neither new nor unique to the iOS platform.”
Virtual goods sales already represent the primary source of revenue for social gaming on Facebook, it says.
Flurry’s analysis was based on data collected from a sample iOS social networking and social gaming applications, with a combined reach of 2.2 million daily active users.
It quotes figures from Wedbush Morgan Securities that show social gaming has grown from approximately $600 million in 2008 to $1 billion in 2009 and is forecast to grow to more than $4 billion by 2013.
Mobile in-app sales are currently unique to the iOS. Android doesn’t support in-game purchases, Flurry notes.
With mobile social game critical mass “now rivaling TV prime time viewership,” it anticipates predicts strong revenue growth from both virtual goods and advertising revenue from social gaming over the next 18 to 24 months.