The amount of money spent on mobile games in Google Play surpassed game sales for specialist handheld games devices for the first time in the second quarter of 2013, according to IDC and App Annie.

The latest quarterly Portable Gaming report found that in the second quarter, mobile games in Google Play increased sales while devices such as the Nintendo DS and 3DS and Sony PlayStation Portable and Vita saw a decline.

Apple’s App Store and Google Play combined generated sales four times greater than for gaming-optimised handhelds. App Store game revenue has been higher than specialist game devices for some time.

Games accounted for around 40 per cent of all app downloads in Google Play and the App Store and more than 70 per cent of revenue. Games continued to lead app store growth during the period.

The majority of game-based revenue for Google Play came from the Asia Pacific region, with Japan and South Korea particularly significant contributors.

iOS was more evenly split between North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific, while handheld game devices saw Western Europe contribute a greater proportion of revenue despite Asia Pacific remaining the biggest market.