By ECT News Desk E-Commerce Times
09/08/04 10:36 AM PT
"Mobile gaming has come a long way since 'Snake' was first deployed on wireless handsets in 1997," said In-Stat/MDR's director of wireless research, Clint Wheelock. In-Stat/MDR's recent study revealed that, at present, 6.5 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers are extremely or very interested in purchasing mobile gaming services.
With good momentum already in the United States and worldwide, a new report from In-Stat/MDR suggests that mobile gaming, while remaining a niche market, will continue its rise as a key contributor to wireless data usage and revenues.
The research firm estimates that by 2009, mobile gaming services in the United States will generate US$1.8 billion annually, or approximately 4.4 percent of total wireless data revenues.
Additionally, the report points out that by 2009, 78.6 million wireless subscribers in the United States will play mobile games, and gaming downloads will increase more than tenfold from 2003 levels.
Mobile Gaming Evolution
"Mobile gaming has come a long way since 'Snake' was first deployed on wireless handsets in 1997," said In-Stat/MDR's director of wireless research, Clint Wheelock.
In-Stat/MDR's recent study revealed that, at present, 6.5 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers are extremely or very interested in purchasing mobile gaming services.
According to Wheelock, "This level of interest clearly identifies mobile gaming as a niche opportunity for wireless carriers, application developers and content producers."
In-Stat/MDR also found that unlike with other emerging mobile multimedia services, such as video and music, consumers interested in mobile gaming do not necessarily match the classic early-adopter profile.
Mobile Gaming
The report also suggests that consumers interested in mobile gaming are likely already to be wireless data users that own handsets with color displays, camera-phone functionality and multimedia capabilities.
On average, the report says, they are younger and more likely to be male than the general wireless subscriber base.
The report, "Mobile Gaming Services in the U.S., 2004-2009," includes survey results and analysis from In-Stat/MDR's consumer mobility study, including willingness to purchase mobile gaming services as well as preferences for specific gaming genres.
The report also analyzes trends in mobile game content development, as well as key elements of the gaming user experience.
Acclaim Bankruptcy Highlights Digital Entertainment Woes September 03, 2004
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said earlier this year that while gaming industry revenue was up, the portion of it derived from violent and mature-rated games was down. Industry observers agree that the health of the U.S. computer game industry is highly dependent on big hit titles, a lack of which helped to harm Acclaim.
Related Stories
Mobile Gaming: The Latest Wireless Cash Cow July 14, 2004
Online gaming has become possible because of recent technical advances in cell phones, such as the advent of high-resolution graphics, multiplayer features, Bluetooth connectivity, and color screens. However, the quality of the gaming experience is not as rich as that found with current game consoles, but instead is comparable to 1980s video games.
Tech Giants Call for New Mobile Top-Level Domain March 11, 2004
"I don't really think it is needed because I don't think you want to separate mobility out of existing applications," Gartner vice president Phil Redman said of the mobile TLD initiative. "You want to build mobile into what you're already doing. I don't see how a mobile TLD is really going to change that."
Beyond 3G Networks: An Interview with Lucent Mobility CTO Paul Mankiewich February 18, 2004
"I believe our biggest challenge is how fast the market for mobile high-speed data services and VoIP services will become widespread," Lucent CTO Paul Mankiewich told TechNewsWorld. "We have a very solid technology vision through 2010, but the question is, how fast does the technology evolve?"
Sprint, Samsung Bring Gaming to Mobile Phones July 31, 2003
IDC mobile devices analyst Alex Slawsby told the E-Commerce Times that while there is rapidly growing interest in mobile gaming, he is not sure users will want to carry a separate component just for gaming.
More by ECT News Desk
Gates Gives $42.6 Million for Malaria Cure December 13, 2004
Extracting artemisinin from the wormwood plant is labor intensive. UC Berkeley will complete development of a synthetic process to procuce artemisinic acid, while Amyris will develop processes to produce large quantities of artemisinic acid and chemically convert it to artemisinin.
Salesforce.com Pushes On-Demand Model with Winter '05 November 03, 2004
"With Winter '05, we are able to provide our engineering and product development organizations the same type of on-demand benefits our sales and support organizations currently enjoy," said David Brooks, director of CRM at Magma Design Automation.
Gupta's SQLBase(R) 9.0 Certified Novell Ready October 13, 2004
SQLBase 9.0 for Linux runs up to 40 percent faster on the SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 than on Windows operating systems using identical hardware, according to Gupta. The company also touted the security of the system.
Headline Feeds
gaming services in the United States will generate US$1.8 billion annually, or approximately 4.4 percent of total wireless data revenues.
Talkback: 
