Few to Dominate Mobile Gaming - Report

The mobile games market is set to become the single largest and most important mobile entertainment application in the wireless world according to a new report, from Alexander Resources. According to this report, worldwide revenues from mobile games are forecasted to grow from just under US$500 million in 2002 to nearly US$2 billion by 2006. The introduction and acceptance of the new generation of game phones will be the key factor in fueling this growth. The growth of mobile games will also help drive expansion of other new, non-voice, data oriented wireless services.

But technical and business issues will limit the lion's share of this market to a few large game developers and game phone manufacturers. While this market is expected to attract many game phone manufacturers, significant variations in the features and capabilities of each of their game phones will make it impossible for game developers to adapt, develop and support new or existing games to each one. This problem will be further compounded by wide variations in the wireless networks that these game phones operate on, each with their own standards and data rates.

The result will be a market dominated by a very few phone manufacturers who can quickly flood the market with a few attractively priced game phones that play a number of the more popular games. The popularity of their phones will also allow them to establish exclusive to semi-exclusive relationships with a few well-established game developers."

Posted to the site on 13th November 2003