Mobile Online Gaming in the APEJ Region Poised For Steady Growth
According to a new study from IDC, mobile online gaming in the APEJ region will continue to grow at a steady pace, capturing the interest of providers as a potential revenue-generating service. The key factors contributing to the industry's development are the proliferation of affordable, high-resolution, and Internet-ready handsets and the development of more compelling game content.
"As mobile penetration in the APEJ region continues to rise, and as users continue to consume more feature-rich media, mobile online gaming will continue to experience growth," says Jun-Fwu Chin, Senior Analyst, Software, IDC Malaysia. "However, this fledgling industry is not without barriers. Imbalanced revenue sharing models between carriers and game developers, and the prevailing mindshare of Asia/Pacific users that mobile handsets are simply communication devices and not entertainment gadgets are among the fundamental issues that need to be addressed for widespread industry growth," adds Manuel Ravago, Research Manager for IDC Philippines.
Furthermore, as users in the region continue to consume mobile media such as ring tones, logos, wallpapers, and other feature-rich media, IDC believes that further inroads into the mobile online gaming space will follow suit. The path of natural progression will entail a shift in usage patterns - from "simple content" as in SMS-based applications, to feature- or "media-rich" content such as Java-based games and applications.
IDC expects that in the long term, the mobile online gaming market will eventually evolve into a mainstream activity, especially among countries with high technology adoption rates and available user bases. IDC observes that, for now, the industry is still trying to make inroads among potential customers and simply leverage on its existing subscriber bases to develop the mobile online gaming market.
Asia/Pacific Wireless Online Gaming Users by Selected Countries, 2004-2009 (CAGR %)
Among the countries included in the study, Korea is seen to have the highest degree of mobile online gaming penetration in the region at 6.9% in 2004. This is expected to reach 9.6% by the end of the forecast period in 2009. The penetration growth will be largely due to the high mobile phone penetration in the country and the abundance of game content and mobile game developers.
IDC explains that as mobile online gaming revenue-sharing models continue to favor content providers over carrier or service providers, pricing models must be made more flexible and profit margins more equally distributed. Likewise, though pay-per-incident rates are most common, monthly play-all-you-want subscription packages may entice more gamers to enter the fray."
Posted to the site on 28th November 2005
