Mobile games are the wireless Internet's killer application and 3G handsets with colour displays are its killer devices. That is one of the conclusions of a new report from Datacomm Research Company and Phoenician Ventures.
"Consumers' unquenchable thirst for entertainment will take wireless to the next level of market growth," said Leslie Mitts, partner with Phoenician Ventures and primary author of the report. "A new generation of color handsets empowered by partnerships between game developers, media companies, aggregators, and operators is redefining the wireless value chain," she concluded.
"Colorful mobile games, polyphonic ring tones, and applications/content for over-the-air download will spread like wildfire as 2.5 and 3G services roll out," said Ira Brodsky, President of Datacomm Research. "Leading consumer brands will pounce on mobile entertainment as a new advertising medium," he concluded.
The report also said that although designed for devices with small displays and limited controls, mobile games have advantages over PC and video games. Mobile games can be persistent (played in short bursts over long periods), massively multiplayer, and can exploit information about players' locations and proximity to each other. There is also no clear winner yet in the competition between J2ME and BREW. Both permit downloading games over-the-air. While J2ME offers a more open environment, BREW is more secure and enjoys a modest time-to- market lead.
In the handset market, there are opportunities for game-centric mobile devices. The success of GameBoy and the first mobile phone games suggest there is large market for handheld games that are "always on" and can be played out on the street.'"
Posted to the site on 18th July 2002
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