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Mobile gaming doubles in 2005

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

New report projects upwardly mobile industry to have doubled in value worldwide over 2005, closing in on $2 billion mark.

Analysts may be predicting a stagnant or even shrinking traditional game industry in 2005, but it appears to have been a banner year for the mobile gaming market. In the past year, worldwide wireless gaming has doubled its revenues worldwide, according to a new report from Screen Digest.

The report says the worldwide market was worth 850 million euro ($996 million) in 2004, and is projected to swell to 1.7 billion euro ($1.99 billion) in revenues when all the 2005 numbers are tallied up. It also notes that traditionally strong mobile markets like Japan and Korea are losing some of their position in the industry as Western countries catch up. Markets in the US and Europe now account for 52 percent of the mobile gaming market, according to Screen Digest.

"As operator-voice revenues worldwide have slowed, the importance of mobile data has markedly increased, and games are delivering sizable revenues," stated the report's author and Screen Digest analyst David MacQueen. "The importance of this sector will continue to grow."

MacQueen noted in the report that JamDat and GameLoft were the biggest players in the American and European markets, respectively, and that traditional game publishers have by and large failed to duplicate their success in the emerging market. The lone exception to that was THQ, whose THQ Wireless brand has carved out a niche for itself.

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

9 comments
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chrisdojo
chrisdojo

MOBILE GAMING DOUBLES FROM 100 PEOPLE TO 200 IN 2005!!!11

Mista_Sal
Mista_Sal

Only games I see myself purchasing for my phone are the classics. So far i've purchased Pacman, Ms. Pacman, Tetris, Arkanoid and Puzzle Bobble. These are the only types of games I would consider buying. As long as they keep bringing out games that I want to play on the go, i'll buy them. At $3-$5 dollars a game, why not. They get the job done and provide me with something to do during my lunch break. That is until I get me a handheld.

smessvader
smessvader

Obviously, cellphone games are a far cry from games on console, PSP, or even GBA in some cases, but I strongly disagree that they are not a good value. Most games are $4-6 dollars, and can have a lot of content. Plus, especially when you're on the go, taking a quick break from work, or just have a few minutes to spare, nothing compares to the convenience of taking out your cellphone, which you usually have anyway. Plus, for older gamers, you feel less noticable taking out your cellphone to play games. Plus, games like DOOM RPG are legitimately fun on their own right. So I'm a big fan of a growing cellphone game market, so that better and better content comes out.

ewjim
ewjim

I think until the phones have PSP "power" - games on phones is piece of crap... At least for me :D! If you want call - use phone, if you want play - use console, thats all!!!

yboucher
yboucher

The N-Gage isn't a crappy phone, btw. But even I am still a little mystified as to why mobile games are so successful at the moment... I mean, they're not that great a value...

bryehngeocef
bryehngeocef

but, see...what they're saying is that mobile gaming didn't fail. In fact, it's growing quite well. The NGE failed because it was a crappy game system with a crappy library. and it's a crappy phone too. you look at a game differently on a phone than you do a "console". the expectations are lower for a "phone", although that will change as they become more complex. soon you'll see products just like the NGE that will be quality products, and probably quite popular.

reallaughingman
reallaughingman

it will fail like the ever popular n-gage. You all remember the popularity that had, even with the billion spent on advertising.

-Uzi7-
-Uzi7-

Competition is always good!

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