MobileRated published a news item showing the 25 most popular mobile phones used for downloading free cellular games. While some lament the uptake of cellular games, there is no denying that some people are playing mobile games - plenty of mobile games. Over 1 million downloads a month at MobileRated. It is interesting to see which phones are most popular with game players.
GetJar announced this claim based upon results from an on-line survey of their customers in the UK. Furthermore, they claim only 15% of users found that their downloaded games always worked. This damning report is a serious blow to the mobile games industry and points out the dark secret that porting games to 1000s of hand-sets has left gapping holes in testing and verifications processes.
A few years back Research in Motion (RIM) was in patent trouble and the future seemed dim. While dominant in the business market for PDA devices (particularly for mobile email), it was possible their entire business model was at risk. Once those troubles were behind them, RIM pushed into the smart phone consumer market with the Pearl mobile phone. Why oh why didn’t I buy their stock back then?
The ruling British Columbia liberal party is not known for being green. The idiomatic party is conservative-minded and tends to favor business interests. But, like any political party interested in re-election, it must present itself as embracing current political sentiment. Thus finance minister Carole Taylor presented her 2008 budget dressed head to toe in green and introduced B.C.’s first Carbon Tax. The right message at the right time, perhaps. But, as is usual in politics, all is not exactly what it seems.
Advertising is touted as a natural fit for the internet culture - nobody wishes to pay for anything but most people are willing to exchange viewing advertising for that privilege. The internet is not free, of course, in that there is cost for access, usually a fixed rate per month. On the mobile internet, this cost is often not fixed and can be outrageously expensive, with per kilobyte charges. While far from prohibitive, this cost is a factor when advertising is dynamically inserted. Over sufficient time, it is possible to spend more on network costs for the advertising than for outright purchase of the merchandise.
Nokia is the world leader in the manufacture of mobile phones. This coveted position in an industry that sold over 1 billion phones in 2007 makes Nokia the world leader in sales of cameras and digital music players as well - as add-ons to their phones. Is Nokia set to become the dominant platform for gamers as well?
My current phone is a SonyEricsson W810i. I have been very pleased with this phone. It has everything I can think of a mobile phone should have, and most features are quite well done. I heartily recommend this phone for general use.
Many are willing to cast a negative light on the mobile phone game industry. Indeed, the carriers themselves can be the worst critics, willing to isolate the industry as a perpetual niche marketplace. Part of the blame is the stagnant 3% customer base willing to purchase mobile games from carrier decks. However, there are signs of growth in the industry, many not centered around the carrier deck. Perhaps the mobile games industry stands to grow with out without carrier support.
In some circles discussing games for cell phones invites derision and ridicule, particularly from the hard core. Certainly, relative lack of processing power, small screen sizes, limited audio and memory, and tiny keypads are valid arguments against the merits of mobile phones as a game platform. Yet the weight of these factors has diminished over time as newer models are increasingly raising the bar of performance and capability, and developers are pushing the envelope of what can be done on a hand-held device. Indeed, combined with the true strengths of cell phones - mobile ubiquity and deployed volume - EA reports making more profit from their mobile phone games than from either PS3 or PSP games. This from a mocked gaming platform?
Mobile games are projected at over $1 billion in revenue or roughly 5% the size of the standard video game industry. Clearly mobile isn’t just for fun - it’s business. What does it take to join the ranks? What are the top companies looking for? Read on.