Revenue for mobile gaming in the Asia/Pacific reached US$1.56 billion in 2005, with Japan and South accounting for around half of the region’s total for the year, according to In-Stat.
Future growth drivers, however, will be the large, growing mobile markets of China and India.
“While there is great growth potential with expected increases in mobile subscribers and gaming-capable handsets, current problems are proving difficult to surmount,” says Bryan Wang, In-Stat analyst.
“In-Stat’s user survey reflects low penetration of mobile games among Asia/Pacific mobile phone users. Fragmentation of the mobile gaming industry, revenue sharing issues, poor user experiences, competition from dedicated portable gaming devices, and game piracy are all issues needing to be addressed.”
Recent research by In-Stat found that mobile gaming in Asia/Pacific will reach US$4.4 billion in 2010. 3G users spend 70% more per month on mobile gaming than 2G users, with more than half of both 2G and 3G users indicating they would be unlikely to play mobile games within the next six months.
According to a study from Parks Associates, women represent 59% of all US consumers who play games on a mobile phone. The research suggested that women comprise 61% of all those who play mobile phone games for one to four hours per month and 58% of all those playing for more than four hours per month (see Women Represent Almost 60% Of US Mobile Phone Gamers).
At the beginning of the year, forecasts from eMarketer’s Mobile Gaming brief suggested that world wide gaming revenue reached $2.5 billion in 2005, with James Belcher, senior analyst and author of the report, saying the industry is “not a fad” (see Mobile Phone Gaming Continues To Grow In Popularity).
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