New research from comScore has revealed that the number of US mobile game downloaders grew 17% from November 2007 to November 2008, when 8.5 million people, or 3.8% of mobile subscribers, downloaded a game to their mobile device.
Mark Donovan, comScore senior analyst, said: “The rapid growth in smartphone adoption in the United States has provided a boost for mobile gaming, as 34 percent of those downloading a game in November did so using a smartphone.”
“Last year, not one smartphone appeared in the top 10 devices used for mobile downloads. This year, six out of 10 are smartphones, excluding devices with smartphone-like functionality, such as the Instinct and Voyager, which also make appearances.”
The number of smartphone owners downloading a game nearly tripled, while dipping 14% among owners of feature phones. iPhone owners accounted for 14% of mobile game downloaders in November, with 32.4% of all iPhone users reporting they downloaded a game in the month, compared with a market average of 3.8%.
Donovan added: “As the mobile phone has evolved into a better platform for both playing and merchandising games, the games being offered have also been improved, drawing in a broader user base.
“Over the past year, we have seen mobile gaming expand into a broadening demographic, with strongest growth among teens, who previously eschewed their mobile device in favour of handheld gaming devices, and those 35 and older.”
In other research, comScore found that the online gaming site category in the US has grown 27% during the past year to 86 million visitors in December 2008 (see Growth in US online gaming).
Research from Nielsen Online, meanwhile, found that entertainment, games and video sites are the most popular websites with people under the age of 23 in the UK, with gaming sites most popular with 12-17 year-olds (see Entertainment, Gaming And Video Sites Are Most Popular With Young People).
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