The Change Mariner

Game Market for Mobile Phones

Mercury News:

Hawkins said Digital Chocolate will create sports games that resemble fantasy sports leagues, as well as titles for women that emphasize social networking.

While he acknowledges that Digital Chocolate is late to the cell phone game, he said he believes the market will be huge. Some analysts estimate that by 2006 there will be 2 billion wireless phones capable of playing games with animation, video and sound. Whether people will actually want to play games on their phones is another matter. "It's a tough opportunity for cell phone games in the North Amercan market right now. It's a fledgling market,'' said analyst P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research.

Big game publishers like EA and THQ are pushing into wireless games, while smaller companies like Jamdat Mobile and Sorrent are generating millions of dollar in revenues from them.

To be sure, playing games on cell phones isn't the best of experiences. Networking speed is slow, and it's easy to be interrupted by phone calls. Nokia tried to revolutionize the field with its N-Gage game phone, which failed miserably after its launch in the fall.

Posted by Bob King at March 4, 2004 09:08 AM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Industry - Telecommunications | Quadrant - Technological

Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front: Prima's Official Strategy Guide: Detailed Maps
Prima Lifestyles

Amazon Price: $14.99

Mobile Device Game Development (Game Development Series)
Charles River Media

Amazon Price: $34.97

The Mobile Connection : The Cell Phone's Impact on Society
Morgan Kaufmann

Amazon Price: $34.95