Wireless Gaming Update 2009

The maturing U.S. wireless gaming market holds a unique set of challenges and opportunities for all of the participants in its value chain – from the game developers to billing enablers to the wireless carriers, are desperate for revenue growth from value added services. While it is unrealistic to think that a majority of wireless users will spend significant money playing “hardcore” games, carriers can realistically expect to generate significant revenue from the small segment of the wireless subscriber base who do play games on their cellular devices. The rapid emergence of smartphones is changing the gaming frontier by making them more available and easier to play.

For this market study, iGR defines wireless gaming as a service in which an end-user connects with a wide area wireless network – such as 3G – in order to play interactive, server-based or downloadable gaming applications. In the current 2.5G and 3G environments, server-based games may include those that communicate with a server though a WAP or other mobile Internet gateway or through SMS/MMS messaging gateways. By gaming applications, iGR refers to those that involve skill and or luck-based competition with other players, a single player or a server-based host. Competitiveness can depend on the players skills related to strategy, reflexes, logic, timing, memory and knowledge.

The wireless gaming space is different from the traditional console or PC game industry in a variety of ways. Mobile games typically have significantly lower development and distribution costs and longer life cycles than console/PC games, which often switch to new versions every few years. The mobile platform, however, experiences gradual evolution of features and capabilities. Consumers most often use their console/PC games in only one area, typically the home, while mobile games can be played anywhere wireless service is available. Technologies such as location-based services (LBS) add even more variety to this advantage, allowing users to be mobile and detect other gamers’ positions, as well. Of course, the mobile gaming industry faces a unique set of challenges. Issues such as consumer price sensitivity, device limitations and network latency may never be fully resolved. However, there are many new developments in mobile gaming, such as new devices and networks, which are enabling mobile gaming to succeed in today’s wireless environment.

This report provides a wireless gaming market overview and forecast; consumer survey statistics; and detailed information and analysis regarding wireless gaming challenges, opportunities, devices, developers, publishers, brands, distribution channels, commerce enablers, network access providers, and loyalty building.

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