Total global revenues from games on mobile phones are forecast to reach $11.2 billion by 2010, increasing by a massive £8.6 billion from $2.6 billion this year, according to a new strategic research report from Informa Telecoms and Media.
The
Mobile Game report predicts that downloads will account for around two-thirds of global revenues through 2010, with online multi player traffic forecast to start generating significant income for mobile operators. By 2010, online multi player games are expected to generate 20.5% of total global revenue.
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to continue to dominate the global gaming market in terms of revenues and users, with the US predicted to become the second largest individual market by revenue users by 2010.
Informa Telecoms and Media point out, however, that the mobile games industry still has work to do to encourage mass-market adoption of the technology. This year, just 6.7% of all mobile subscribers globally will download and play a mobile game, predicted to rise to 15.2% by 2010.
Commenting on the research findings, Stuart Dredge, co-author of Mobile Games and reporter at Mobile Games Analyst said: “Now what the market needs is mass-market take-up, which means that the mobile games industry has to provide games that will encourage more casual users to play.”
Merger and acquisition activity is shown to be thinning out the mobile games market, especially in the games development and publishing sectors.
Pamela Clark-Dickinson, co-author of the report explained: “Previously, consolidation occurred mainly among mobile games companies, but recent acquisitions and investments by vendors such as RealNetworks and Cisco Systems attest to a growing interest in this sector from the wider digital media and information industry.”
Mobile games companies are thought to be likely to embark on brand-building and consumer marketing activities during 2005, seeking to build the profile of mobile gaming in the marketplace.
The expanding mobile games market is predicted to have a positive impact on advertisers, with a new generation of advertising being developed, offering the industry new channels with which to reach its target audience.
At the video games industry event, E3, this week a new media network will be showcased, offering advertisers an interactive form of product placement in games, cashing in on the strong performance predicted for this medium (see New Advertising Channel Poses Future Threat To TV).
A recent report from Forrester Research shows marketers to be quickly losing confidence in the effectiveness of traditional advertising channels, with 53% predicting television advertising to become less effective over the following years, losing out to the online medium (see US Online Ad and Marketing Spend To Reach $14.7 Billion in 2005).
Related Links
