One in Five are mobile gamers, will the iPhone change this?

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 03 July 2008 12:49

IT Industry - Market

A recent Gartner report shows we love our transportable fun, with mobile gaming revenue rising 16 percent in a year.  But how will a little Apple iPhone love change the scene?

Here in Australia many have not yet seen the iPhone, appearing as it does in a week or so.  But already the clamouring is beginning and the hoo-har around which telco’s  will be carry the device and for how much makes for interesting tech theatre.

With that in mind it was fun to wade through a recent Gartner report showing changing habits in our mobile entertainment use.

According to the report the Asia Pacific region (including Japan) is the largest market for mobile gaming worldwide.  End-user spending in the region is forecast to tip the US$2.3 billion this year with a long-term zenith of US$3.4 billion by 2011.

Much of this is reportedly due to the low penetration of PC’s compared to mobile devices in the region.

From the report:

India is expected to lead among Asian countries in terms of total mobile gaming revenue generated, with the 2007 figure at approximately US$80 million. This is forecast to reach US$450 million by 2012.

About 25 percent of the respondents in India stated that they download games at least once per month, followed by South Korea with 21 percent. In Australia, 19 percent said they download games at least once per month.

In Australia, 7.3 percent of survey respondents indicated that that they buy versions of their favourite console and/or PC game to play on a mobile phone, and 5.1 percent have used their phone to continue playing a game from their PC or console. These results are higher than for both North America and Western Europe. This reflects the relatively stronger interest and uptake for games and wireless in general in Asia/Pacific compared to Western Europe and North America.

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