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According to IDC's "US Wireless Gaming 2006-2010 Forecast," mobile gaming for wireless devices will soon provide increased revenues for game developers, network operators, service providers, handset manufacturers and, in fact, other players all along the value chain.
A number of factors will be responsible for the growth.
- The emergence of three-dimensional (3D) games and all of the accompanying hardware and software
- Improved handset technology
- The availability of wireless broadband (3G) networks, which will help improve the gaming experience and entice more consumers to participate
New and more flexible billing mechanisms are also important.
"Game bundles, flat subscription fees that include access to multiple games, weekly game rentals, pay-per-play and other models today complement the standard one-time purchasing model or single-game monthly subscription model," said Lewis Ward of IDC.
IDC predicts that the price per mobile game will rise by more than $2.50 by 2010, due in part to the impact of growing subscription revenues.
Furthermore, IDC expects that the number of mobile game purchasers will grow by more than 16% annually, reaching nearly 50 million customers by 2010 and substantially increasing total mobile gaming revenues.
Even by the third quarter of 2006, IDC found that respondents were spending an average of $13 on wireless games, with spending inversely correlating to the purchaser's age.