October 11, 2005
'Can't Talk Now, I'm Winning'
The mobile gaming business is poised for a breakout in part because the number of consumers with cellphones that can download games has risen sharply -- to about 112 million as of August, compared with 83 million in November 2004, according to the WSJ.
... "As of August, some 63 million wireless customers in the U.S., or 35% of the total, played cellphone games, according to M:Metrics Inc., a Seattle research firm.
While most played preinstalled games, 16 million paid for games they play, compared with about 12 million in January. Yankee Group estimates that revenue from cellphone gaming in the U.S. totaled $41.6 million in 2003 and will hit about $1 billion in 2009 -- still small compared with the gaming industry.
But cellphone gaming is one of few wireless data services that is growing across a broad consumer base. Women make up half of the cellphone-gamer population, and the average age of the gamers is older than console and PC game players.
No major U.S. wireless companies discloses its revenue from gaming, but all cite rapid growth."
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