Games on mobile phones and other wireless devices will spawn an industry worth US$4.4 billion globally by 2006 if operators get their marketing right, industry analysts Ovum said yesterday.
Success would require a change of mindset to target the mass of social players, not prepared to pay much money, instead of the big-spending hardcore players, the company said in a statement.
PHOTO: AFP
Wireless gaming has become a poster child for the mobile data industry in its search for a killer application, with early success stories in South Korea and Japan used as a blueprint for the games' rollout.
But as the wireless industry gathers this week in Singapore for CommunicAsia, the region's main telecoms trade fair, Ovum argued against aiming for the big spenders.
Wireless gaming operators were said to consider the industry a gold mine because gaming players already spend billions of dollars each year, mobile devices have mass-market penetration, and the advent of third-generation (3G) networks will bring color, video and real-time multi-player games.
"Once again, players in this market risk going down a technology driven road, with the assumption that if mobile can offer the gaming functionality, the users will come," Ovum's digital media director Rosalie Nelson said.
"Industry players are failing to account for the many gaming and entertainment substitutes that are cheap, readily available, and compete for the fickle users' attention."
Ovum said its research showed the value of wireless gaming lay with the low-spending, casual players who individually may not generate huge revenues but whose sheer mass made them a valuable target.
"These are the users who can be encouraged to play and spend more, particularly in Asia-Pacific where the demand and experience with games is so high," the company statement said.
"Sensitivity to price is key," it added, saying users will require absolute transparency in charging, based on subscription or pay per use which will become easier when mobile handsets are able to download, store and play games.
"Operators need to realise that users will be able to download games via their PC, a kiosk, a bluetooth connection, and not necessarily from the operator's network," Nelson said.
"Operators hope that immersive, realtime multi-player games will drive their network revenues. However this won't necessarily be the case even when 3G is fully rolled out.
"Operators cannot simply focus on technology to drive games. If they want to retain pole position in this market they must adopt different strategies for different users."
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