Author Archive

NPD: Mobile Market Needs Less Quantity, More Quality

August 19th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Research & Stats | No Comments »

The NPD Group’s latest report on the mobile industry found that 27 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers are playing games, but only 8.5 percent are paying for games. In an exclusive interview with NPD Wireless Analyst Clint Wheelock, Modojo discusses that state of mobile gaming in the U.S. and how the market needs to change in order to grow.

The NPD Group’s recent report "Mobile Games: Who’s Playing" revealed some surprising statistics about the current state of the mobile industry. Although NPD Wireless Analyst Clint Wheelock agrees that the wireless games market is going to continue its rapid growth pattern, he also noted that the study unearthed some more disturbing mobile gaming trends. The report doesn’t indicate that alarm bells should be sounding, but it does show that market consolidation is becoming increasingly likely over the next 12-18 months. Read on …

Start-Up Cellufun Targets Emerging Multi-Player Mobile Gaming Market

August 17th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Other news | No Comments »

Cellufun, LLC today announced the successful closing of its Series A financing, led by Vaux Les Ventures. The mobile gaming company will use the proceeds to accelerate the development and launch of its multi-player gaming portal, cellufun.com.
"The mobile game market is undergoing explosive growth," explained Miles Spencer, Managing Partner at Vaux Les Ventures and host of the popular PBS television show on business development, Money Hunt. "Our investors are excited about the opportunity to participate in a clearly differentiated player at an early stage of its growth." Mr. Spencer will join the Board of Directors of Cellufun and play an active role in its business development. Read on …

Who is playing those mobile games?

August 17th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Research & Stats | No Comments »

A new report published today casts light on who is playing games on their mobile phones, and how much time they spend.

According to the report, half of all U.S. wireless subscribers now own phones capable of downloading games, with 27% of those playing games on their devices, including purchased downloads as well as free demos and pre-loaded games. That’s an increase of 7% on last year.

NPD’s report Mobile Games: Who’s Playing also found that another six percent of current non-gamers expressed an interest in playing on their phone over the next year. The reason most often cited for the interest is "to kill time or alleviate boredom". The average gaming session lasts just 11 minutes. Read on …

Exit Games Releases Neutron 2.5 Mobile Middleware

August 17th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Multiplayer Gaming | No Comments »

Exit Games Neutron has announced that version 2.5 of its Neutron mobile multiplayer service is making its public debut at this year’s Games Convention Developer Conference 2005, taking place from August 16

Boost Mobile Introduces First and Only Location-Based, GPS Games in the U.S

August 16th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Location Based Gaming | 1 Comment »

Wireless entertainment and the material world today announced a new partnership that is providing Boost Mobile customers with a gaming experience like no other in the United States. Starting today, Boost customers are the first and only mobile phone users in the nation to be able to download and play location-based GPS (Global Positioning System) games on their wireless phones.

Boost Mobile has partnered with Blister Entertainment, a leading provider of location-based entertainment services, to introduce Swordfish(TM) and Torpedo Bay(TM), the first GPS-enabled Java(TM) games in the U.S. Boost customers can play both games now by downloading the applications directly from their Java(TM) technology-enabled Boost phone or from Boost LIVE (www.BoostLIVE.com). Each game costs $5.99 for the first month and $2.99 for each additional month. Read on …

Understanding and Innovation Needed for Location Based Games

August 15th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Location Based Gaming | No Comments »

The mobile games industry did see a few early pioneers brave the location frontier with titles such as BotFighters from It’s Alive (now owned by Swedish games company Daydream Software), Portuguese developer Ydreams’ Undercover and France-based Newt Games’ Mogi Mogi, along with several academic proofs, such as CitiTag, from the UK’s Open University.

In order to truly move forward with the inclusion of location into game play, companies must first understand the definition of a location-based game. Second, they must understand the complexities, strengths and weaknesses of location technologies. And third, they need to move past the “all or nothing” belief that can be seen in most discussions on the topic. Read on …

Thanks to Franklin T. for pointing this one out!

The future of video games? That’s easy — it’s women

August 15th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Kelly Zmak, the new chief operating officer and senior vice-president of Vancouver’s Radical Entertainment, doesn’t need a crystal ball to see into the video game industry’s future and where he wants his company to go. Read on …

Report Asks Consumers What is Limiting Mobile Game Penetration

August 15th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Research & Stats | No Comments »

I-play
today revealed results of the first-ever five-country survey on mobile
gaming behaviour that summarizes barriers and incentives to consumers
downloading mobile games. Key findings of the research show that only
five percent of consumers have ever downloaded a mobile game,
illustrating that the market has enormous growth potential if this
barrier can be overcome. The research was carried out by independent
research agency SKOPOS and is the result of interviews with more than
2,500 respondents across the US, UK, Italy, Spain and Germany. Read on …

Nokia set to launch new 3D Pool Game on Java cell phones

August 15th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

New pool game to offer 3D, connected gaming fun through the Nokia SNAP Mobile service.

Nokia, the leader in mobile communications, announced today the launch of a new game “3D Pool”(working title), expected to be available later this year on selected Java-enabled cell phones through Nokia SNAP (Scalable Network Application Package) Mobile service. One of several connected games Nokia SNAP Mobile has planned for Java-based phones, this new pool game redefines the billiards genre with its 3D visuals and online community features. Read on …