Mobile Gaming On The Rise

At the present time, mobile gaming is already a multi million-dollar industry and has in fact been for a number of years already. Nevertheless, the industry is abuzz with reports that seem to indicate that the industry as a whole is gearing up for another period of growth and development. This realization was voiced by no less than MocoNews, who has received a number of new reports to the effect that the mobile gaming industry is indeed on the way to bigger things, although the company was quick to mention that estimates as to just how large the coming “boom” will be varies wildly, with different and sometimes conflicting figures being thrown around. Nevertheless, one thing is for sure: mobile gaming will be far bigger in the near future than it has ever been, and even longtime industry analysts may be taken by surprise at its eventual scale.One company that has been monitoring the growth of the mobile gaming industry–Global Industry Analysts–has predicted the mobile games market will reach a staggering $20 billion by the year 2010. In another estimate, Gartner predicted earlier this month that the worldwide mobile gaming market would reach $9.6 billion by the year 2011. Yet another estimate, this one given by iSuppli, predicted recently that all combined, the mobile content market would reach an amazing $44 billion by the year 2011.

GIA has recently stated that in their opinion, java-based games, 3D games and Bluetooth games are set to gain more users in the coming years, and that there will be several developments with regard to introducing models that will enhance user access. The company has said that Europe is currently the biggest wireless gaming market in the world, and that in 2007, the entire continent was responsible for more than a 40% share of the worldwide market. Canada, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Latin America is expected to be the fastest growing market in wireless gaming, and a compounded annual rate of almost 80% is expected over a ten-year period.

All that being said, it is not really easy to predict with any degree of accuracy what the eventual size of the mobile gaming market is going to be. Just like any facet of the industry, these predications tend to vary depending on whom you ask, and even when you ask them. While the decrease in the number of consumers who spend money on subscription-based services is a little alarming, there are other long time games developers who have begun the migration into the mobile gaming market by introducing a host of well known games, and in some cases licensing their games to mobile carriers in preference to other avenues such as subscription services or single sale outlets.

One thing is for certain: as huge as the mobile gaming industry is now, it will only get bigger in the near future. The way the mobile gaming industry is going right now, it is no longer a question of “if”, but “when”.