After SMS, what will be the next most sought after application for mobile?  Will it be Multimedia Messaging (MMS)?  Will it be Audio/Video delivery?  The next killer application for mobile is going to be "Mobile Gaming".

A new report published by The NPD Group indicated that half of all USA wireless subscribers now own mobile phones capable of downloading games.  A full 27% play games using their mobile phones, including purchased downloads as well as free demos and pre-loaded games, compared to 20% last year.  Another 6% of current non-gamers confessed an interest in playing on their phone over the next year.  The top Two (2) reason why people are into mobile gaming - To kill time or to alleviate boredom

The report added that kids between the ages of 13 and 17 (60%) are nearly three times as likely as adults (23%) to be mobile gamers.  A mobile phone is the best alternative when video gamers are away from their game consoles, PCs, and handhelds.  Consumers who play games on other devices are twice as likely to play on their cell phones, as well.

As for their spending habits, mobile gamers tend to spend 57% more on handsets. They make more regular calls (48% more) than non-gamers, and their monthly bills are 22% higher than the average subscriber.  The NPD group collected 8,774 total responses and 6,703 of them are wireless subscribers.

The NPD report indicated that price is a significant issue that surrounds mobile gaming which is inhibiting the industry from really taking off.  Limited screen size and navigation options is another area of concern which is why casual games like puzzles and card games are the most popular.

Another report conducted by In-Stat/MDR suggests that by 2009, mobile gaming services in the United States will generate US$1.8 billion annually, or approximately 4.4 percent of total wireless data revenues.  The report also indicated that by 2009, 78.6 million wireless subscribers in the US will play mobile games, and gaming downloads will increase more than tenfold from 2003 levels.  The most significant aspect of the report showed that unlike other emerging mobile multimedia such as video and music, consumers interested in mobile gaming do not necessarily match the classic early-adopter profile.  They are younger and more likely to be male than the general wireless subscriber base.

The In-Stat report showed that total youth mobile data services revenue reached $15.2 billion in 2004, and the forecast growth rate is estimated at 15.3% from 2004 to 2010.

On the hand, market research Datamonitor said mobile operators and developers should adopt a Three (3) action plans to be able to compete : focus on a mass-marketing strategy that is centered on selected content and then make them readily available on a non-premium basis; low-key informative advertising campaigns to educate mobile users rather than making promises of compelling mobile content; and revenue-sharing, which fully rewards content providers, is vital in creating a healthy mobile gaming development community.

Game providers like Yahoo, Activision, Electronic Arts and others have already announce that they will be releasing their vast libraries of games for the mobile platform.  Filipino local game developers should also look into this market as well.

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