News
Americans go mad for games
Stuart O'Brien Jan 2 2007, 3:00pm
The US will be home to 50 million mobile gamers by 2010, according to new research from IDC.
The company also says that 11 per cent of US mobile users it surveyed purchased at least one game for their device in the third quarter of 2006.
Teens and adults under 24 years of age made up the core of the gaming constituency, with each individual spending an average of $13 on games during the quarter.
IDC is also predicting a change in how mobile games are sold. It says more than three quarters of all games purchased in the US during 3Q06 were based on a one-time download/unlimited use model.
While IDC expects that model to dominate for the next four years, it says subscription-based offerings will gain traction and represent a third of total games revenue by the end of the decade.
Lewis Ward, research manager of IDC's Mobile Consumer Services, said: "Flexible discovery and billing mechanisms are emerging trends making mobile game purchases easier and more attractive to consumers."
