WHAT AILS THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY?

M:Metrics: With E3 on the horizon, mobile gaming finds itself in the spotlight, with even Paris Hilton getting into the game. But despite Hilton's proclamation that, mobile gaming is hot right now, the audience for downloaded mobile games is stagnating. M:Metrics, the mobile market authority, has found that pricing, choice and lack of interest were the top reasons cited by players of downloaded games in the U.S., U.K. and Germany as the reasons they did not buy another game in the month of March.

M:Metrics found that 4.2 percent of U.K., 2.5 percent of German and 2.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers downloaded a game in March, a figure that has remained relatively constant month over month across all geographies. The firm's findings suggest that games purchases are directly tied to handset purchases, and fluctuate in relation to the device sales cycle. A significant portion—as much as 30 percent—of those who downloaded games in the month were first-time game downloaders. The rate at which new subscribers are being drawn into the market is relatively low, with between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent of mobile subscribers downloading their first mobile game in the month. The level of repeat purchase is between 20 percent and 30 percent of the universe of downloaded games players.

Mobile Games Consumption: March 2006
Activity	Germany (000's)	Percent German Subscribers	U.K. (000's)	Percent U.K. Subscribers	U.S. (000's)	Percent U.S. Subscribers
Played Mobile Game	9,910	22.8%	13,691	31.8%	45,042	24.2%
Played Downloaded Mobile Game	3,097	7.1%	4,347	10.1%	15,514	8.3%
Downloaded Mobile Game in Month	1,092	2.5%	1,813	4.2%	4,957	2.7%
First-Time Downloaders	236	0.5%	344	0.8%	1,520	0.8%

This data shows that operators must do a better job at converting those that played a mobile game into a player of downloaded games,. There is no shortage of new titles being launched on operator portals, many offering innovative game play and superior production value, but these do not appear to be resonating with consumers. Subscribers that had played a downloaded title cite the pricing, lack of interest and selection as reasons they did not purchase another title in the month of March.

Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers

Publ 20060502