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Wireless gaming, already a lucrative industry, is set to become more profitable according to latest research by Datamonitor.
The research, due to be published shortly by the company, reveals that by the year 2006, revenues from global wireless gaming will be 18 times greater than they are today.
The report predicts that combined revenues in the industry from the US, Europe and Asia Pacific markets will grow from an estimated USD950 million in 2001 to USD17.5 billion in 2006. Currently Asia Pacific is the dominant player in the market, accounting for 87 percent of total revenues. However, Datamonitor predicts that by 2006 the US and Europe will have increased their combined percentage share in the market from 13 percent to 40.
The company also predicts that Europe's wireless gaming market will grow to USD4.2 billion in 2006 and that revenues in the US will leap from today's USD20 million to USD3 billion.
The research shows that globally, 120 million people play some kind of wireless game and that half of these people are in the Asia Pacific area, making it the top wireless gaming region globally. Figures show that in Europe, 41 million people play games on their mobile phones or PDAs, compared with 22 million in the US. Datamonitor forecasts that by the year 2006 Europe will have over 150 million wireless gamers, with Germany, the UK and Italy being the most dominant in terms of numbers.
"Operators in Europe are finally taking wireless gaming seriously," Peter Tyson, Datamonitor games analyst said. "It has taken the dotcom correction and the threat of losing popular content to collapsing start ups for them to open their wallets and their systems."
The research also shows that the most popular time for people to play wireless games is on weekends and in the evenings. This shows that people do not just play to pass the time, but will often choose to play a wireless game over and above other popular activities.
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