Mobile gaming doubles

According to Ziff Davis Media's annual "Digital Gaming in America" survey, cell-phone gaming continued its meteoric rise in 2005.

The survey reported the number of households engaged in cell-phone gaming nearly doubled again, jumping from 16.3 million last year to 27.9 million this year.

Mobile-phone gamers in the study reported spending 19 minutes per gaming session. They spent an average of $13 on mobile-phone games in the last 60 days, and core gamers spent even more on mobile-phone games -- $19 in the last 60 days.

"Core gamers" are defined as those who bought four or more games in the last six months and play 10 or more hours per week.

Respondents who do not play games on their phones cited small screen sizes as the primary deterrent (cited by 49 percent of respondents); they also cited a lack of desirable games (46 percent) and high costs (35 percent) as reasons they don't yet play cell-phone games.

The study also tracked future-purchase intent for both mobile phones and portable gaming devices, revealing strong sales prospects. Eighty-six percent already own a cell phone this year, and of these individuals 48 percent play games on their mobile devices. But the mobile-phone market for gamers is by no means saturated: More than 50 percent of gamers plan to purchase a new cell phone within the next 12 months.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International