[IGDA Mobile-SIG List] Mobile Games: Licenses Dominate

[William Volk]

>From Mocomnews:


http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-mobile-gaming-licensing-vs-original-ip-npd
-group/

"NPD Group has released some figures for mobile game usage in the US,
showing incremental growth. One thing that stood out is a chart of the
top-selling mobile games for the second half of 2006 (below), and whether
they were based on licensed brands or original IP."

See the chart: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/430778226_26fe0897a2_o.jpg

Even the 'original' Namco titles are ports of popular arcade games.

Why?  DISTRIBUTION IS DESTINY

If the only thing customers see (in the on-deck catalog) is 40 characters of
a title's name ... Then familiar names are what will sell.

More from the report:

"While 20 percent of mobile users played games on their handset only a bit
less than 4 percent downloaded a mobile game in Q4, up from just over 3
percent in the second quarter of 2006. The biggest challenge for the
industry is showing mobile game players the value of downloading mobile
games. There was nearly $107 million in mobile game-related revenue in the
fourth quarter of 2006, according to NPD, which was beaten only by SMS ($482
million) and ringtone downloads ($172 million). The average sale price for
mobile games was $3.79, although when free games are taken out of the
equation the average sale price rose to $4.41. "