Wedbush Morgan Industry analyst Michael Pachter, in his company's July industry reports, opines that mobile games are a fad. In a section headlined "Mobile Games Are a Fad," Pachter explains that while a billion iPhone applications have been downloaded since the phone launched, less than 20% of the downloads are games. So the iTunes App Store has generated "under $400 million in game downloads" in its first year.
Pachter predicts the mobile game industry will grow at 25% per year for a few years, but will eventually fall as competing devices enter the market. So, if you believe Pachter, the PSP and the Nintendo DS are safe for the time being.
Pachter also said that Electronic Arts' faith in the mobile games market is "misplaced." EA has recently put a lot of resources into its mobile division, with iPhone versions of popular EA games available, including Spore, The Sims and Tiger Woods.
You might not be an "industry analyst" like Michael Pachter, but I'll bet you have an opinion on mobile gaming. What do you think? Are cell-phone games just a passing fad, or do they have "legs?" What games do you play on your phone?
Comments
Displaying 1–19 of 19
Hand_Banana
THE FEED, why even post this on your page? This guy isn't worth listening to.
vismortis
Gaming on phones maby but Hand Helds please Nintendo has been making in more gold then Mario with them for 20 Years. ( Game Boy launched in 89)
rpm285sm
In the article cited Pachter makes a clear distinction between Mobile (cell phone) games and Handheld (DS/PSP) games.
Zmeeds
gaming as a whole is just a fad.
Luna_Saisho
Someone quick! Tell Nintendo! The DS is about to fall! It is mobile gaming too, after all.
This is based on 20% being games? Even if you hate the iPhone, you can't ignore the fact that it has a ton of great apps to do almost everything. What is the percentage of games that are up there?
Mr Pachter, I'm sorry, but I do not respect your opinion. It's too based on personal preference then actual data.
Beetlevegas
Fad? I dont think show. 9 or 10 hand helds later. I think not. This guy dosent know what hes talk about.
BertSaxby
Mobile gaming has been around in some form since electronics were invented...calling it a fad is quite simply ludicrous. I imagine there were people saying the same thing when Mattel Football was released. They were wrong, and so is Mr. Pachter.
sjwano
It will remain a part of the spectrum, but will not overtake DS/PSP mobile games systems. My guess is he sees "serious" gamers getting burned (given their higher expectations) by mobile purchases. Mobile gaming in my opinion will always appeal to the "casual" user. If the right types of games were found...e.g. the "Tetris" for mobile, I am sure the market might take off. Otherwise I'd expect it to increase as mobile smart phone/broadband ownership and usage increases, but level off over time till the killer app is released.
swede7754
As cell phone technology advances & more games are made available for the cell phone, mobile gaming is moving up. End of story.
pumathehero said it - games, in general were "only a fad" in the 70s. Look at 'em now, people earn a living from making & playing games. Mobile gaming is catching up to, if not surpassing console gaming.
Pachter & most of the other "industry experts" should get jobs as weather men in some small community in another country so nobody can hear their rantings again as they've spewed nothing but innaccuracies for DECADES about something they obviously know NOTHING about.
rpm285sm
"Mobile gaming," when refering to games on cell phones, is something of a fad. It's not that games being on phones at all is a fad, it's the idea that serious games will be played there. Most serious gamers have a DS or PSP if they want to game on the go and the rest of the people with an iphone will be doing just as Tubby said. I like having games on my phone, it's nice to have something to keep me occupied for 5 minutes while I wait for something, something that wasnt going to take long enough for me to remember to bring my DS with me, but it'll never being a gaming platform. As to it being a fad, I dont think it's really a fad among gamers, it's a fad among developers.
down311
“I don’t think there are four million people in the world who really want to play online games every month,” said Michael Pachter, a research analyst for Wedbush Morgan, a securities firm. "
Still think this guy is a joke.
TubbyM0f0
I agree, somewhat. I'm not sure that its just a fad, but it is, basically, just a time waster. It's merely a convenience for when you don't want to strike up a conversation with the wall while waiting to board the plane, or til the oil change is done. It's a convenience for when you don't want to actually use your phone to, you know, talk to someone. Personally, I don't see the need for it in the first place. My PSP and DS are my mobile gaming platforms. The extent of mobile gaming should be no more than PopCap type stuff and Minesweeper lol
IcemanMX
Mobile gaming is as much as a fad as portable gaming. Mobile gaming was popularized back in '92 with the advent of the original GameBoy. Seventeen years later, the "fad" continues on in its more evolved forms.
-M
WarChild76
under $400M, but more than $300M in it's 1st year with a ~25% year on year predicted growth rate - but investing in the division is "misplaced", wtf, i hate this guy
pumathehero
didnt they say that about gaming in general back in the 70's?
deathnotejoe
i highly doubt its just a fad. most people that play handhelds are little kids and there parents probably wont stop buying them as long as they keep the kids entertained in the back seat of the car while there driving places to keep them quiet
joshua_nash
i don't really trust anything pachter has to say on anything video game related
TurnBackThePendulum
Nokia N-Gage
Killua_Zoldyck
I have both a PSP and a DSi, I'm in the mindset that like to keep phone functionality separate from multimedia, kinda old school, I'll get a camera for taking photos, phone for calling people, and gaming/multimedia together functions...until PSPhone arrives :P
Displaying 1–19 of 19
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