Report: Mobile gaming revenues surge 61% in Q4

Consumer research firm Telephia reports that U.S. on-portal mobile game revenue jumped 61 percent year-over-year to $151 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, accounting for 74 percent of total mobile gaming revenue. According to Telephia, more than 17 million U.S. consumers downloaded a mobile game last quarter, up 45 percent from a year ago. Telephia added there are now almost 90 different U.S. publishers competing in the mobile gaming market, with leader EA Mobile generating nearly 28 percent of total revenue; Gameloft and Glu Mobile are tied for second with 11 percent each. 

Telephia also announced it will begin tracking preloaded game decks--initial findings suggest the EA Mobile perennial "Tetris" is the most commonly preloaded title among devices sold in the U.S. "Preloaded game demos provide consumers with easy access and a quick sample of the game title, increasing the likelihood of them purchasing the game and ultimately driving revenues for the publishers," Telephia's VP of mobile content Kanishka Agarwal said in a prepared statement. "Publishers must focus efforts on handset preload decks in addition to carrier download decks as a critical merchandizing tool."

For more on the Telephia report:
-read this release [1]

Related articles:
Report [2]: 65 percent of mobile game revenues from females
Keys [3] for mobile gaming: Location, location, location