Forecast: Mobile gaming revs grow to $4.5B in 2008

Mobile gaming is on track to generate worldwide revenues of $4.5 billion in 2008, a 16.1 percent increase over last year's totals, according to a new forecast issued by information technology research and advisory firm Gartner. Although games continue to lag behind rival mobile entertainment services including music and adult content, Gartner maintains the market is still promising, anticipating revenues will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 10.2 percent between 2007 and 2011, with worldwide end-user spending topping $6.3 billion by 2011. Gartner adds that operators and game providers can increase usage via game demos and advertising-funded titles--in addition, the firm suggests more tailoring their gaming services to individual consumer demographics, targeting smartphone users with more sophisticated games while reaching out to lower-income subscribers with discounted or free titles.

According to Gartner, the Asia/Pacific market (including Japan) represents the biggest target for mobile gaming, with end-user spending expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2008 and hit $3.4 billion by 2011 thanks in large part to low PC penetration throughout that area of the globe. India alone is expected to generate mobile gaming revenues of $450 million by 2012. While the Western Europe market is expected to increase from $701 million in 2008 to $862 million by 2011, mobile gaming in North America is projected to grow from $845 million to $1.2 billion in 2011.

For more on the Gartner mobile gaming forecast:
- read this release

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