Mobile phone games : tough times ahead

With only 5% of consumers taking the iniative to download a mobile phone game, the task set aside for the mobile gaming industry is a tough one. Lack of appropriate marketing of this genre is responsible for its sluggish growth. A widespread awareness about mobile games could really give it the boost it deserves. With mobile phones being used increasingly for all day-to-day activities be it for staying in touch, chatting with friends, or in case of an emergency, nobody can turn away from its advantages. It has been observed that more people are using their mobile phones for making and receiving calls and messaging rather than downloading and playing games. However, reports say that the mobile entertainment industry is expected to make a good progress by 2010. If this is so, then a remarkable amount of growth is expected in this domain. The problem lies in the fact that very few people are paying to download for mobile games at present. Also, mobile games are not adequately marketed by the people, which if done could promote them. In the US, mobile games are being advertised on television but nothing of that sort is happening in the UK. Mobile companies don't seem to be prepared to spend money on expensive marketing campaigns for mobil e games in spite of the benefits it can bring. There is a lot of ignorance about downloading mobile content. Reports confirm that mobile games are downloaded by only 5% of consumers and more than a third of total users are unsure as to what is the procedure. This could be because people who are more interested in gaming are more contended with higher quality home games or video games and people who wish to play games just for fun think that downloading games could be too costly or complicated. The bigger problem is how to spread awareness about the latest games or the top games and how to get them because people won't bother to go through all the pages of the website to find out about their favourite game. Since a long time, there has been drive for more co-operation between the developers and publishers who create games and mobile service providers who allow download of games. This co-operation can make a handset turn into something like a laptop or a PC, with shortcuts on the handset to reach any option. People might be encouraged to download games if there is a flat fee for downloading. Assurance needs to be given to people who have faced high charges earlier for browsing and downloading. In future, there might be bundled services available where you can download as many games as you want for a particular amount of money. Whatever may happen in the future, but one thing's for sure, the prospect for growth is immense in this sector. In the near future, you may find playing mobile games as the best option to pass your leisure time.