Dipshit asshole claims mobile gaming will overtake console gaming this year

[Scott]

For laughs:

In a speech delivered at the Leipzig GC Developer Conference, I-play's Stephane Labrunie has declared that mobile gaming is set to overtake console gaming by the end of the year.

According to Labrunie, mobile gaming "is the definition of a true mass market; it's not a niche market, as is console gaming."

To support this argument, Labrunie pointed to the fact that 48 per cent of mobile gamers are female, while 58 per cent are aged between 18 and 34. Although he conceded that the market "will take time to grow", Labrunie stated that "This market will sell more games on mobile than traditional consoles in 2006."

He went on to quote figures which forecast sales of 1.8 billion game-enabled handsets by 2008. By 2010, the number of paid downloads per year is set to reach 1.7 billion, while gross revenues will rise to US$ 5.9 billion.

However, Labrunie said, there are still problems to overcome. Around 33 per cent of handset owners don't know they can play games on their phones, and while more than 50 per cent have played embedded games or demos, just 5 per cent have actually downloaded a game. In addition, 16 per cent of gamers say pricing is a barrier to downloading more games.

"We have customers, but definitely not enough," Labrunie stated.

"Some have no more credit on their pre-pay card, some do not have time, some don't know how to download games... Trust is a very important factor, because you need to buy in a safe environment.

"If you keep all that in mind, it will help us to build a good strategy to perform well in this business."

Labrunie said that the emergence of new technologies, such as 3G, will help to boost the mobile gaming market. "New technology, from my point of view, is really about faster, easier access to the network... You will have a much more intuitive experience - you will know where to download mobile games, and you will know how to do it."

He went on to encourage designers to "think simplicity, traction and innovation" when creating games, and he also had some advice for fellow publishers: "We need to put the customer in the middle of our thinking. I'm saying that because you have to remember that mobile gaming is not a retail market; it's very much driven by the carrier industry."

Concluding his speech, Labrunie said that "the best is yet to come", reaffirming that "Mobile gaming will be the fastest growing segment of the total videogames industry".
Source: http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=19139

Yep, I'll take The O.C.: The Game over Halo 2 any day.

[cognizant]

Man, what a cunt squelcher.

[Death Surge]

Portable gaming is by far a more niche market than console gaming, but he's talking about mobile (or cell phone) gaming which is an entirely different concept. And he's right as far as wide spread. If someone is willing to pay $0.99 for a ring tone, they're probably willing to pony up the same, or $1.99 for game. Considering a Mobile game would only require 1-2 developers to create, basically no graphic artists, and minimal testing, the cost of development to return is a substantially bigger margin than any console game could hope for. Think return/budget ratio of "The Devil Wears Prada" compared to "Superman Returns".

[Scott]

If someone is willing to pay $0.99 for a ring tone, they're probably willing to pony up the same, or $1.99 for game.
I don't know if I buy that claim. Ringtones are trendy and some dipshit will buy one so he can appear as cool when his phone goes off in a classroom. You can't do that with a game. Games kill time, ringers can define someone. 5% is a very low number.

[Russ Fischer]

I don't know if I buy that claim. Ringtones are trendy and some dipshit will buy one so he can appear as cool when his phone goes off in a classroom. You can't do that with a game. Games kill time, ringers can define someone. 5% is a very low number.

Most of the people I know who have bought ringtones did so because they ended up somewhere with nothing to do, and they killed time by browsing ringtones, then spent a buck on the one that amused them the most.

If that's representative of even a middling percentage, games are an easy sell.

[Scott]

That's true. I've never bought a game, but if I did, it would probably be in a waiting room or at a bus stop.

But take into account that a lot of games (on my provider at least) are considerably more expensive than ringtones. Ringtones cost me $1.99 and games $5.99. Ringtones are generally more collectible than games are. Finally, (and this is personal opinion) I've never played a game on any cell phone that is worth spending any money whatsoever on.

[ChunkyLover53]

I can't believe people actually pay money so their phone can have a different ring. ;)

[JGButler]

I have a few games on my cell that I keep on there just for those waiting occasions. Tower Bloxx and Ms. Pac-Man, just to name drop. I enjoy them. I've had them for a couple of months now and have definitely gotten my $5 worth of use out of them. But cell-phone gaming as anything other than a time-waster? As an actual respected form of gaming? Bosh! Flimshaw!

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Add me to the club of a mobile gamer...I've got some NHL game and Bomberman on my phone.

But yes...I only bought them cause I was on the crapper and needed something to do.

[Russ Fischer]

Finally, (and this is personal opinion) I've never played a game on any cell phone that is worth spending any money whatsoever on.

Most cell phone games, just like most console games, are trash. But there are a couple good ones, and as handsets arrive with more memory, better screens and input options, the games can get better. If there's a market for them, that is, which is a segment that is growing, if not as fast as some people make it out to be.

[otisthecat]

I've never played a game on any cell phone that is worth spending any money whatsoever on.I spent 5$ for a chess game (and yes, I had an hour to kill waiting for a meeting and made the purchase) and it's actually pretty good.

[Dan Whitehead]

I think the guy is being a touch optimistic (but then, he does work for a mobile games company) but he's no dipshit asshole or cunt squelcher. It has the potential to be a massive market, and once the handset manufacturers and network providers get their act together and educate that market on how to download and play the things, there's no reason why it shouldn't be as big as (if not bigger) than the "proper" games market.

And comparisons to Halo 2 are way off-base. Mobile gaming is, essentially, retro gaming. It's about games designed to amuse for ten minutes, with instant rewards and playability. That's why so many publishers are dusting off their archive franchises for mobile play. The typical yardsticks of "real" gaming don't apply. You don't boast about how many hours it'll take to complete your game, you go for that instinctive twitch gaming feel and - hey - make games fun again.

It's also worth noting that mobile development is the one area of games development that's growing right now. So many independent developers have gone bust trying to keep up with escalating production costs and shitty deals from publishers. Mobile games are like the good old days. A developer with twenty staff can be turning out between five and ten products every quarter, rather than one bloated make-or-break console title every three years.

Mobile gaming has an embedded audience, already able to access the content. It's got enormous profit potential, and backing from all the major players in the business. And it's aimed at a market that transcends the limits of the traditional 18-30 male console gamer, and a market that has already shown a willingness to make impulse purchases on the move.

Scoffing at the notion that this won't become a major part of the games industry over the next few years is the head-in-sand Luddite reaction.

[Russ Fischer]

And comparisons to Halo 2 are way off-base.

They may become less so, if Live Anywhere turns out to be worth a shit. We won't get Halo 2, but we might get some sort of meaningful interaction with a console/PC game*. Or we might just get the old GameCube/GBA link cable thing again.



(*That would presuppose a version of Windows Mobile that doesn't chug like a trailer park cocksucker.)

[Chris Allen]

But yes...I only bought them cause I was on the crapper and needed something to do.Me, as well.

Maybe they should advertise how to download games to your phone in public toilet stalls. Talk about a captured audience.

[Dan Whitehead]

Well, I was talking in terms of comparing the formats. It's like people in the Fifties saying "Television? Like I'd ever want to sit at home and watch silly half-hour 'shows' when I can see Gone With The Wind at the theater".

Fact is, there's a vast audience out there that probably would prefer to play an OC game on their cellphone than play Halo 2. Mobile phones could represent true mainstream gaming far better than Sony and Microsoft's attempts to annex the space under your TV with their all-singing multimedia machines.

[Russ Fischer]

Well, I was talking in terms of comparing the formats.

I was just trying to extend the discussion; I don't disagree the the basic point you were making.

[JGButler]

Scoffing at the notion that this won't become a major part of the games industry over the next few years is the head-in-sand Luddite reaction.

I stand corrected. Well put, Whitehead.

[Scott]

he's no dipshit asshole or cunt squelcher
He is if he's saying this shit's gonna happen by the end of the year.

This reminds me of when Nokia debuted the N-Gage and alienated the entire handheld market by saying that Game Boy Advance is for babies. Overconfidence is funny.

[Boogen]

Anyone who has stood outside of the changing room while his wife tried on 30 outfits has downloaded a game. In fact, my phone is the only place i still play tetris...and that's the only game i have on it.

[Dan Whitehead]

He is if he's saying this shit's gonna happen by the end of the year.

He's being over-optimistic, sure. But then, he represents the mobile games sector. Of course he's going to talk it up. What he's saying is no different to the boasts made by any other technology sector.

Still doesn't make him a dipshit asshole or a cunt squelcher. Those are predictable kneejerk gaming nerd responses that just say "He's attacking console games! I like console games! Get him!" without really thinking about the big picture.

[Phil Connors]

Considering a Mobile game would only require 1-2 developers to create, basically no graphic artists, and minimal testing, the cost of development to return is a substantially bigger margin than any console game could hope for.

Try porting to 100 different handsets, all with different graphic, processor and memory capabilities. Also try generating hundreds of assets for said differing configurations, 'without a graphic designer'. Then try to get your game out in a marketplace that is more crowded than a Wal-Mart on coupon day. Trust me, you'll have a laugh.

The article is a touch over-stated, no doubt - but the (projected) numbers over the next 5 years or so are fucking huge.

[Dan Whitehead]

Try porting to 100 different handsets, all with different graphic, processor and memory capabilities. Also try generating hundreds of assets for said differing configurations, 'without a graphic designer'. Then try to get your game out in a marketplace that is more crowded than a Wal-Mart on coupon day. Trust me, you'll have a laugh.

Creating mobile games isn't as easy as people might think, but for a lot of companies it's still a lot easier - and a lot more cost effective - than struggling to keep afloat in the current console development climate, which may have less platforms to develop for but also comes with crippling overheads, drawn-out schedules, shitty payment structures and bloated corporate dinosaurs clogging up entry to the market.

There are certainly technical challenges to be overcome when developing for mobile handsets, but they're not that different to the challenges that faced programmers back in the 80s.

[Death Surge]

Try porting to 100 different handsets, all with different graphic, processor and memory capabilities. Also try generating hundreds of assets for said differing configurations, 'without a graphic designer'. Then try to get your game out in a marketplace that is more crowded than a Wal-Mart on coupon day. Trust me, you'll have a laugh.

The article is a touch over-stated, no doubt - but the (projected) numbers over the next 5 years or so are fucking huge.

This requires old school development techniques, which is fitting as it targets rudimentary processor/graphic interfaces. Layered SDK approaches targetting the Mobile OS/key/graphic interfaces ride under the game code itself. Generally, handset manufacturers standardize quite a bit for many of their models, so once you have a working Nokia interface, you have it for just about all Nokias. Many handsets have mobile Java JREs, so again, write for one and you get many. Sure there's portability work, but were not talking translating 3270 CICS Cobol apps to C++.

And while he's definitely overstating the timeline and user base, there is certainly a lot of money waiting to be had in this type of market.

[Phil Connors]

I work in mobile phone game development. Trust me, porting issues are massive. MASSIVE. The Nokia 6600, for example, has JVM bugs which do not manifest in any other Nokia, never mind any other mobile phone. Yes, its old school, yes we're back circa '84 and that's fun in itself, but when 20 different SKU's emerge every month, trying to keep on top of the porting is a huge financial overhead. The likes of Gameloft - they have entire teams porting all day every day - not so with smaller companies. I took exception to your '1-2 people without a graphic designer' dismissal. Take it from someone who knows *twitch twitch* the industry VERY well, that's just not true - not anymore, at least.

[mastronikolas]

Mobile gaming is a different ball game. You can't really compare an elaborate console game, which costs $60 with a $5.99 java puzzle game.

On the other hand, I really dig the fact that mobile devices and environments like Xbox Live are an outlet for cheap, fun games. It's a market that gives the consumer more choice and works side-by-side with mainstream gaming.

By the way, an mp3 collection and audacity allows me to make my own ringtones.

[Death Surge]

I work in mobile phone game development. Trust me, porting issues are massive. MASSIVE. The Nokia 6600, for example, has JVM bugs which do not manifest in any other Nokia, never mind any other mobile phone. Yes, its old school, yes we're back circa '84 and that's fun in itself, but when 20 different SKU's emerge every month, trying to keep on top of the porting is a huge financial overhead. The likes of Gameloft - they have entire teams porting all day every day - not so with smaller companies. I took exception to your '1-2 people without a graphic designer' dismissal. Take it from someone who knows *twitch twitch* the industry VERY well, that's just not true - not anymore, at least.

Fair enough. My 1-2 designer comment was targetted at smaller operations being able to get into the game with simplistic games (Snake, Tetris, etc) they can sell on the cheap, and was no way bashing on the larger guys going for something a bit slicker/advanced.

I've done some consulting work with one of Nokia's development/testing labs down in San Diego, CA so that incompatibility issue does not suprise me in the least. One of the few companies I have seen where there is almost no consensus/strategizing between engineering teams.

[mastronikolas]

Nokia phones tend to feature ridiculously complex and buggy software. I'm a Sony Ericsson man.

[Death Surge]

I'd switch as well, but they keep giving me a free new model phone every time I work with them, plus nice golf shirts. They guilt me into using them.