This surprised me quite a bit. According to the Telelecommunications Industry News, reporting on a study by GfK M², mobile games have now overtaken ring-tones as a revenue generator in the UK
"UK customers spent a total of £83 million (US$165 million) on mobile games in the first quarter of this year, compared with £76 million on ringtones, and just £23 million on the much-hyped mobile music sector."
I wonder if this has anything to do with recent decisions by T-Mobile and 3 to offer 'all-you-can-eat' subscription charges for data downloads. One of the key barriers in the past has been uncertainty over download processes and charges.
Of course, another thing that's stopped people downloading mobile games is that they're generally perceived to be a bit rubbish. Once most people have snapped up Tetris and Pac-Man they come to a grinding halt, assaulted by far too many poor movie tie-ins and dull quiz games.
I genuinely believe things are changing though. This year has seen a huge number of extremely good titles. I'd recommend Digital Chocolate's fraught puzzler Pyramid Bloxx and its fun social sim, Office Wars, a cute little mini-game-based title, filled with comic touches. Gameloft has loads of fantastic titles including platformers Pirates of the Seven Seas and Shrek the Third, both offering lovely scenic detail and compelling puzzles. There are some great driving games, too, including Driver: LA Undercover, which makes a decent stab at the gangsta adventure, and Fast and Furious: Fugitive, filled with, ironically, Driver-esque chases and challenges.
I've also heard that the God of War title is stunning. Oh and Worms 2007 is absolutely essential.
