Mobile gaming – everything to play for

Chances are that you or someone you know is affected by the mobile gaming virus. There is a lot of it about and developments in technology are helping it to spread like wildfire. Even if you do not consider yourself a gamer you could one day be exposed to its effects. All it takes is a Java-enabled mobile phone and there are already over 150 million of them in the US alone.

What we are really talking about of course is the growth in popularity of mobile gaming; in other words,Guest Posting playing games on your mobile phone. Mobile gaming is set to become big business in 2004 as the number of BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) and Java-enabled mobile phones in circulation continues to grow. In addition, manufacturers are continually adding colored screens and advanced features to their latest models, making mobile gaming a rich yehyeh and vibrant experience for users.

The games themselves are readily available from a wide range of sources and can be easily downloaded from numerous web sites, with prices starting at $2.99 or less. There is something for everyone with games ranging from favorites such as PacMan, chess and checkers to motor racing, jet-skiing and even erotic games.

Many people consider online gaming to be a predominantly male activity and a young male activity at that. Last fall, at a conference on mobile gaming, Mark Stanger from game developers Eidos suggested that 92% of search PlayStation 2 players are men. Whilst it is probably true that online and console gamers are mainly male (how many women do you know that own a Sony search PlayStation 2) analysis suggests that mobile phone gaming could be encouraging a growing percentage of women to play games.

Downloading games to a mobile phone can be done from anywhere. Women do not need to venture into the testosterone-laden atmosphere of game shops and this may account for why an increasing number of females are entering the world of mobile gaming. Interestingly, it also appears that women are playing the more traditional games such as solitaire and backgammon rather than the ‘shoot ’em dead’ kind.