At the GC Developers Conference in Leipzig, Germany, Diarmuid Feeny, Nokia's Games Business Manager gave an illuminating keynote called "The Next Generation of Mobile Gaming?" arguing that with the latest innovations with entertainment delivery on the web and on mobile, convergence has finally arrived, and the mobile games industry will have to work hard to make the most of it.
Feeny began by discussing the lessons to be learned from the internet's innovations. The internet brings disruptions, such as IP technologies and advertising based business models to the mobile industry, he explained, and went on to describe that while it's obvious that CDs are selling less due to the Internet, it is a direct example of the way in which the web has become the platform for experiences. With MySpace and YouTube, people, create, consume and swap their content online.
Though this creates new ways of selling products, Feeny discussed both the positive and negative aspects of the new landscape. A low quality product is found out immediately due to blog feedback and online discussion and consumers now prefer to choose their own most convenient way for them to enjoy experiences, be it Windows CE devices connected to the internet, pocket sized devices or otherwise mobile devices.
Feeny argued that due to the increased choice, entertainment was no longer focused on the living room, but completely mobile and that this was in fact a benefit, as mobility allows the experience to be enhanced, giving the example that mobility can enhance web experiences, such as the use of maps and can more easily allow contextually relevant, tailored personal content. Feeny gave some statistics to back-up his argument that mobile devices are now a primary entertainment device, showing that nearly half (44%) of respondents use their mobile as primary camera, over 67% expect mobile to replace mp3 players and 36% browse the internet regularly using mobile devices.
With this trend, Feeny offered that mobile games will become true "mobile games," seen as one big part of the larger games business, with mobile games today really just "games that are played on mobile devices."
Feeny stated Nokia's commitment to the aim of true "mobile games", by saying that Nokia will ensure mobility for games (for instance allowing browser games to be played easily on mobile devices) before going on to show more statistics, this time to show user interest in mobile gaming. 54% of S60 device owners use device for games, but Feeny intriguingly admitted that 85% of that number are playing pre-installed games. However, 33% listed gaming as a feature that influences their phone purchase, and 50% of new application installations are games. All numbers were taken from 5500 respondents in Nokia markets.
