Mobile games to rake in $10 billion by 2013

The global mobile gaming industry is expected to hit $10 billion within the next five years, according to research firm Juniper Research.

Apple’s iPhone has been credited as a significant factor in the current uptake of mobile games. While the device combines the features of a cellphone, media player and web browser, it is increasingly being used as a game console as well. In the third quarter of 2008, when financial instability gripped the economy, the iPhone 3G became the best-selling phone in the United States.

In fact, Apple revealed that nearly 7 million units of the iPhone 3G were sold worldwide since its launch in July this year. This has caught the attention of mobile game publishers and developers as almost 2,000 games are now available for download through Apple’s Application Store.

According to latest research estimates, the retail value of the worldwide global mobile games market will rise from $5.4 billion in 2008 to more than $10 billion in 2013.

It’s not all good news though as the potential for growth is constrained due to poor marketing and restricting business models where a lack of on-portal revenue sharing is seeing many publishers opt out of the market.

China and the Far East is expected to remain the largest market for mobile games worldwide, though growth in India, Middle East, Africa and South America is also expected.

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