Games Could Lift Wireless Out of the Doldrums
wirelessnewsfactor.com
By Jay Wrolstad
Wireless NewsFactor
September 16, 2002
"There is fierce competition among [wireless] operators, and we are at a juncture where growth in the major markets is behind us. Games offer a chance to grab new customers and reduce churn," said Datacomm president Ira Brodsky.
An increasing desire to be entertained -- to escape from the trials and tribulations besetting post-September 11th life -- has presented an opportunity for U.S. wireless industry players. There is at least one bright spot in the gloomy economic landscape: mobile gaming.
The primary conclusion of a report compiled by Datacomm Research and Phoenican Ventures is that mobile games are the wireless Internet's killer application, and third-generation (3G) handsets with color displays are its killer devices.
In an interview with Wireless NewsFactor, Datacomm president Ira Brodsky said that among the report's most notable findings is that gaming may serve as a catalyst for a shakeup of the handset market. Lesser-known Asian manufacturers of color-screen technologies are grabbing a large chunk of phone sales from their European and North American competitors, according to the report.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Who's Got Game?
While text-based games for monochrome displays have done well, particularly in Europe, games with color graphics, animation and video will prove even more popular, Brodsky said. "These will rapidly become standard features, with the advantage shifting to Asian manufacturers."
Availability of wireless devices that can download and play interactive games is critical, and carriers ultimately will drive widespread acceptance of mobile entertainment, Brodsky said. "They have the incentive," he noted. "There is fierce competition among operators, and we are at a juncture where growth in the major markets is behind us. Games offer a chance to grab new customers and reduce churn."
Out with the Clunk
Colorful games, polyphonic ring tones and applications for over-the-air download will spread like wildfire as 2.5 and 3G services roll out, according to Brodsky.
The Datacomm report recommends that carriers get involved in the development and promotion of mobile games, hooking up with handset makers, content providers and billing-services firms to make sure mobile diversions are both affordable and accessible.
Brodsky said a plethora of new games for handsets are being rolled out. Designed especially for small screens, they represent a leap from the clunky adaptations of PC and video games currently available. "There is also an opportunity for new products -- such as smartphones or game-centric devices with bigger screens and greater functionality -- to deliver always-on entertainment," he said.
In with the BREW
As for mobile gaming platforms, there is no clear winner yet in the competition between the open environment Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) and Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM) BREW (binary runtime environment for wireless). "J2ME has been proven with the i-mode service offered in Japan, but BREW has a more powerful business model, tying together all of the necessary components in Qualcomm's CDMA2000 network," Brodsky said.
CDMA2000 (code division multiple access) does have the edge over GSM/GPRS (global system for mobile communications/general packet radio service) networking technology when it comes to delivering games and other data-centric applications, Brodsky noted, despite the fact the GSM thus far is dominant among carriers worldwide. "The performance of CDMA2000 is significantly better, and it is being rolled out now with new handsets, while GSM has been slower to offer next-generation service," he said.
Beyond Video Games
To take advantage of the mobile gaming opportunity, the wireless industry faces a few hurdles. Carriers must move beyond serving as a simple pipe for basic communications services to provide new applications, according to Brodsky, and they must create incentives for developers to deliver those applications.
The games themselves must be designed for devices with small displays and limited controls. "Developers and carriers have to make the best use of new technologies, such as voice input, and not just present the games to customers," Brodsky noted. Improved interfaces for mobile devices will be a critical factor in user acceptance of new applications.
Brodsky emphasized that mobile games are not just for the young and the restless, despite common beliefs. "Experience shows that interest goes beyond video game players," he said. "New interactive, text-oriented games designed for small screens are being used to build relationships among people in large and small groups representing all ages." |
