Survey of mobile gaming industry leaders shows huge confidence in iPhone and Android

The Multimedia Research Consultancy’s (TMRC) is releasing the results from it’s first survey of mobile games industry experts. Respondents include 147 executives from 136 mobile games enterprises in 38 countries, from all areas including development, publishing, content aggregation, distribution and portals. While the main body of the survey is available for purchase on-line, TMRC sent us some of the highlights thanks to a fortuitous meeting at the Mobile Social Networking Forum!

iPhone is clear leader:
71% of the respondents agreed that the iPhone is the most successful Development Platform/Operating System in the market - and they believe that this position will only strengthen with time. The panel also believe that the Android will follow the iPhone’s example, and both will become substantial long term players in the mobile games industry.

App stores:
77% of respondents say the Apple App Store has “revolutionised the way that mobile games are sold.” They believe the model is so successful that it could threaten currently existing distribution models.

Recession proof?:
Participating games companies reported a raise in sales over the last year, with 43% saying sales are up compared to 29% saying they are down). Confidence for the year to come is also high, with 66% expecting the value of their mobile games sales to rise in the next 12 months. Only 11% predicted a decline.

From the release:

Vic Whiting, MD of the Multimedia Research Consultancy says “We have long observed that the mobile games industry has not been short on individuals prepared to give their views on the wide range of issues challenging this space, either online, in print or at conferences. Well, the Mobile Games Industry Experts Panel is now able to give these opinions statistical solidity and reliability by measuring the industry sentiment of a large number of experts. A report based on the results from the first survey is now available and anyone in this industry trying to effectively orientate their business strategy would find it invaluable”.

What we think?

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot of late is the idea of convergence - not of companies or services (although that’s happening as well), but of devices. I carry a lot of devices around with me including two phones, a computer (with USB modem and wireless mouse), a Nintendo DS and an iPod. This number could be significantly reduced by items whose functions converge. So as the iPhone becomes a more valid and popular gaming platform, I can’t imagine it will take all that long for the big gaming houses to start producing content for it. I really don’t think the idea of a dedicated Nintendo or EA Games section on the Apple App Store is all that far-fetched. As game content on mobile devices becomes more advanced, someone who already has an iPhone will feel less inclined to purchase a handheld gaming console anyway.

But it’s not just iPhones. As we see above, the Android is prominent in the thoughts of the mobile gaming industry, and portal-based gaming is making advances as well.