The global mobile gaming market will grow at a 16.6 percent CAGR to reach $18 billion in 2014, driven by the explosive mobile subscriber growth in emerging markets, according to the latest report by Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com), the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lightreading.com).

In Mobile Gaming in Emerging Markets: Five Year Forecast and Impact Analysis, Pyramid Research analyzes mobile videogaming market dynamics in emerging economies. This is done by putting emerging markets in the context of the overall mobile videogaming industry, taking a close look at the trends and dynamics in gaming and mobile gaming, globally. This context analysis is followed by a top-level examination of emerging markets, including their mobile gaming-specific metrics, market enablers, adoption barriers, trends, and opportunities. Also included are in-depth country analyses of eight emerging markets: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, and South Africa. We also forecast market growth and look at interesting business models and initiatives. Download an excerpt of this report here: http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=1&sc=PR080509_MOBGAM


Evolving along with the increasing penetration of mobile service and handsets, mobile gaming is a promising industry, notes Jan ten Sythoff, analyst at Pyramid Research and coauthor of the report. "Global mobile gaming revenue reached $6.9 billion in 2008, having grown strongly in recent years, with emerging markets contributing heavily," says Sythoff. "Today, apart from technological improvement and business-level innovation, the global mobile gaming market is also evolving fast on account of mobile adoption, and is expected to grow at a 16.6 percent CAGR during 2009 to 2014, reaching $18 billion in 2014," he adds. This growth will be the result of both continued strength in emerging markets and increased usage in developed markets.


"Although most in emerging markets cannot afford sophisticated devices, they are eager to experiment and use mobile data services; this is true for both mobile communications and entertainment, of which mobile videogames are a major driving force," explains Sythoff. "For many users, handsets are the first device they own that enables access to electronic forms of entertainment," he adds. "Declining handset and data access prices have been central to the increased use of data services in emerging economies; also, because devices such as PCs and gaming consoles are less common, the mobile phone has become the primary device for accessing content such as Websites and games," he says. "This, combined with improving economic conditions, is resulting in increased adoption of mobile content and data services."


The increased usage in developed markets will be fueled by the changes the iPhone App Store has brought to these markets, where it is stimulating competition and interest in mobile games.


Mobile Gaming in Emerging Markets: Five Year Forecast and Impact Analysis is part of Pyramid's research report series. A blend of primary research and qualitative analysis, Pyramid's research reports offer comprehensive coverage of the fixed and mobile communications space and enable those in the communications industry to stay ahead of changing market dynamics.