Small Platform, Big Business

There's a gaming system that's been out for a while, but no one takes it seriously. It generates millions of dollars in revenue each year, but on the average gaming site, it might not even get a footnote. And chances are good that you have one in your pocket right now. That's right, it's your cell phone.

Cell phones have become a large source of revenue, and bigger game developers have noticed. Companies such as Electronic Arts, Square Enix, and id Software all make games for your mobile phone. And they're not just substandard programmers making substandard titles. Noticeable franchises such as Age of Empires, Final Fantasy, and Simcity have all put games on mobile phones. Still don't think it's big business? Consider this: in 2005, Electronic Arts paid $650 million to acquire Jamdat Mobile.

Cell phone games have their own unique problems. The relatively poor control setup and the extremely small screen mean that the most popular console and PC games are not ideal for a mobile phone. First person shooters and fighting games, perennial favorites, take a backseat to strategy and sports games. But the real king of the cell set? Puzzle games. Yes, the genre reduced to marginal at best on consoles has risen to the top on mobiles. In fact, the $650M transaction that I mentioned? It was largely based on the fact that Jamdat had long-term rights to Tetris. The fact is that cell phones lack the memory space to put in state of the art graphics and the complicated systems that top shelf games boast. Which make cell phones an ideal starting point for new programmers and designers. And cell phones have breathed new life into older franchises. In 2005, id Software released a Doom RPG for mobiles.

No one is certain where the market for cell phone games is headed. But it is an industry that is definitely upwardly mobile.