Asia Express - Mobile Communications
US Mobile Subscribers Indifferent to Game Services
August 26, 2005

According to a survey by NPD of more than 6,700 teenage and adult mobile phone subscribers in the United States, only one-third of people surveyed are willing to pay for games on their handset, while the majority express satisfaction with available free and preloaded games. Approximately 50% of mobile phones in the United States can be used to download and play games, with 27% of these handsets' users actually playing games on them, up from 20% in 2004 when a similar survey was conducted, while 6% of those who do not use their phones for games expressed interest in mobile phone gaming. Average gaming time for users who do play games is 11 minutes, and they rather pay for single-game downloads instead of paying for monthly subscription offers. Furthermore, their wireless phone bills are 22% higher than those of people who do not play games on their handsets, as they use 48% more wireless minutes per month.