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UK 3G subscribers prefer puzzle and strategy games
July 12, 2006
Puzzle/Strategy and Retro/Arcade mobile games are the top game genres among U.K. 3G mobile game players, according to Telephia, the provider of performance measurement information to the mobile industry. Telephia's Q2 2006 U.K. 3G Subscriber Report shows that 61 percent or nearly two-thirds of U.K. 3G mobile game players downloaded a Puzzle/Strategy mobile game, while Retro/Arcade games secured a 45 percent penetration rate. Action/Adventure and Card/Casino games secured 42 and 39 percent of downloads, respectively, followed by Trivia/Word (32%) and Sports/Racing (30%) games.
Among U.K. operators, Puzzle/Strategy games had an especially strong showing with Vodafone's 3G mobile game players posting a 70 percent penetration rate. Overall, nearly a third of all U.K. 3G subscribers reported that they have downloaded games to their mobile device.
"Casual games dominate the mobile game market both in the U.S. and in the U.K.,"
said Bernard Brenner, Director of New Products--International, Telephia.
"Their popularity reflects increased work and social time pressures
on mobile users, as casual games do not require a substantial investment
of time on the part of the user."
| Table 1: Top U.K. 3G Subscriber Mobile
Game Genres |
| Game Type |
Penetration Rate
|
| 1. Puzzle/Strategy |
61%
|
| 2. Retro/Arcade |
45%
|
| 3. Action/Adventure |
42%
|
| 4. Card/Casino |
39%
|
| 5. Trivia/Word |
32%
|
| 6. Sports/Racing |
30%
|
| Source: Telephia U.K. 3G Subscriber
Report, Q2 2006 |
Downloaded Games Played Offline are Preferred over Online Game
Play
According to Telephia, 7 out of 10 U.K. 3G subscribers who play mobile games prefer to download games to their mobile devices to be played offline. Though optimized for the speed of 3G service, online gaming did not fare as well among 3G subscribers, with only 5-7 percent preferring any type of online mobile games.
"Offline mobile gaming is the most prevalent choice among 3G game players,
suggesting that mobile games continue to be a time-to-kill application
as opposed to an activity destination," continued Brenner.
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Table 2: Most Preferred Mobile Game Type Among U.K. 3G Subscribers
|
| Game Type |
Penetration Rate
|
| 1. Offline |
71%
|
| 2. Online, multiplayer, turn-based |
7%
|
| 3. Online, multiplayer, real-time |
7%
|
| 4. Online, single player |
5%
|
| 5. Location-based gaming |
3%
|
| Source: Telephia U.K. 3G Subscriber
Report, Q2 2006 |
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