Disqus
Well there is if you listen to what M-Biz Global is saying – they reckon the ‘vanilla’ (a.k.a. SIM-free) handset market offers a stack of largely untapped cash for games publishers.
Apparently those handset vendors that are embedding it’s ‘Try-and-buy’ mobile software are reporting that about 40% of people purchase mobile games – and that’s a good hit rate, just in case you were wondering!
Currently M-Biz Global is shipping in all of Samsung’s ‘vanilla’ handset in 30 countries, with content providers like EA, Gameloft, and Digital Chocolate – basically a good number of the main players!
The maths for the $80m is that as SIM-free devices are about 30% of handset sales, then there’s £80m in revenue that (other?) manufacturers and publishers could be tapping – in EMEA alone!
As you might have guessed, the M-Biz Global TryNBuy service pre-installs games on to the handset that are restricted via levels or time – and then the option to purchase the full game through premium SMS.
Well, if the money is there, tap it up I say! I wonder how many other vendors ears’ will perk up to this news? Might we see a LOT more of the ‘try-before-you-buy’-type games going forward?
[Via: Mobile Entertainment]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
