A new Juniper research report has stated that despite increased interest in mobile gaming, sales of games have “flatlined across North America and Western Europe”.
The total retail value of the mobile gaming market is expected to almost double in the next 5 years from $5.4 billion USD to $10 billion USD however “limited on-portal revenue share for publishers is driving some away from the sector and poor games marketing fails to capture customer attention.”
“The revenue share offered by Apple to games publishers is incredibly attractive,” said Dr Windsor Holden, author of the report, speaking about how iPhone gaming has helped bring increased interest to the market.
“The danger is that if operators do not respond with a similar business model, publishers faced with low margins may simply exit Java completely, thereby reducing consumer choice in the longer term.”
Result for: iPhone
According to 9to5mac, Apple is preparing to drop the prices on its very popular iPhone and iPod Touch models, possibly as soon as next week.
The rumored price cut will be $100 USD for both the Touch and the iPhone and the smaller capacity 8 GB Touch will be completely dropped from the line just as the 4 GB iPhone was last year.
If proven true the price cuts will mean the new 16 GB iPhone will cost $399 USD and the 32 GB Touch will cost the same, a very reasonable price considering models touting half the memory capacity sell for that same price currently.
The price drops should make way for “pricing space” for the upcoming 3G iPhone slated for release later this year.
Result for: iPhone
At the Adobe MAX developer’s conference yesterday, Adobe showed off their latest Flash player, one that works on both Windows Mobile phones as well as the new Android-based phone, the T-Mobile G1.
“We are excited to be working alongside Adobe to bring Flash technology to Android,” said Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google. “Adobe Flash is crucial to a rich Internet and content experience on mobile devices and we are thrilled that Google will be one of the first companies along with the Open Handset Alliance to bring Flash technology to the smartphone market.”
Notably absent from the presentation was the popular Apple smartphone, the iPhone. Although Adobe has said they have a Flash player that will work on the iPhone OS, Apple’s strict TOS will not allow it into the App Store. I mean, why would Apple let consumers play free Flash based games or watch movies from sites like Hulu when they can instead be locked into iTunes, the App Store and other Apple run platforms?
Adobe notes that 98 percent of computers have Flash installed, and it is becoming crucial to have it to enjoy the Internet. That is of course, unless you own an iPhone.
