Telephia: Puzzle/Strategy and Retro/Arcade Mobile Games Are the Most Popular Among U.K. 3G Subscribers

According to Telephia, "Puzzle/Strategy and Retro/Arcade mobile games are the top game genres among U.K. 3G mobile game players." A recent report found 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."

Telephia noted that "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."

Bernard Brenner at Telephia said, "Casual games dominate the mobile game market both in the U.S. and in the U.K. 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

The firm also ntoed that "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."

Brenner added, "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."

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