iPhone to drive mobile game adoption

Apple will drive the game market with the iPhone, according to a survey of 8,000 gamers in North America, Europe and Australia.

The survey, by Research and Markets, found that 54% of respondents in North America and 69% of respondents in Europe had played a game on their mobile phone in the past year.

In addition, 45% of respondents in North America and 36% in Europe had paid to purchase an application for their mobile phone.

It was Apple's App Store that was the most popular service for making purchases.

Across both North America and Europe about 15%of respondents already owned an iPhone or iPod touch, compared with 29% that owned a Nintendo DS.

DFC analyst David Cole said: "The dedicated portable game systems from companies like Nintendo and Sony are still expected to lead the market, but it appears growth for these devices has peaked. The platforms from Apple are expected to be responsible for the bulk of market growth over the next few years."

Oceanhouse Media Development Director Greg Uhler said: "With the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple has finally delivered mobile developers a platform with an attractive business model and a rapidly growing installed base of active consumers."

President of Oceanhouse Media Michel Kripalani said: "Games are expected to account for only about 23% of application sales on the iPhone. There are many fantastic opportunities for non-game related content on both the iPhone and iPod Touch. These devices, when combined with Apple's business model, are a much needed revolution for the mobile market."