Senior Michael Wang sits in his SRT playing the popular mobile title “Angry Birds” on his cell phone. Like many of the other 500 million people who bought this game on the Apple App Store, Wang said he is addicted to the 99-cent game from Rovio Mobile. Wang said he likes mobile phone gaming to the point that he will not buy a separate gaming console such as Nintendo’s 3DS, or Sony’s PlayStation Vita, for gaming on the go.

Wang is not the only one. For the first time in the gaming industry’s history, revenue from mobile games on the Android Marketplace and the Apple App Store has surpassed mobile revenue from video game manufacturers Nintendo and Sony.
Wang said, “I usually have my phone with me at all times. It’s really convenient to just take it out when I am bored and play games. It’s nice on the app store to just buy whatever you want when it is just 99 cents or $2.”

A Growing Trend

Despite controlling only 11 percent of the marketplace in 2009, Android and Apple devices have risen to control 58 percent of the mobile gaming market as of Nov. 9, 2011. Gamasutra, a gaming market website, predicts that in 2012 over 75 percent of people will have played a game on their mobile devices, up from 55 percent in 2011. Martin Giles, U.S. technology correspondent for The Economist, has several reasons for this increase.

Giles said via email, “(The games) are on your phone so you can play them anywhere/anytime. They are simple to learn and play. They are free in basic form and don’t cost much more (if anything) than a cup of Starbucks coffee. They are easy to update when new versions come out; they are addictive.”

Big Companies Adapt

Traditional mobile gaming powers Sony and Nintendo have been forced to adapt and add elements from mobile phones and their casual games in order to stay in competition with mobile phones. The adaptation is most evident in Nintendo’s 3DS and Sony’s PlayStation Vita.

The Nintendo 3DS features an eShop, which sells smaller and cheaper games similar in price to the average iPhone or Android game. The 3DS also features an exclusive Virtual Console, which houses classic Nintendo games, and is unavailable on any other phone or mobile gaming device.

The PlayStation Vita has adapted by adding an app store and 3G edition of the console through AT&T, which allows access to the web, PlayStation Network and multiplayer virtually anywhere.

Despite the rampant rise of mobile phone gaming, Giles said he does not believe devices dedicated to gaming, such as Nintendo’s 3DS are becoming irrelevant.
Giles said, “There is still a sizeable market for these kinds of dedicated handheld game players and they have features (such as 3D) that phones can’t deliver.”

Nintendo has already felt the pressure of mobile devices. Sagging sales of the 3DS forced the company to cut the system’s price by $80 in August 2011, fewer than five months after the console’s release. However, the price cut led to more sales, as sales of the 3DS increased 260 percent during August alone.

Internationally, the Vita  System is doing even worse.  According to Imagine Games Network, the Vita’s first-week unit sales in Japan were only at 440,000 units.

In perspective, the 3DS outsold PS Vita’s four to one during the same period. If the 3DS is considered a disappointment, and the Vita’s sales are similar when it launches in the United States on Feb. 22, the mobile gaming industry may be heading straight toward the cell phone market entirely. Despite this, some people have not jumped on the mobile phone gaming train.

Mobile Not for Everyone

Junior Sean Keck still isn’t convinced cell phones can provide the gaming experience he wants, so he bought a 3DS in March 2011. He does not have a smart phone and said he is perfectly fine with his 3DS’s performance as of now, and  he does not plan to start using a smartphone.

Keck said, “I don’t really think it is a better experience or a less experience. I can’t really decide between the two. I don’t have one of the high-tech cell phones. I do have an iPod, but that really isn’t (much of) a cellular device. This (3DS) was worth the money. Nintendo is definitely maybe getting behind in the industry, but it always stays near the top.”

The skies may be darkening for the traditional handheld consoles, as mobile phone gaming continues to rise and produces more money each year. The same mobile industry that only had $500 million in sales in 2009, has produced an astounding $1.9 billion revenue in 2011.

The trend does not seem to have any signs of letting down. In fact, it looks like the trend will continue on.

According to CNET, the mobile gaming industry will make annual revenue over $1l billion by 2015. Wang seems to be one of the early adopters of this new technological medium, as he has decided he will no longer purchase handheld gaming systems.

Wang said, “I don’t think (I will buy a 3DS). I am happy with just casual  mobile gaming.”