Smartphone gaming market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2010 - Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE) has released its annual report for 2009 for its tracked Smartphone markets, covering iPhone, Android, BlackBerry App World, and Windows Market for Mobile. FADE estimates that the iPhone gaming market has just surpassed $400 million in lifetime revenue worldwide, easily dwarfing its tracked competitors. In contrast, sales of gaming apps on Android and Blackberry App World each reached nearly $2 million in revenue after early 2009 launches, while Windows Market for Mobile was near $500,000 (not including retail sales for BlackBerry or Windows Mobile). With such a revenue discrepancy across platforms, the top games on smartphones are all found on the iPhone, topped by "The Sims 3" by Electronic Arts at over $6.5 million.

The sheer number of apps available on smartphones has led to a heavily front-loaded market. On iPhone in particular, with over 20,000 paid gaming and entertainment apps available, the top 1000 titles (5% of the market) make up 88% of the revenue, leaving the vast majority of titles making under $3,000 each - though this figure does not include additional ad revenue.

FADE believes 2010 will continue to see strong growth in all smartphone markets as handset proliferation increases. While iPhone will continue to dominate in terms of gaming revenue, Android and BlackBerry App World are poised for better percentage gains in 2010 coming off successful 2009 launches.

Estimated Top Titles by Revenue, Lifetime (Average Price):

Windows Market for Mobile:

Tower Defense (Color Stone) - $17,500 ($6.99)

Meon (Manbolo) - $16,200 ($2.99)

Zenonia (GAMEVIL USA) - $9,600 ($9.99)

Galaga (Namco) - $7,000 ($6.99)

Tetris (Electronic Arts) - $6,300 ($6.99)

BlackBerry App World:

Bubble Army (Second Gear Games) - $50,400 ($4.99)

Air Traffic Control (Mobigloo) - $27,900 ($4.99)

Bejeweled (Electronic Arts) - $25,900 ($4.99)

Next Dual Pack (Mobigloo) - $25,400 ($4.99)

The Oregon Trail (Gameloft) - $25,400 ($4.99)

Android:

Robo Defense (Lupis Labs Software) - $196,300 ($2.99)

Jewellust (Smartpix Games) - $147,000 ($2.95)

Nesoid (yongzh) - $97,100 ($2.99)

SNesoid (yongzh) - $88,800 ($3.49)

Abduction! World Attack (Phil Symonds) - $64,200 ($2.18)

iPhone (Given in Unit Sales, Sorted by Estimated Revenue):

The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts) - 931,000 ($6.99)

Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (Gameloft) - 1,096,000 ($4.99)

Super Monkey Ball (Sega) - 1,174,000 ($3.99)

Texas Hold'em (Apple) - 863,000 ($4.99)

Brothers In Arms Hour of Heroes (Gameloft) - 795,000 ($4.99)

FADE offers a wide array of reports for smartphone platforms for any given month, with package deals on multiple platforms and volume discounts for large orders. Contact sales@fadellc.com for more information.

About Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC

FADE is a strategic market research and consulting firm focused on electronic entertainment and the emerging download and mobile game markets. With very little information currently available in these markets, FADE allows smaller developers to investigate these new potential sources of revenue and make informed business decisions moving forward. Currently, FADE produces monthly and annual reports for Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare & Virtual Console, and mobile markets including iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. For more information, please visit http://www.fadellc.com.