Tetris reclaims the top spot for UK mobile downloads

ELSPA's top ten UK mobile downloads for January, compiled from information supplied by UK network operators 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, reveals another top selling month for Jamdat as Tetris reclaims the number one position.

Tetris has proven itself consistently popular for Jamdat, which secured a 15-year worldwide telephony license for the title at the beginning of 2005. The seminal puzzle game was originally created in the former Soviet Union in 1985, and today remains one of the most instantly recognisable and persistently popular brands in the gaming industry worldwide.

Mobile conversions of traditional videogames are becoming more prolific as publishers seek an alternative revenue source and look to extend the life of their console franchises, though the results for January show comparatively low interest in such titles compared to the more traditional mobile fodder of parlour and arcade titles.

EA's mobile version of The Sims 2 and its wireless adaptation of EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 2005 are the only examples of console conversion showing any positive increase in download popularity for the start of the year, reaching second and sixth place respectively.

Namco's retro arcade classic, Pac-Man gobbles up the competition to climb into third place, followed by Glu's million-selling Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in fourth. Gameloft continues to show strong performance for a number of its premium titles, with Block Breaker Deluxe in firth place, Midnight Poker and New York Nights (Success in the City) taking eighth and ninth place respectively.

Living Mobile picks up some popularity with its mobile Tamagotchi title in seventh place, and I-play completes the top ten, its 3D Pool title clinging to the bottom rung for another month.

The continual, and rapidly expanding convergence with the traditional videogames industry will produce a slew of mobile conversion as the year goes on, though for the time being, the mobile space remains under the spell of retro updates, casual 'pick-up-and-play' titles and simple, proven, arcade style action and puzzle games.