Many handset manufacturers improved the hardware and graphics capability of mobile phones this year. The Dark Knight is the only game available based on the movie and comic character.

The platform may be small, but the impact is mighty. As telephone devices mature and the graphics on them improve, videogames for mobile phones are experiencing a dynamite rise in popularity.

"The mobile gaming industry has reached a turning point this year and grown significantly with major innovations introduced by companies such as Apple, Nokia and Google," comments Gonzague de Vallois, SVP, publishing, Gameloft. "Products introduced by these companies have transformed the gaming experience for consumers and changed the industry's business model with digital distribution. Through these new interfaces, consumers are now able to preview games and purchase them in an easy-to-use fashion from an interface that is familiar, such as the iTunes Store and the upcoming Google Marketplace."

"Likewise, many handset manufacturers are also improving the hardware and graphics capability of mobile phones, so the visual of games are being improved to a level that is very competitive to PSP," de Vallois adds.

"It's an important market, and looking back, we're likely to remember year 2008 as the year when mobile gaming really started to take off," agrees Aki Järvilehto, global head of business development, games, Nokia.

David Zemke, director of product marketing for Glu Mobile Inc., notes that mobile gaming is indeed a growth market. "It's a $4 billion market worldwide, and we're looking at $6.5 billion by 2011," Zemke says.

Glu Mobile's slate includes licensed games based on such film tie-ins as Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which launched worldwide in conjunction with the film's U.S. premiere.

Games People Play
It's not just phone-obsessed teens who are playing mobile games, although they are a big part of the market. "It cuts across all age sectors," Zemke insists. "People who play mobile games like to bring the experience with them everywhere they go."

Mobile gaming is also cutting across gender lines. "We're seeing a solid adoption from a lot of different target groups and in different geographies," comments Nokia's Järvilehto. "Sometimes the results are surprising. For example, last summer, one of our studies indicated that in the United Kingdom, 55% of people playing games are female consumers."

"Mobile games are played by males and females with ages ranging from 12 to 40 years old," affirms Gameloft's de Vallois.

The games that mobile users are playing can range from those based on popular movies to original-content sports and cooking games. "We like to have a good mix of original and licensed material," Glu Mobile's Zemke says.

Glu Mobile's slate includes licensed games based on such film tie-ins as DreamWorks Animation SKG's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which launched worldwide in conjunction with the film's U.S. premiere on Nov. 7.

Glu Mobile is also working on the mobile game version of Monsters vs. Aliens, DreamWorks' first film produced in 3-D, which aims to reinvent the classic '50s monster movie. The action comedy film is set for domestic release on March 27, 2009, and features an all-star cast, including Reese Witherspoon as Ginormica, a larger-than-life woman, Hugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., Seth Rogen, as the jelly-like B.O.B. and Will Arnett as the half-ape, half-fish Missing Link. Kiefer Sutherland will speak for General W.R. Monger, while Stephen Colbert portrays the President of the United States.

"When you're dealing with licensing, it's an interesting process," says Zemke. "It starts from the very beginning. You try to understand what the end user wants to do in a Monsters vs. Aliens game or a Dark Knight game. You have to work with the studios, and use your own expertise to know what works and what doesn't for a mobile game."