Mobile Nation

Mobile needs its own Snakes on a Plane

Whether you think the movie phenomenon Snakes On A Plane is a work of ironic genius or is a film even worse than anything with Adam Sandler in it, there’s plenty in and around the movie that got me thinking about the mobile entertainment industry.

That doesn’t mean that I think using poisonous snakes would be a great way of thinning out the ranks of no-hope mobile content companies, or a few of the larger egos that float around the industry. Granted, it would certainly liven up some of the pitch meetings I’ve been in. But what the film really does is illustrate how, when and why marketing can prepare the ground for an unknown new product – something which I think the mobile industry still hasn’t got to grips with.

Will mobile TV kill the mobile games industry?

Last week’s mobile media (subscription only) made interesting reading. What really caught my eye was the reported slowdown of growth in the South Korean mobile games market – traditionally a poster child for the whole industry, due to its innovation and high revenues. As with Japan and console gaming, Korea is seen in the mobile world to be the market that acts as a global trendsetter.

The article suggests that the Korean market may even have shrunk by up to 40% over the past year – a huge decline in a country that has a special affinity for gaming. So why the change?

Exactly who owns that MMS you just made?

YoSpace’s website proclaims that it’s “where reality TV meets mobile” and in terms of publicity if perhaps not revenues, it’s flagship product SeeMeTV has been an outstanding success. But is the rise of User Generated Content really the democratisation of mobile, or just a new Napster?

Mobile gaming’s 800-pound gorilla

Steve Palley, former editor Gamespot Mobile and recently reinvented at new-analysts-on-the-block Foci Mobile, recently published an article on how the EA acquisition of Jamdat is finally getting the mobile gaming house in order. It’s an interesting and thoughtful article, although rather US-centric in its view of the mobile industry.

But is it true that now that EA has jumped into mobile with both feet it’s going to win the mobile war no matter what? Certainly, it has cemented EA Mobile at the top of the pile. But mobile gaming is still a very young industry working on an immature technology platform. Today’s industry landscape is likely to change radically as the market becomes more mature.