A recent report by the telecommunications
research firm Analysys predicts that mobile games will
replace ringtones, logos and other personalisation services
as one of the key drivers of the mobile market. Despite
the rapid growth of the mobile gaming market, there appears
to have been little critical analysis of this phenomenon.
The paper aims to investigate the industrial and social
implications of mobile gaming, by bringing together some
of the current research on both mobile communications
and computer games.
Beginning with a broad overview of the major stakeholders
in the market, the paper examines how mobile gaming functions
as a vehicle for convergence, bringing together previously
disparate industries around a common form of content.
It also examines the regulatory complexities that arise
when gaming becomes mobile, and in particular how the
rise of technologies like location-based services might
impact on issues such as privacy.
Keywords: mobile games, privacy, convergence.
