Worldwide mobile gaming revenue is on pace to total $4.5 billion in 2008, a 16.1 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $3.9 billion, according to Gartner. While mobile gaming revenue will continue to lag behind other value-added entertainment services - such as music and adult content - the market still has much potential.

The Asia/Pacific region (including Japan) represents by far the largest market for mobile gaming, with end-user spending forecast to total $2.3 billion in 2008 and reach $3.4 billion by 2011. The mobile-game market has outshone the PC and console game market in the emerging territories of Asia largely because of the low penetration of PCs compared with that of mobile devices. India is expected to lead among Asian countries in terms of total mobile gaming revenue generated, with the 2007 figure at approximately $80 million. This is forecast to reach $450 million by 2012.

The mobile gaming market in Western Europe is expected to grow from $701 million in 2008 to $862 million by 2011. The North American market is projected to grow from $845 million to approximately $1.2 billion in 2011. The gap between North American and Western European mobile-gaming revenues is expected to widen over the forecast period as more users in North America adopt mobile data services in general.