Cell phone games to go mainstream

At E3 this year, we expect cell phone game publishers to further focus on the "casual gamer" demographic--the people who play games while waiting in line, for example--in order to draw more mass-market appeal. Nokia's Snap Mobile, a universal Java-based gaming platform traditionally available on only Nokia handsets, is expected to be opened up to the mass market so that other manufacturers can utilize it. Look for publishers such as Namco Mobile, Jamdat from Electronic Arts, and Glu Mobile (formerly Sorrent) to continue to release “casual” games in the sports, puzzle, and arcade genres, in addition to edgier RPG and action titles to appeal to a younger crowd. Sprint Nextel, one of the few service providers that will be present at E3, is also expected to announce partnerships with several game publishers.