Europe : Mobile Content and Entertainment Forecasts and Analysis predicts that the total Western European market for mobile games will grow more than tenfold from its 2002 value of EUR0.2 billion to nearly EUR3 billion in 2008 - representing just over 19% of total revenue for mobile content and entertainment services. Nearly 80% of gaming revenue (EUR2.4 billion) will be derived from downloadable games.

"Java handsets have become more widely available over the last 18 months, and mass-market interest in mobile gaming has grown strongly as a result," says the report's lead author, Rachael Beale. "Users are swapping Snake for arcade simulations and film tie-ins, and the release of new devices optimised for gaming, like Nokia's N-Gage, is likely to encourage take-up further." The report also notes that growth in both online and downloadable games will be further encouraged by the increasing availability of SIP (session initiation protocol) and 3G networks.

Along with more widespread device availability, 2002-3 has seen great steps taken in addressing some of the barriers to service take-up in Western Europe. Several operators, including O2 in the UK, Telefónica Móviles in Spain and Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) in Italy, have launched mobile video and TV services ahead of 3G roll-out - an encouraging sign for the strong growth in mobile entertainment services that Analysys Research forecasts from 2004. The introduction of the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications, more widespread availability of MMS and progress on agreeing interoperability standards through the Open Mobile Association (OMA) have all contributed to strong growth in mobile content and entertainment services over the past year; however, there remain challenges to be overcome.

Written by Rachael Beale and Katrina Bond, Mobile Content and Entertainment Forecasts and Analysis drills down into the forecasts provided by Analysys Research's Western European Mobile Forecasts and Analysis 2003-2008 to provide detailed estimates and forecasts for the value of the total Western European market for mobile content and entertainment services over the period 2002-2008. Forecasts are broken down by service type, and also provided at individual country level for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The report outlines the current state of the market for each service type, and analyses key market drivers - network technology, usability, interoperability and revenue models - and their likely future development.