Nokia looks to community features to evolve mobile gaming

New research by Nokia has highlighted the growing importance of community and connected features to mobile gaming consumers.

Forty five per cent of players make use of multiplayer features at least once a month, with 62 per cent of the 1800 participants sampled wanting to share demos with friends, and 79 per cent stating they would sample a trial game sent by someone they know.

"These research results further validate that consumers are looking to the next-generation of mobile gaming to meet their gaming needs," said Jaakko Kaidesoja, director of games and multimedia at Nokia.

"Consumers are demanding great graphics, great content and great gameplay and we have listened. Next year, we intend to deliver superior mobile gaming experiences which will include great looking, involved and connected games that are easy to find, manage and play."

"Web 2.0 saw the birth of a new, more empowered use of the internet and with the next-generation of mobile gaming we are on the brink of the same evolution," added Kaidesoja.

"Nokia has recognised consumers' desire for communities and connected social gaming. We are evolving our online community strategies to bring truly connected, easy-to-use mobile gaming experiences to millions of mobile device owners worldwide."

Other highlights of the research by Nokia revealed that 80 per cent of users play mobile games once a week, with an average session lasting 28 minutes.

Despite being mobile by name, 62 per cent of mobile games are played at home, just pipping 61 per cent of titles played while on the move.

When considering a purchase, 83 per cent of users cite gameplay as the key motivator, followed by replayability (79 per cent) and game genre (78 per cent).

In terms of distribution, 34 per cent of respondents prefer over-the-internet (OFI) methods, with over-the-air (OTA) proving more popular with 45 per cent of those sampled.