Portable Gaming Market Is Growing Rapidly

May 11, 2004 (1:48 PM EDT)

The number of people playing games on handheld computers and cellular phones is expected to nearly double over the next five years, a market research firm said Tuesday.

The number of portable gamers is projected to increase to 43 million in 2009 from 23 million in 2003, JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corp., said in its latest forecast report. Revenue from game lovers is expected to grow to $2.7 billion from $1.6 billion during the same time period.

JupiterResearch defines portable gamers as people who play more than five hours a week on dedicated game devices, such as Nintendo's GameBoy; hybrid game devices, such as Nokia's N-Gage or Tapwave's Zodiac; or on general purpose handheld computers.

A fourth device class composed of gamers who play on their cellular phones is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 16 percent through 2009, fueled by the proliferation of cellular phones better equipped to support games.

The most customers for game devices are expected to be found among men and women from the upper teens to 34 years of age, the analyst firm said.