NYTimes on Mobile Phone Gaming

Today's New York Times has an article on mobile phone gaming, describing the increase in availability and use of games played on cell phones.

While many developers in the multibillion-dollar video game industry seek to extend its appeal, profile and profits with bolder, flashier and ever more engrossing games - some so difficult that learning curves outlast players - a different sort of video game is quietly asserting itself into the mainstream.

Do not expect thunderous six-speaker surround sound. Forget about hair triggers, menacing artificial intelligence and fully immersive 3-D environments. This is a tamer universe of games with names like Snowball Fight, Bejeweled, Tumble Bees and Bookworm Deluxe.

These games tend to be brief amusements that are almost instinctive. They are easy to learn and can be played on a variety of devices, including PC's, laptops, digital organizers and cellphones. Even a popular digital music player, Apple's iPod, comes with the simple game Breakout installed.

The article points out the low development costs for this sort of game — ~$40,000, compared to several million dollars for a gaming-console title — and the fact that these casual games seem to be crossing the gender barrier that for some peculiar reason games like Quake and Deus Ex seem unable to break through.

None of this is news if you follow Greg Costikyan's blog. What is notable is that the Times is taking note.

And there's no mention of gambling, the grey-market secret of computer game play. But I'd lay odds that someone in Costa Rica or the Cayman Islands or wherever is looking at how to port a video poker game to BREW (the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless).