Mobile games outselling ringtones, music and video in the UK

You might remember a couple of weeks ago a quote from O2's European boss Peter Erskine, who told an industry conference that mobile games were 'deeply niche' in terms of the revenue they generate.

Not everyone agrees, it seems. Research firm GfK M² reckons that in the year to March 2007, UK mobile users spent £83 million on mobile games, compared to £76m on ringtones, £23 million on music, £11m on video and £10m on wallpapers.

The company helpfully points out that this means games generate nearly four times more dosh than music, and nearly eight times more than video. It also found that 90 per cent of games sold in the year were shifted through mobile operators.

"A year ago, there was less activity in the mobile gaming market as well as poor phone functionality, limited game offerings and perceived high prices," says Aaron Rattue, business group director at GfK M².

"In the last year mobile gaming has really taken off and now leads the mobile content market in terms of the amount of money consumers are spending. Clearly, gamers are happy to pay to download, with half of all the games downloaded to a mobile phone in the last year costing £5 or more."