the foreign markets are definitely more developed for a couple reasons:
1) more consistent and better wireless/hardware standards. they simply have better phones and better networks with less variability. still a complex market overseas, but it's certainly ahead of US.
2) less driving overseas. There are more people per capita commuting and traveling via non-cars: busses, trains etc. they simply have more time to kill playing with a cell phone. in the US, so many people are commuting in cars they can't play games even on phones in that time.
3) mobile gaming dominated by nintendo. hard core mobile gamers are GBA/DS and maybe PSP oriented. getting them to "think smaller" for cheaper cell phone based games takes a little work.
4) the US mobile GBA gamer is kid focused. Sure, there are many adults, myself included, who loves playing the GBA, but it's a kids platform for the most part and kids don't really have cell phones (little kids) and even teens with cell phones aren't always the ones paying the bill, much less are they buying content like games.
But that doesn't mean the market in the US won't change. I think about how much consumption of games I can really handle. I'd like to play some cool mobile games I guess, I really view them as things to do when I don't have anything else to do, like waiting at the dentist or on a plane, maybe on the toilet?
I don't think I would take the same approach to it as I would my GBA games unless the games became so compelling...but for that to happen i need better/bigger screens. I think the ideal for me would be current GBA games.
Bah, i think the long run solution is an iPod that is also a phone / blackberry / game machine / PDA.
Save me convergance! Save me!
