Mobile gaming is one of those sectors that's a bit tricky to figure out. Everyone says it's growing and is primed for even more growth, and yet the number of actual mobile game purchasers out of the total wireless subscriber base remains comparatively low.

That said, the analysts at research firm IDC believe that growth in this market is about to accelerate. A new study from the group predicts that mobile game purchasers will grow more than 16 percent annually reaching nearly 50 million customers by 2010. IDC states that this will "substantially increase total mobile gaming revenue by the end of the decade."

The report U.S. Wireless Gaming 2006-2010 Forecast, which provides an analysis and five-year forecast of the U.S. wireless gaming market, suggests that improved handset technology, flexible billing mechanisms, and the increased availability of wireless broadband (3G) networks will entice more consumers to join the mobile gaming scene, thereby driving growth of the sector over the next several years.

Looking at the current mobile market, a recent IDC survey found that 11 percent of respondents purchased at least one game for their wireless device in the third quarter of 2006. The prime demographic for these mobile purchases was comprised of teens and adults under 24 years of age. IDC said that during the third quarter respondents spent an average of $13.00 on wireless games, and this spending was "inversely correlated with the purchaser's age." The research firm also believes that the price per mobile game will increase more than $2.50 by 2010 "due in part to the impact of growing subscription revenues."

While more than 75 percent of the mobile game purchasers made during the third quarter were of the one-time unlimited use variety and IDC believes this will remain the largest category for mobile games over the next four years, the research firm also thinks that subscription-based channels will gain traction and represent a third of total revenue by the end of the decade.

"Flexible discovery and billing mechanisms are emerging trends making mobile game purchases easier and more attractive to consumers," commented Lewis Ward, research manager of IDC's Mobile Consumer Services: Entertainment service. "Game bundles, flat subscription fees that include access to multiple games, weekly game rentals, pay-per-play and other models today compliment the standard one-time purchasing model or single-game monthly subscription model."