Mobile games - definition

Glossary

Many phones include simple games for the user to pass the time. The games referred to here are ones preinstalled on the phone and do not require a wireless connection to play.

With mobile phones getting ever more powerful, the games are following suit in terms of complexity and graphics. Some phones even have dedicated gaming keys and even look like portable mini gaming consoles.

Some of the latest phones have a built-in accelerometer sensor, which can be utilized by games to provide more interactive gameplay. In those so-called motion-based games, you can steer, for instance, by tilting your phone in the respective direction.

Usually, when there are some games preinstalled, more can be downloaded over the air using the phone's built-in web browser or they can be downloaded onto a desktop computer and then transferred to the mobile phone via a data cable.

There are several different technologies for downloadable games for feature phones, including Java, BREW, Mophun, and WGE. The technologies are incompatible between each other, although some phones support more than one of them.

Additionally, native mobile games for smartphones with their respective mobile OSs also represent a large share of the mobile game market.

Bear in mind that a certain mobile phone model can be bundled with different games depending on the regional market or even the network carrier.

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