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Mobile game industry is emerging rapidly. It has its background in miniature LCD games Japanese Nintendo launched in late 1970s. As pioneering and leading company in the industry, Nintendo, still holds a very strong position in the markets with its Gameboy -mobile game console series. The Finnish-mobile telecoms giant Nokia introduced computer games in mobile phones in mid 1990s. Games on mobile phones became an immediate hit and have later created real markets for mobile entertainment. In 2002, the estimated total turnover of computer game markets was USD ~30 billions, out of which mobile games represented roughly 3-5 %. The key enabling factors for this evolvement have been more powerful end-user devices, colour screens and improved transmission capabilities of the mobile networks.

The eleventh ACTeN business round table concentrated on the emerging mobile game markets and took place during the MindTrek Media Week (www.mindtrek.org) in Tampere. The event attracted over 100 interested professionals to share and express their opinions. For long, Finland has been among the pioneering and leading European counties within mobile game industry. Thus, the topic suited very well to media weeks program and atmosphere. In the business round table, eight industry experts discussed actively on the topic and analysed to industry challenges in detail.

They issues raised in the discussion covered: e.g. current industry challenges, revenues and earning logics, creativity organisation, educational responsibilities and governments role in the mobile game industry development. Argumentation was very lively and discussion concluded into concrete suggestions for action to strengthen both Finnish European mobile game industry development.

As a main conclusion of the event, the panel discussion participants agreed that Finnish game industry should more actively invite leading international game development and publishing companies to co-operate with Finns and encourage them to bring their development efforts also to Finland. One of the key means to attract the leading publishers, the panel participants proposed an organisation of an international mobile game event in 2004 in Finland. Neogames - initiative (www.hermia.fi/neogames) was seen as the natural organisation to take responsibility of this activity.

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