Analysis on types of mobile games played among the IHL students in Malaysia

Mobile phones are no longer a luxury but are now considered a necessity by its users. Many applications are developed to replace electronic devices and extra 'baggage' that people used to carry around with them. A mobile phone now also serves as a planner, camera, music player, video player, gaming console, calculator and other useful gadgets. Mobile gaming is getting more attention from gamers as one of the most preferable type of digital games. One good reason that contributes to the success of mobile game is because of its mobility, which means gamers can play games anytime and anywhere. In this paper, we examine the usage of mobile games as compared to other types of digital games such as console or arcade games in Malaysia. We also perform a series of analysis regarding to students preferences in every gaming phase from console or arcade games to mobile games. A survey on user preferences among students of Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) has been done to gather useful information and relevant data to support this paper. The survey showed that an overwhelming majority (60%) of the respondents prefer to play games on mobile phone. The data that have been gathered from the survey were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), Release 13.0.0, to investigate the number and percentage of students that use mobile games. The future direction of this study is discussed at the end of the paper.