Games on cellphones becoming serious business
Since graduating from university Maija Parjanen has mostly been paid to play games.
Eight hours a day, five days a week, she beeps and clicks her way through the working day, testing new mobile phone games for Helsinki gaming studio Sumea.
"When my friends ask me what games to buy, I usually suggest one-button games, which can be played well even on cheaper phone models," said the 27-year-old in an office much like any other in the Finnish capital's high-tech district Ruoholahti.
Small screens and limited computing power restrict how fancy mobile phone games can be, but customers want them, either already on their new phones or to download -- and they are willing to pay for the privilege.
The increasing demand has grabbed the attention of conglomerates seeking growth prospects. In order to keep ahead, games manufacturers like mobile game studios and boutique firms have started merging to reach the scale needed to meet demand.
Sumea was bought by U.S. firm Digital Chocolate last year, the same year the mobile phone games market passed the sales milestone of $1 billion (554 million pounds).
