Getting games, retailers all ready

What: Movaya Wireless, Seattle

Who: Phil Yerkes, 34, CEO and co-founder

Mission: Make it easy for anyone to sell mobile games that are downloadable to cellphones and PDA devices. Acting as middleman, it creates a marketplace between game developers and merchants. Movaya makes sure the game is market-ready, then strikes a deal with a retailing Web site. Users then download the game to their phone or PDA. "We make it easy for both groups to connect," Yerkes said. "It is a complex marketplace."

Financials: The year-old, 12-employee company is not yet profitable and is pursuing venture capital.

Pocket play: Unlike PC software, a snazzy mobile game won't convince anyone of the need to buy a snazzier phone. Cellular customers will upgrade phones when they need a more powerful network. Then, they will discover the game-playing potential of the new phones. Most of the 230 million cellphone subscribers have enough horsepower for a round of mah-jongg, Yerkes said. "Not everyone knows they have a pretty robust gaming console in their pocket."

Short attention span: Mobile games compete with newspapers, magazines and TV for leisure time, Yerkes said. But their interactivity brings an added bonus. "Games are a great way to kill time," he said. "But they can also be good for your brain if you play a puzzle game or Sudoku."

What works: In the mobile market, look for puzzles and casual games you can play for a few minutes and continue later.

What doesn't work: High-action, shoot-'em-up, sports games or anything that needs a large screen to make sense.

Slicing the pie: Mobile games cost users around $6 each. Yerkes said that the carrier takes from 25 to 40 percent off the top, with the rest distributed among the author, publisher and Movaya — which usually gets 75 cents to $1 per transaction.

PC, phone home: "The mobile world is looking like the Internet did 10 years ago," Yerkes said. "Everyone is rushing in to develop a presence."

— Charles Bermant