Mobile entertainment company Mtone Wireless Corporation announced the release of its new SMS game service for mobile phones today, named Cell Phone. The release of the game coincided with yesterday’s release of blockbuster film director Feng Xiaogang’s New Year’s celebration movie, also named Cell Phone, of which Mtone is a co-sponsor.
China’s SMS market is 35 times larger than its movie industry. China’s mobile market will grow from 650 million subscribers in 2009 to 802 million subscribers by 2010.
 ”We anticipate continued strong profits for SMS messaging,” remarked Victor Wang, CEO of Mtone, “For the younger generation, sending short messages has replaced making phone calls as the ‘cool’ way to communicate. A new consumer demographic is emerging in China, known as ‘data high end users,’ who spend a significant portion of their income on SMS. This demographic is growing rapidly and represents a significant revenue source for the mobile industry.”
“We would like to congratulate Mtone on the debut of this exciting new game service,” remarked the Vice President of China Mobile, Lu Xiangdong. “We have enjoyed a very fruitful collaboration with Mtone, and our shared understanding of the development and prospects of the SMS industry have shaped our partnership. Establishing a value chain with SPs such as Mtone is a win-win situation for both parties.”