Justin Hall covers the Tokyo Game Show 2004 from the mobile perspective.
Flat-rate pricing for 3G is around $40/mo. these days but will have to come down more to really get wide usage. That said, it is a HUGE change in the industry and will ultimately be good for the customer.
Flat-rate services have arrived just in time; last year game developers at the Tokyo Game Show were complaining that high packet fees were stalling innovation. Now with the chance to take photos inside games and mail them around without running up big bills, future games might begin to incorporate mobile multimedia.
The 3G flat-rate for $40/mo got me excited to get an upgraded phone last November when AU / KDDI started offering flat-rate.
However, without a Gameboy sized-screen and good Crackberry keyboard, the usablity of the tiny screens and 10-keypad sux!! It’s almost a year later and I still can’t get funtionality out the keitai’s interface, screen, and keypad combination.
Test.