China, with its 300 million mobile-phone subscribers, presents a big opportunity for video game developers, but not everyone agrees on how best to approach the market.
In one camp are those who believe the multiplayer role-playing games popular on the internet will also be big hits on the handset.
In the other camp are those who see the handset as essentially a console but without the piracy concerns as games can be downloaded for a fee. While mobile-phone networks make online games possible, this is but one option available to game developers.
Frank Ying, game portfolio director at French developer In-?Fusio, said publishers were shying away from online mobile games because they were more expensive to produce and market.
InFusio plans to release six new games later this year, including casual and multiplayer role-playing games that allow users to play against one another. It might initially offer online games for free and charge for play later once critical mass was reached.
'We are trying to grab more share of the market. A lot of companies don't want to do online games because the cost is huge,' Mr Ying said.