While developers have been expanding their workload during 2010 - platforms such as Android and Facebook are now cited as important - iPhone remains the bedrock of many studios' activity.
For this reason, our 2010 Mobile Games Survey drilled down into the metrics of iPhone game development. The most important aspect underpinning this is the platform's oft-cited Achilles Heel - game prices.
Hence, it might not seem a surprise that developers think iPhone games are priced too low; this isn't the case with all mobile platforms though.
Yet it's certainly the case on the App Store with a massive 87 per cent of developers saying game prices are too low.
Things are different on other platforms, though. Android, despite having a much less mature commercial ecosystem, is categorised as having too low prices by over a third of developers - 38 per cent.
And notably on those operator or OEM-controlled app stores that follow the 'packet of cigarettes' pricing model (the global rule of thumb that games should be the same local price as packet of cigarettes), the difference is greater still.
In terms of Java games, 62 per cent think the c.$5 price is right, rising further to 64 per cent for Symbian and BlackBerry games.
Quart into pint pot
These concerns are reflected in the scale and budget of iPhone games.
Around 31 per cent of projects cost less than $35,000 to develop, while a further 33 per cent cost between $35,000 and $110,000.
It's a similar situation in terms of team size for iPhone games with 26 per cent of developers in groups of less than three staff, and 55 per cent of developers between 4 and 6 strong.
There are big players operating in the market however with around 13 per cent of studios consisting of 10 or more people and 15 per cent of projects - a surprisingly large proportion - costing more than $300,000 to develop.
The future's bright
And, in general, our surveyed companies are optimistic about 2010, with 49 per cent expecting an increase in the number of people employed in the industry, and 51 per cent expecting total revenues to increase.
Indeed, 43 per cent defined themselves as very optimistic concerning their company's outlook during 2010, with a further 36 per cent being somewhat optimistic.
For the full analysis of our survey's findings plus mobile gaming business models, and 100 pages of additional data about the industry, get your copy of the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Trends Report 2010 now.
