Carmack said he feels the budget for episodic games could still run higher than many might expect, which could ultimately lead to a lot of 'me too' downloadable titles.

Cell phone games, though, cost a considerably less than PC or console games. If a game series can attract a devoted enough following on those devices, making a larger budget version for an Xbox or PlayStation won't carry as much risk. "It sucks to risk $20 million on a new title these days," he said. "The industry sees maybe one truly new game per year. And we're as guilty of this at id (Software) as anyone. I mean, we have 'Doom 3,' 'Quake 4,' 'Wolfenstein'. It's not a bad thing. The industry likes that reliability and the consumer knows what they like."

Carmack's foray into the world of cell phone gaming can be partially attributed to his wife, who noticed men standing around the mall playing games on their phones as their wives shopped or tried on clothes.