Visitors try out a cell phone game Friday at the Tokyo Game Show. (Hana Kusumoto / Stars and Stripes)

The screens are too small and the features on the games are limited. That’s the thinking of many gamers around the world when it comes to cell phones. Outside of Japan, that is.

Japanese game makers say cell phones are one of the country’s most popular gaming platforms. In fact, they are the second largest platform displayed at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. The past few years they were the largest platform, according to TGS organizers.

During a panel discussion at the TGS Forum, leaders from three major Japanese game developers — Square Enix, Capcom and Namco Bandai — surmised one reason for the popularity is that Japanese gamers drive much less than Westerners. Japanese gamers spend more time on mass transit, a perfect place to break out a cell phone and play a game, the developers said. The developers also said that although cell phones may be small, they offer a large variety of games available for the traditional home console like "Lost Planet" and "Devil May Cry."

Gamers also enjoy a wide range of genres such as role-playing, board games, racing and sports on cell phones.

Japanese gamers like the convenience of playing games on cell phones, said a sales person with French game developer Gameloft.

"A mobile phone is something that you always carry," he said.

The company developed "Real Soccer 2009," which uses the Bluetooth feature on cell phones to allow gamers to play with or against one another.

Cell phones with features like Bluetooth, that have helped expand the variety of games available for cell phones, were plentiful at TGS. Taito used cell phone cameras as motion sensors in "Chokkan Classic," a game that lets users play music by imitating the motion of playing instruments like violins and drums. Players can shake the phone or swipe their hands at the camera to play music.

Stars and Stripes reporter Bryce Dubee contributed to this story.