It looks like the mobile sector is poised for a continued growth in spite of the global economic downturn. Gameloft, a major developer and publisher of mobile games has posted an increase in its consolidated sales — up by 22% compared to last year. Gameloft’s 1st quarter sales amounted to 30.8 million € compared to only 25.3 million last year.

Mobile games accounted for 94% of the company’s annual sales and console games covered the remaining 6%. Europe accounted for 35% of sales for the first quarter, North America 37%, and 29% for the rest of the world. The strongest growth took place in North America, up 57% over the period — thanks to the Apple iPhone platform

Gameloft has also announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros to create a mobile game for the upcoming movie Sherlock Holmes.