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One of the biggest trends in gaming right now is not what you may immediately think. It’s not virtual reality gaming or the latest in photorealistic graphics. The fastest-growing trend today is the rise of mobile gaming. Suddenly, gamers are not just people sitting at home with consoles or playing on their PC; gamers are anyone with a smartphone.
With smartphones as prevalent as they are, many different hobbies have had a rebirth centered around different apps. For instance, many people enjoy the fun of playing blackjack online and would rather play at the leisurely pace of apps as opposed to playing in person. Everything from music production studios to fantasy sports are being reborn in the world of high power phone applications.
There are numerous examples like this, and it shows that people are becoming more intertwined with their smartphones and are finding less of a reason to put it down for an alternative. As far as gaming goes, consumers are becoming increasingly more comfortable playing with the all-in-one smartphone than picking up an Xbox controller or computer mouse instead.
The Rise of Mobile Gaming
While phone games have existed since the creation of cell phones in some capacity, mobile gaming has only recently really taken off. The factors surrounding this trend are clear and obvious. First off, when you really stop and think about it, smartphone technology today is simply incredible. We have an ultra-powerful computer at our fingertips constantly, and it’s starting to make other devices look clearly inferior.
Older flip-phones and Nokia bricks had their own strengths, but now almost any modern smartphone can support stunning graphics and powerful computer processing. If you know the history of gaming, then you are aware of the reason home console gaming finally took off is that the machines became advanced enough to rival the experience of arcade cabinets. Suddenly, there was no reason to venture to an arcade and spend sacks of quarters, not when the one-time purchase of a home system was so much more attractive.
In a way, this story mirrors what we are experiencing with mobile gaming. Free apps on your phone are more impressive than the best home console games of the 1990s. The gap between mobile games and home console games is becoming smaller every year, and soon there won’t be much of an argument against mobile games at all. With new technology like 5G becoming more widespread, massive multiplayer games are becoming available on mobile devices. Overall, it is only going to get better for mobile games from here.
Mobile Gaming in Asia
As is usually the case, this growing gaming trend took off in Asia first, before the Western world followed. In Asian culture, smartphones are enjoyed for a variety of things, including payment processing instead of credit cards. With a growing reliance on these devices, gaming is just another attractive feature.
Console gaming in Asia is already a distant third favorite after PC and mobile gaming. There are several mobile gaming leagues and tournaments that are prominent in countries like South Korea and Japan already. More to the point, in many countries like Thailand or Vietnam, mobile gaming is the most popular form of video games at the present time.
Home computers or consoles are too expensive for many people to afford, yet the cost of smartphone technology continues to drop dramatically with every new iteration of Apple, Samsung, and Huawei devices, making mobile devices more accessible. There is already a generation of people that prefer mobile gaming first and foremost, and likely may never switch over to alternatives.
Free to Play Mobile Games are Exploding
The final piece of this mobile phenomenon is the explosion of “free to play” style games. This style of game allows many users to download the app and play for free, with developers instead monetizing their creations with advertisements or microtransactions. Instead of paying the absurd price of $60+ dollars for every new console release, gamers are preferring to play free to play games instead, potentially saving thousands of dollars over the years.
It’s easy to see why free to play has become popular. Game developers benefit from larger user bases that help promote their titles and establish them as competent games studios, and players no longer have to spend thousands on new consoles and equipment. Over time, there will be less incentive to buy these systems or upgrade your PC to play the latest games.
The innovations in the gaming space are happening rapidly, and this is an exciting field to be a part of. From here, we may not be sure where mobile games eventually end up, but it’s plausible that in the near future they become the most important platform for gamers.
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