Many people regard mobile gaming as not being “real gaming,” and the reasons for this are well known. You get the picture with poor graphics, poor storylines, and terrible touch controls. Despite this, many industry experts believe mobile gaming will experience explosive growth in the coming years.
But how exactly? What has changed this time? Let’s take a closer look at why mobile gaming has such a promising future.
Mobile Gamers Outnumber Console Gamers
If a mobile game becomes widespread, it may be more profitable than a comparable console game. Why? Because almost everyone owns a smartphone, gaming consoles such as PlayStation or Xbox must be purchased separately to enjoy the hobby, which makes it expensive at first. But if your game does well with many players, then you will make more money from player purchases and in-game advertising. This is also a risky but rewarding investment because hundreds of mobile games fail where only one may succeed.
Microtransactions Allow For Recurring Income
People frequently dismiss paid mobile games at first glance; this is one of the primary reasons mobile gaming stinks. Because more than 90% of all apps are free, it’s natural for people to expect mobile games to be free as well. However, many developers are immediately put off by not receiving an upfront payment for their game.
Developers who want to create a mobile game are forced to use the freemium model, forcing players to buy in-game items such as outfits or weapons through microtransactions. And while microtransactions have a terrible reputation in the gaming community, they help developers earn recurring income, providing much-needed stability.
Because console games typically have a one-time fee, finding new players is essential for developers to earn more money from their competition. And as you may know, acquiring new users is far more complex, time-consuming, and costly than retaining existing users. Knowing this, developers should consider developing mobile games as a better long-term investment.
More Powerful Smartphones
A modern smartphone is already quite capable. Nonetheless, smartphone OEMs outperform yearly by releasing new top-tier flagships with faster processors. The iPhone 13 and comparable Android phones exceed the PlayStation 4! Consider how many PS4 games you can (technically) run on your phone.
As technology evolves, developers will be able to create games with improved graphics and more fluid controls. And it will only be a matter of time before the power previously reserved for flagship phones is also found in lower-cost devices. This will allow for a more extensive user base and increase revenue.
Not to mention the proliferation of gaming phones. Although a gaming phone is not required to play a high-end mobile game, it does provide features that regular phones do not. Some gamers, particularly those who play competitively, value features such as a headphone jack, a built-in cooling system, shoulder triggers, and a dedicated gaming mode.
5G Mobile Gaming Advancements
5G is not yet the global mobile network standard. And while adoption is slower than expected, 5G has a lot to offer, particularly to the mobile gaming industry. 5G will help mobile games compete with console games by providing faster download speeds, lower latency, shorter loading times, and cloud gaming.
AR and VR Integration in Mobile Games
Beyond improved augmented reality and virtual reality integration into mobile games, 5G will also expedite the integration of augmented reality and virtual reality into mobile games. Although VR apps are available for download, they do not accurately represent the technology’s capability. This is due to the power required to exploit VR and AR, which 4G lacks properly.
We need to make it easier for everyone to access and afford 5G technology to take advantage of the new AR and VR mobile games era.
Conclusion
In its current state, mobile gaming is a work in progress. It’s better than it used to be a few years ago, but we’re still far from experiencing it to its fullest potential. Mobile games will no doubt improve over time and look as good (if not better) than console games; however, based on the trends of late, there has been an uptick of developers jumping on board who want to push these boundaries even further.