Smartphones are sweeping the global gaming market. At the moment it seems quite possible that they will become the dominant platform for gaming. PC and console gamers still have the prestige of “real gamers”, but smartphones are becoming the most common gateway to gaming for most people.
What are some of the reasons for, and indicators of, this popularity?
Availability and Convenience
Even though many people own PCs and consoles, smartphones are becoming by bar the most widespread technology for accessing the Internet. It is quite easy to understand why this is so. They are smaller and cheaper, and with the advancements in technology in recent years, their performance is getting very close to the performance of PSs and consoles.
This is especially true in developing countries. For example in South Africa, 71% of adults are playing video games. The spread of fast Internet connections and 5G technology is especially important for the rising popularity of mobile gaming.
Variety of Gaming Genres
Video games for mobile phones are much cheaper to make. For this reason, their number by far surpasses the numbers of their PC and console counterparts. This means that gamers who use smartphones are given a huge variety of games to choose from.
Literally, thousands of games are at the tip of their fingers, and when they are bored with a game that they are currently playing they can very easily find a completely different type and try that one.
Numbers Say It All
Aspects such as variety and novelty have a great appeal. It is evident in the numbers of downloads of the most popular mobile games on Google Play and other platforms:
Garena Free Fire – 1 billion downloads
PUBG – 1 billion downloads
Pokémon Go – more than 1 billion downloads
Subway Surfers – 3 billion downloads
If you are confused about the significance of the numbers given above, just compare them with World of Warcraft, the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game of all time. The game is estimated to have a total of 116.84m subs since its beginnings, while it peaked in 2010 with 12 million subscribers.
The Rising Popularity of Mobile Casino Games
To these numbers, we must also add the incredible popularity of mobile casino games. When it comes to online gambling, more and more people are choosing their smartphones over the computer. As found on CasinoMobile, mobile casinos work pretty much in the same way as their desktop counterparts, but the only difference is the even greater convenience that comes with a mobile phone. As a player, you are able to move around, travel wherever you please, and still be able to spin a wheel or throw a game of cards.
What to Expect?
These days even console manufacturers are taking some cues from the smartphone gaming industry and are developing systems that would allow their customers to play games without purchasing them. This is a sure confirmation that the mobile gaming industry, which generates a lot of its money through micro-purchases, is setting the trends today.
PC and console gaming won’t disappear, that’s for sure. But this is the moment for smartphones to shine. As technology advancements become more available, and more people have access to fast smartphones and 5G Internet connections, the mobile gaming experience is getting closer and closer to PC and console gaming, but with the added value of convenience and affordable prices.
When we consider all of that, it is easy to understand why smartphones are overtaking PCs and consoles in gaming.
