Is Mobile gaming really the future?

[Lilani]

No.

You know how television didn't end the film industry? And fast food didn't end grocery stores or fine cuisine? That is why mobile games won't end console or PC gaming. It's a new niche altogether, it hasn't taken the place of anything. It's made a new place for itself.

 

[Doom972]

As more and more developers start taking this platform seriously, mobile gaming will replace the handheld consoles. I don't see how mobile gaming will replace home consoles in the foreseeable future, but home consoles might get phased out by PCs and/or cloud gaming.

 

[legend of duty]

God I hope not! Mobile gaming is the worst. 98% of the library are shameless copies or just dull.

 

[baddude1337]

As others have said, it is it's own marketplace, relatively separate from the rest. If it replaces anything, which is doubtful, it will be handheld gaming devices. The main advantage phones have over those is the amount of R&D into even better components and being handy for pretty much everything else. Compare a phone now to 5 years ago. Back then a 3d game would have been a stretch on an Iphone. Now I can load up the complete version of Xcom Enemy Within on my phone. I can't even do that on PS Vita.

Of course it's main problem now is the insane amount of crap that is on the app store's. Had the whole IAP and cheap browser type games taken off we might have had a lot more thoughtful games, but as it is right now mobile gaming is killing itself, with only a few truly worthwhile things to play.

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

I think some of those games are alright but I don't think they will replace anything, more or less, at least from a phone perspective, a lot of mobile games are those casual time waster apps you use during long flights, boring trips, boring hotel stays, and waiting rooms of various degrees.

I am sure Clash of Clans is making money but does it really replace the Total War series for the PC? I think not. I liked the EA mobile game of Dead Space but it wasn't the same as the 3 games for the console.

One of the biggest downers are screens in the end. Who can really enjoy much on a 4 inch screen or 7 to 10 inch one? I think its safe to say that those mini games will have their own venue as well as PC...

... now consoles...

I may be in the small minority but console games need to pick up their game if they want to boast being a new generation of anything. Sure they came out with some pretty things these past few months but nothing that I would vote on as being ground breaking.

The games and the console are only as good as the studios and developers whom make the products for them, if they are boring and cookie cutter, run of the mill or suffers from " been there and done that"... well... you'll have problems. I think both consoles are getting too much into trying to be over-rated cable boxes and streaming machines than being gamer oriented.

In the grand scheme of things both Sony and Microsoft are companies that make their real profit from either their home entertainment based electronics ( TVS ect) or in Microsoft's case -- software rather than consoles. I think those two really treat their consoles as very expensive hobbies in which they can market their name brand while absorbing a loss. What ever they aren't getting from that they are certainly making it up for it with the 100 other products they participate in.

 

[G00N3R7883]

If mobile gaming is the future, I'll just replay all my old games. I don't care for the small screen size, the control scheme, or the concept of playing games outside my house and getting distracted by background noise.

But, I don't honestly believe mobile is the future. People used to say PC gaming was dying for years and look how that turned out.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Considering the 3DS just recently passed the 50 million units sold mark in an era where smartphones have become one of the biggest products sold, I would argue that dedicated consoles still have some time left. Home consoles are even safer in comparison.

When you see that there are mobile game that make possibly millions per day, they are the extreme exception, not the rule. Consoles can still be profitable, Sony's Playstation brand is one of, if not, its best money maker at this point. I could see Microsoft bowing out of the console business for some other kind of media player thing, but that's only due to the Xbox not wanting to be a dedicated gaming console anymore. Finally, Nintendo has the funds and brad recognition to live through a few more mediocre selling consoles without bowing out of the race, so you won't see them switching to smart phones anytime soon.

That is not to say that phone and tablet gaming is not a big deal. I fear most younger kids know their way around a smart phone and tablet over any other gaming console.

 

[joest01]

They are and they aren't. When you ride the subway in Shanghai it is pretty obvious just how many people are into these silly mobile apps. But what that is actually replacing is reading the newspaper, ogling strangers, or perhaps doing crossword puzzles.

Even so, it well may become the definition of "gaming" going forward.

Replace what many of us consider a gaming experience it surely won't.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

God I hope not! Mobile gaming is the worst. 98% of the library are shameless copies or just dull.

Like the AAA console market then?

 

[kris40k]

Mobile gaming is not going to be a threat to console or PC gaming for quite some time, if ever. Now, it is competing with the handheld market. Handseld consoles like the 3DS and Vita have to show that they have better quality in game and gaming experience than mobiles to overcome the fact that a large percentage of the population [footnote] http://www.statista.com/statistics/201183/forecast-of-smartphone-penetration-in-the-us/[/footnote] already owns a smartphone, so they have to overcome that to have consumers consider putting out a couple hundred for a handheld followed by $20-50 a pop for games instead of just using their phone and getting free or $0.99 games.

Battery life, controls, and quality IP's are great differentiators between handhelds and mobiles at the moment. You are not going to get the newest Smash Bros or whatever as a mobile game. However, more companies are starting to open up to the idea. That older Final Fantasy games are being ported over to Android and iOS are examples that great games can be played on mobile devices.

However, the barrier for entry in the mobile market is much lower than compared to handhelds. I can run home from work, fire up my PC and knock out a crap game in Android Studio and have it up on the Play Store by the end of the night if I really wanted to. Getting a game done, approved, and released onto a 3DS is another story. This is something PCs are also seeing with shovelware that is clogging up the Steam ecosystem. Its not so much that mobiles are bad for gaming, just that there is so much bad stuff floating around.

Controls are another story but for those that really want it, they are out there and getting better recognition and supported by developers. I own a BT controller for my Android device and love it.

Battery tech is evolving, but since they are not single purpose devices there is always going to be some impact on that

 

[gamer_parent]

It's a completely different market segment. It will get larger, you'll probably see some eventual publisher consolidation (it's already happening now), and entry of barrier into the market place will get to a point that only publishers with real backing will be able to succeed in it. (in that the store will just a distribution point, not a place to do the marketing) However, a replacement for console gaming it is not.

the primary reason? The mode of consumption is completely different. For most of us, the act of gaming is us sitting down in front of a TV/PC and saying to ourselves, "I'm playing this, I'm going to dedicate some time to THIS activity". you have to remain fully engaged for that time period. The way you consume a mobile game is "I have 15 minutes at the bus stop / on the toilet, and I don't want to be bored". The design priorities for the two segments are apples and oranges.

Now, there is ONE segment that I can imagine some cross pollination and that's the emerging gamer crowd, aka kids. Right now, I see a lot of kids (say, below the age of 10) who play both mobile games and console games, but focus heavily on mobile simply because that's what they get more time to. (any time they're out to dinner, on a long car ride, etc) In those instances, they're looking for easy entertainment rather than say, a full engaging experience. However, for a lot of kids, there is very little difference. Playing a console type game with a bunch of mechanics attached to it is work. To be fully immersed in a game experience takes work and a fundamental amount of knowledge. And for a lot of kids, that's not what they're looking for. it's not like for a lot of us where back in the day, you either played the ridiculously hard Megaman 2 or it's nothing. Now, there are a LOT of alternatives.

The sweet spot is when they move past that tween years and want more out of their entertainment. At this point, the determination of their type becomes clearer.

But unless the desire for a full experience goes away, I just can't imagine the console / PC market going away.

 

[The Bucket]

Of course not. It'll probably grow bigger, but plenty experiances are only possible with a bigger screen and more control options

 

[LostCrusader]

That being said, there may not NEED to be a console generation after this one. I remember hearing about Sony acquiring a game streaming service a while ago. A PS4 would essentially just need to be powerful enough to render video being streamed to it from a more powerful rig and transmitting controller input online. There's no reason that said streaming would become significantly more intensive in the future compared to current games, making the actual hardware kind of irrelevant.

Streaming the output from a game server wouldn't be more intensive to the hardware, but it would be awful on the networks and would have terrible lag. It wouldn't be able to stream the images to you like netflix without noticeable lag because they don't know what the player is going to do until they get your inputs. And since cable providers don't care enough about upgrading their networks, I don't see it being usable for a long time.

OT: I don't get why mobile is considered separate from the consoles. Its just like the hand held systems except with simpler games. So no, the end times have not come for our consoles/PCs.

 

[redmoretrout]

I think your mobile device will be your PC. As smartphones become more powerful and cheaper they can just assume the functions of other devices. They will always be games that can't be played with the limited controls of a mobile device, so you'll just see attachments for them, a controller/keyboard and an HDMI cord.

 

[DementedSheep]

No, because it a completely different thing. Mobile games are the sort of games you play when you don't have a lot else you could be doing like while a on train or waiting for something to start. The are meant to be simple, causal things.

Which also why they're not a valid argument when talking about PC and console games.

 

[legend of duty]

God I hope not! Mobile gaming is the worst. 98% of the library are shameless copies or just dull.

Like the AAA console market then?

At least it takes more than a few weeks to produce

 

[Fonejackerjon]

God I hope not! Mobile gaming is the worst. 98% of the library are shameless copies or just dull.

Like the AAA console market then?

At least it takes more than a few weeks to produce

Still the same cut and paste quality though.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

I think your mobile device will be your PC. As smartphones become more powerful and cheaper they can just assume the functions of other devices. They will always be games that can't be played with the limited controls of a mobile device, so you'll just see attachments for them, a controller/keyboard and an HDMI cord.

This. I really don't understand how people can't see the bigger picture Smartphones are portable computers, nothing more nothing less.

they are getting exceptionally powerful and will surpass consoles this generation mark my words we are already seeing 8 core smartphones!! Five years ago this would have been laughed at the idaa of that but its happening, hell if 5 years ago I told you smartphones would have a higher resolution screen than a HD tv you wouldn't have believed it but its happening why are people so closed minded.

Do people not realise mobiles limitation is very small, a HDMI cable and Bluetooth controller, bang,you have a console experience.