So why is mobile gaming so popular? Is it the simplistic yet addictive nature of the games? Or is it the fact that nowadays the games look just as good as console games and are just as in depth and even multiplayer? Is it the ease factor? Or maybe it’s the price. There are a lot of factors that are appealing about mobile gaming.
Price: This may be the obvious answer to lead the pack. Games for your phone or tablet are in many cases free, or 1/10th the cost of a console game. The average Xbox or PlayStation game costs approximately $50. This is a far cry from the.99 cents you just spent to play a game that you can take with you anywhere.
The sting of picking out the wrong game hurts a lot more when you spent $50 on it and can’t return it. Or, if you get the game home and beat it within a matter of an hour or so and you’re left saying, now what? The value is simply much better in the mobile space.
Traction: Another “no kidding” response. There are just many more smart phones and tablets in peoples hands. Smart phones number in the hundreds of millions world wide which grossly dwarfs the number of households with gaming consoles.
A phone is a necessity and as of late, that phone of choice is a smartphone. Whether it be Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, or iOS, there are a slew of games for each. You will also find most of the games you can get on your Xbox or PlayStation you can now get on your Android or iOS devices. Madden anyone?
Form Factor: Your phone is always with you, in your pocket, in your purse, a game is never farther away than your fingertips. Nothing beats being able to pull out the phone and kill some zombies while waiting to see your doctor.
Smartphones and tablets are portable and easily handled. This makes a winning combination in the gaming space.
What’s next?: Look towards NVidia’s Shield or the Ouya gaming system. Android is taking the lead on revolutionizing the way games are played. The games you already own on your phone or tablet can be played on NVidia’s Shield, which is a 5″inch touch screen attached to a controller. Same goes for the Ouya, which is more in the vein of a console with a controller, but is connected to your Google Play account and you play Android games on your big screen television.
These two items will be big sellers around Christmas time. The games and mobile devices are simply much cheaper and more accessible to the masses.
The beauty of these types of devices lies in the redundancy. The games you purchase on your NVidia Shield or Ouya, are able to be played on your smart phone or tablet as well.
The mobile gaming industry shows no signs of slowing down and it is evolving at an exciting clip!