How the mobile gaming industry is about to overtake console gaming
How the mobile gaming industry is about to overtake console gaming
The mobile gaming market is booming. In the last few years, the video game industry has shifted towards mobile gaming, and with more significant game developers jumping on the bandwagon, it looks like it's only a matter of time before mobile gaming overtakes console and PC as the primary platform for gaming.
Why is mobile gaming so popular?
Mobile gaming is much more affordable than console or PC gaming. This is a major factor in the revenue generated by the mobile games industry, simply because more people own smartphones than consoles or PCs. A lot of mobile games are entirely free to download or are available for a small sum. For the majority of people, it's a much more affordable and convenient way to play.
According to a recent report by market intelligence company Newzoo, the global games market is expected to hit a total revenue of $152.1 billion this year. Mobile gaming remains the largest segment of the global games market in 2019 with $68.5 billion coming from mobile games, accounting for 45% of the worldwide market.
TabTale is an Israeli mobile game developer that has released over 500 original mobile games including the hugely popular Run Sausage Run, which achieved more than 20 million downloads in the first two months after it was released and has logged more than 50 million downloads shortly after. Run Sausage Run is a free to play endless runner with one-touch controls. It's a simple concept, but it's immensely fun and easy to play. The simplicity and accessibility of the majority of mobile games available on the marketplace is a significant factor in the popularity of smartphone gaming.
More companies developing mobile games
As smartphone technology continues to get better every year, more advanced mobile games are coming out all the time. This is a huge draw for online casinos like Betway, who have capitalised on the popularity of mobile gaming. Several online casinos have launched mobile apps and sites where players can choose from several interactive mobile casino games. One of the main reasons for mobile gaming popularity is that it's an easy and fun way to kill time during busy days when you're on a break or a train home. Also, more people own smartphones than own consoles or desktops.
Mobile gaming has become a large industry, and it's no surprise that a lot of traditional game studios are putting so much effort into mobile games. Square Enix brought its popular Final Fantasy series to mobile with the launch of Mobius Final Fantasy as well as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, which has received more than 20 million downloads and is available on iOS and Android. In 2016, mobile gaming revenues surpassed PC and console games for the first time, generating $40.6 billion in global revenue.
Console games on mobile devices
While a lot of hardcore gamers refuse to recognize mobile gaming as ‘real gaming', this attitude is expected to change in the coming years as smartphones continue to advance and the processing power of mobile devices will be capable of running games with console-like graphics. We've already seen this with the launch of popular Battle Royale games like Fornite and PubG on iOS and Android which are capable of cross-platform play with console and PC players.
Cloud-based gaming is set to be a big thing in the future and could potentially replace the need for consoles. Cloud-based gaming allows you to stream games directly to your device, lifting the need for an expensive console or PC as all the heavy processing is done via cloud servers. With 5G right around the corner, it is possible we could see large A-games running on smartphone devices just as smoothly as they would on consoles.
To sum up
The mobile gaming industry continues to grow at an exponential rate and has already overtaken console gaming in revenue. However, it remains to be seen if mobile gaming will ever be capable of delivering the same kind of immersive gaming experience that consoles or PCs can offer. If you're interested in technology, then make sure to check out other posts on the Jerusalem Post for all the latest news and updates on all things tech-related.
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