It isn’t easy to spend the entirety of a day without going through your phone for a couple of hours. The technology incorporated into smartphones has transformed these mobile devices from being used for communications only to all-around entertainment.
With your smartphone, you can listen to music libraries spanning decades, chat with your friends, and play any type of video game, including casino games. Some of the most common games today include Candy Crush, Call of Duty, and Clash of Titans. If you’re a gamer, the chance that you’ve played at least one of these games is very high.
A trend has been observed in the gaming space that several regular gamers are spending more time on their phones than on consoles. A study performed by ESA showed that 35% of consistent gamers used their smartphones for gaming instead of consoles.
How Conventional Gaming Started
The first video game console was Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972. For mobile phone gaming, Auto Race was launched in 1976. As the adoption of the Auto Race game progressed, console companies leveraged the idea to create handheld consoles. Sony, Nintendo, and Sega were some of the leading firms in this aspect.
Nevertheless, the mobile gaming boom began in the late 1990s when Nokia introduced the popular Snake game. WAP was also launched, which allowed a player to compete using multiplayer technology.
Console companies were not resting as Sony released the PSP device. This handheld technology could access the internet and possessed relatively great graphics. However, the mobile gaming industry as we know it was launched by iPhone in 2007.
This new Apple product had a desktop interface and an iOS system. Soon after, Android began competing with the iPhone, and games like Angry Birds and Temple Run took over the mobile gaming market. After smartphone users adopted these games, the gaming industry switched up.
Will there be a Shift from Consoles to Mobile Games?
Console companies have been experiencing a general drop in portable console sales. The top reason cited by Sony and Nintendo was that the smartphone had provided an avenue for people to play quality games.
Console video game companies are trying to create new devices to keep the industry from shifting to smartphones altogether. On the other hand, mobile game developers are experiencing more success in their games. At least 400 different games on iPhone’s App Store get downloaded every day.
Because of this explosion in smartphone gaming, there is widespread uncertainty about gamers shifting from consoles to smartphones. Research has shown that even though hardcore gamers sometimes play games on their smartphones, they’d never attempt to shift from consoles or PCs to smartphone games.
A study made by Newzoo has shown that mobile games will take a 51% of the market share in the coming years. There’s also a new connection between smartphones and PC/Console games to keep them relevant. Modifications made in the smartphone versions of games can now be integrated into console games. This can be done on games like FIFA and Grand Theft Auto.
GTA now facilitates car features incorporated into the console or PC games. Football teams created on the FIFA mobile version can also be integrated into the console version. Assassin’s Creed allows its players to complete quizzes on their smartphones to unlock missions on the console or PC version.
Conclusion
The everyday use of the smartphone has revolutionized many processes, including communication, entertainment, and, more importantly, gaming. There has been an observed shift of gamers to the smartphone industry since mobiles are portable. Console companies have also reported a drop in sales.
Nevertheless, video gaming consoles are expected to thrive since hardcore gamers are unlikely to leave their rigs. The integration of mobile and video game consoles will also allow them to remain relevant in the long term.
