For many of us, it’s hard to imagine a time when we couldn’t play games on our phones. However, the transition from consoles and PCs to mobile devices only started less than a couple of decades ago. It really picked up steam when the iPhone was released, putting the smart in telephone and changing how people around the world played video games. As internet speeds increased and mobile phone technology improved, gaming went from being a hobby enjoyed by a very specific audience to a worldwide phenomenon. The mobile gaming trend slows no signs of slowing down; here we look at why.
The Early Days of Mobile Gaming
If we look back in time at the earliest mobile games, it’s hard to imagine how we got to where we are today. In the early days, mobile games were basic. Titles like Snake required little more than a few button presses to direct a pixelated line where you wanted it to go. As technology got better, so did the games available on mobile devices. Everything changed when the Apple App Store went online in 2008, followed by the Google Play Store in 2012. People from all walks of life now had access to games they could play anywhere they liked. It didn’t take long for the iGaming industry to follow suit. Mobile apps quickly became the future of the gambling business, with players taking their favorite casino games with them on the go.
Free-to-Play and Monetization Models
One of the main attractions of mobile games is that they’re often free to play. Since players don’t have to spend any money upfront, they can access these games much more easily than PC and console games. The freemium model lets players download a title for free and later make in-app purchases to buy things like extra lives, character upgrades, or in-game currency. These in-app purchases are how developers make money, along with revenue from advertisements and microtransactions.
While many mobile games are free to play, they’ve still generated substantial profits for developers, the Google Play Store, and the Apple App Store. Subscription services like Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass, which allow users to play a wide range of games for a monthly fee, have also amassed a large following and allowed developers to diversify their income streams.
Technological Advancements Driving Mobile Gaming
Mobile technology is constantly improving, which is great news for gamers. Each year, the most popular smartphones get makeovers that allow them to handle increasingly demanding games. These phones come with powerful processors and screens with high refresh rates, allowing them to handle everything from fast-paced action games to graphically intensive open-world titles without a hitch.
The rollout of 5G has made things even better for gamers, delivering much faster internet speeds along with more stable connections. That means their phones are less likely to buffer when playing online multiplayer titles, and they can use cloud gaming services to play AAA titles without worrying about lag. Emerging technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) are becoming more common in mobile titles, as we all saw with the Pokemon Go phenomenon.
These AR titles blend virtual elements with the real world to bring players a gaming experience unlike others before.
What Comes Next for Mobile Gaming
What’s clear to everyone in the gaming industry is mobile gaming will continue to grow. By many measurements, mobile games have already surpassed traditional console and PC games in popularity. AI will only accelerate this mobile gaming expansion by giving developers the tools to make gaming more personal and non-player characters more responsive. Blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may finally find their place in the mobile gaming universe, allowing players to truly own their in-game assets. Whatever happens, one thing is certain: mobile gaming is here to stay.
This article is created with the aid of automated technology and then carefully reviewed and verified for accuracy by our professional editors.
