According to analytics firm Newzoo mobile gaming took over PC/desktop gaming in 2018 with 51% of the market share and has been growing at double digits every year whilst PC gaming has only grown by low single digits year on year. Why is mobile gaming becoming so popular?
- Mobile Phone Penetration.
The biggest reason has to be the rise of mobile smartphones in most developed countries. From their inception and the now antiquated LCD screen Motorola bricks, mobile phones have gotten faster and more affordable. They now have as many cores as the fastest PC GPU’s and have high resolution screens to make gaming more fun. Cost-wise it makes more sense for many to purchase a smartphone now than a PC and monitor or a games console and TV. So, as the figures for mobile phone penetration have soared, the use of PCs and consoles has slowed. Mobile phone manufacturers, have started making gaming mobiles that cater to the playing 3D or graphics rich mobile games like Fortnite and PUBG, like the ASUS ROG, Razer Phone and Xiaomi Blackshark handsets. If you look at official statistics there are now over 6bn smartphone handsets in the world
- Cost of Acquisition.
The second big reason for this inverse trend is the economics behind PC game purchases and mobile game purchases. Mobile games are often low cost or free downloads but require in-play purchases to open up stages or add upgrades. Mobile game developers use tactics to encourage micro-purchases that don’t seem expensive or prohibitive during game play so, that they are made on impulse and more regularly. Whereas PC games are generally an initial title purchase that gives you the full game experience and features without any restrictions. These in-app microtransactions are the main revenue stream for game developers but work on the old-age model of giving away the printer only to charge for the printer ink to get the volume of users. It works because you have paid little or received for free the initial game so small purchases down the line don’t seem such a pain.
- Form Factor.
An obvious advantage of smartphones over PC’s is their size and portability. Because mobile phones are carried with you wherever you go, they are the best choice for gaming on the move, on your daily commute, in the car, or waiting around between meetings. With data connections and WIFI so readily available as well it’s so much more convenient to play where ever you find yourself with no wiring or large equipment to lock you to 1 location. This is why casino games at mobile casino sites like luckycatslot are now so popular.
- Processing Power.
Linked to the form factor of mobile phones is their increasing processing power. Chips the size of peas can be crammed into the space of the phone shell but still give these devices 4 or 8 cores of processors. Together with larger RAM memories and graphics cards they are able to handle fast action and amazing graphics. Memory hungry games used to be the domain of PCs or hi-spec laptops but as processing power in mobile phones has improved many of them like WOW, Diablo and Fortnite can be played just as easily on these mobile devices.
Conclusion.
In summary smartphones are more portable and affordable, they give gamers easier access and mobile on-the-go entertainment. With more innovation in the hardware and gaming development, this whole sector will continue to grow with no slow-down in sight.
