The growth of mobile gaming is one of the most impressive advancements in tech over the past decade or so. But how did this trend truly get started? How did trends that had such humble origins end up turning into a mammoth multibillion-dollar business?
Understanding the growth of mobile gaming can be very valuable, especially for people looking to start their own app or business in this market. However, even casual fans of mobile games will find this history can still provide a lot of interesting insight that will make it easier to appreciate their favorite titles.
Smartphones and App Stores
Mobile gaming, as it exists today, would not be what it is without the dawn of the smartphone. Though portable games such as the Nintendo Game Boy have been around for decades, mobile games that could be downloaded on smartphones really opened up the door in ways that were once considered inconceivable.
For one thing, many of these mobile games are entirely free to play. This makes them extremely accessible to people of all ages. Whether it is the top mobile betting apps in the UK or hit titles like Peggle and Candy Crush, the fact is that since almost everyone now has a smartphone or at least a tablet device of some sort, people have access to app stores and free games that they can download and install in an instant.
Mobile gaming has attracted many different demographics, including sports fans. It has never been easier to interact with a multitude of different sports, so mobile betting apps in the UK have been thriving.
Addictive Hit Titles
Mobile gaming would have never taken off if it wasn’t for the classic software itself that helped propel the market to stardom. Though the first mobile games were certainly lacking in the kind of technology that defined modern AAA video games, they were able to lean into the simplicity of mechanics that fostered an incredible ecosystem that rewarded players for their loyalty.
Take Flappy Bird as an easy example. This game that was so legendary in the mainstream that the developers ended up bringing it back. Flappy Bird was proof of many things to people. It proved that mobile games could be a global, cultural phenomenon. It proved that anyone could enjoy a video game under the right circumstances. It also proved that this mobile gaming market was far, far more than a mere trendy cash grab.
In the past, mobile games had the reputation of being shallow and appealing to the lowest-common denominator. Though the residue of that reputation still survives even today, it has waned significantly over the years. Even if they don’t require a gaming PC or a major gaming console, the power of mobile games themselves is impressive in terms of the raw numbers.
People keep coming back to play the top-tier mobile games because they have value to add to the gaming world, just as much as any of the Grand Theft Auto or Elder Scroll releases.
Microtransactions
The free-to-play model has proved that mobile games can be massively popular. From a financial perspective, this success is largely based on the use of microtransactions.
Microtransactions have been a part of video games for years before the mobile market truly took off, but they reached their apex in mobile games specifically. With this model, millions of people can download a free-to-play game, and all that’s necessary to generate income is to have a small percentage of them spend money on the in-game unlockable content.
This method has proven so successful that some of the most lucrative games ever made are free-to-play ones. Thanks to selling all sorts of content, from outfits and skins to songs and new weapons, microtransactions quickly let mobile games rise to the top of the market, making them an unstoppable force.
Seasonal or Yearly Updates
Keeping people playing the same game month after month, year after year requires a lot more than just the lack of a price tag and the opportunity to buy shiny outfits for your favourite characters. Publishers and developers of the biggest mobile games know how to spice things up from time to time to give people a reason to keep coming back. This means regular updates that change up the pace.
Depending on the game, these updates can be once a year or once a month. They can also be something as small as a limited-edition character available for a brief time or as involved as a major overhaul to the game’s core mechanics and rules that gives even veteran players a chance to experience the game in an all-new light.
Often, these updates are entirely free of charge, much like the mobile game itself. This gives all players a chance to experience what’s new. They may also include limited microtransactional content that will incentivize players to buy now before it is too late, making them a great business strategy as well.
The Inclusion of AR and VR
Augmented reality and virtual reality are the future when it comes to technology and entertainment, and gaming is a great combination of these two things. Though mobile games do not require dedicated gaming platforms when it comes to tech and hardware, smartphones are advanced enough these days to prove they can support sophisticated ideas.
Pokémon Go is the ultimate example of this. Like Flappy Bird, it was a global phenomenon that everyone got a taste of. Not only did it force people to go outside, which is already a revolutionary idea for any kind of video game, but it used AR to imprint Pokémon everywhere from gas stations to park benches.
Though many mobile games do not implement AR or VR, the next killer app for this market will use them in some way. When it comes to both bringing in new people and justifying the investments to further use this technology, their influence on the mobile gaming market is undeniable.
About The Author
