Video games have become a popular pastime. The trend has been noticeable for a while now, but the recent pandemic forced most people to remain indoors. To pass the time, many sought new hobbies, and video games became one of the go-to options. Of course, video games have been around for a while now, and the industry has changed a lot.
For example, you could not really play most video games on a MacBook before. Apple computers were not really made for gaming, and they had pretty lackluster hardware. Not to mention various technical issues, such as figuring out how to factory reset iMac or MacBook to fix occurring problems. The situation has changed, though. Now, more and more video game developers are optimizing their IPs for macOS. Apple has been working on improving Mac hardware as well. Mobile games are another example of how many leaps, and bounds video games have made.
Early on, you had simple games, but as smartphones progressed, so did video games. We can use renowned titles on gaming consoles and computers to showcase the progress. If you were to look at GTA SA iOS gameplay on YouTube, for instance, you would realize how much mobile gaming has come, but is there more to be considered?
Porting Popular Games and Monetizing Them
The mobile gaming market itself has plenty to offer. However, since you can see glimpses of popular computer games getting ported to mobile devices, maybe we can see much more of it in the future. It is hard to determine that. For one, it takes a lot of effort and resources to make a video game compatible with different operating systems. The challenge becomes that much bigger when talking about mobile devices, including iOS and Android. Getting the development difficulties out of the way, there is also the question of how to make money. Looking at what mobile games are these days, a lot of monetization comes from in-game purchases, which makes these games freemium to play.
Coming back to the example of GTA: San Andreas, the struggle of monetizing the content is kind of hard given the nature of the game. Unlike the PC version, mobile GTA does not have cheats, meaning that players cannot circumvent certain difficulties with the help of cheats. Sure, the mobile version is a bit easier due to port limitations and developer decisions, but would it make sense to sell in-game solutions to help players get past obstacles?
The approach does not sound that sustainable for monetization purposes. Instead, it would make sense to look for other options, but the difficulty is there. It is no secret that money is often the driving force behind video game development. That is why seeing certain IPs getting ported to mobile devices is uncommon.
The Question of Hardware
The question of hardware is another interesting topic to consider. When you have a good computer setup with enough memory and other hardware, any video game should run on it properly. Sure, old games might be too outdated to run on newer computers. Some video games also have performance issues, but they are not because of the hardware but rather poor development. In the case of mobile gaming, the progress is noticeable, but you would have to be a bit creative about it. Comparing mobile games available on the early iPhones and mobile games available on the latest iPhones, the change is definitely there.
However, when you consider how much of a difference it is between one or two versions, the hardware improvements are not that impressive. If anything, it feels like smartphone and tablet developers are more concerned with cameras and other features, leaving the hardware on the side. Or rather, not making significant enough improvements that can lead to better video games available to play. Slow hardware progress is the opposite of what mobile game enthusiasts want to see.
Behavior of the Gamer Demographics
Seeing GTA SA iOS Gameplay can be fun and even bring you back enough nostalgia so that you are tempted to try the game yourself. However, would you be interested in continuing to play on a mobile instead of a gaming console or a PC? Unlikely. Despite the fact that mobile games are moving in the right direction, they are still unlikely to compete with alternatives. A few popular video games getting a port is not enough to change the preferences of an average gamer.
Gaming Accessories for Mobile Devices
The last bit to mention is that while most of the gaming on mobiles is done with your fingers on the touchscreen, there is a notable interest in developing gaming accessories for smartphones and tablets. For instance, you can connect an external mouse or a keyboard, to name a couple of examples. Sure, the whole setup might seem like a drag and not worth dealing with, but it is another thing to consider and one that will hopefully push mobile games in the right direction.