Can Mobile Gaming Compare to Console Gaming?

If there’s one thing that can be said with certainty about the entertainment industry, it’s that video games have grown the fastest in recent years. Today, we have a wide range of options for the platform on which to play our favorite games, most loved ones being PCs, mobile phones, and consoles. There’s no denying that the growth and evolution of mobile gaming has been spectacular, but the question that arises is, has it done enough to overthrow one of the OG modes of gaming: console gaming?

When smartphones had just debuted in the early 2000s, mobile gaming consisted of simplistic titles such as “Tetris” and “Snake.” Soon the market expanded into games such as “Candy Crush Saga”, “Subway Surfers”, “Temple Run” and “Angry Birds”, all played by people whittling away time on public transportation or during recess in school. 

Today, more than three billion people have smartphones, and out of those three billion, two billion of them play games on their smartphones. Mobile game development is a complex process, and the challenges involved in it are not a joke. Some of the biggest challenges in mobile game apps are:

1. Target audience
2. Flexibility
3. Game visibility/ Marketing strategy

A decade ago, mobile gaming was considered “basic” by both gamers and developers, compared to its siblings, such as PlayStations and PCs. Oh, how tables have turned. Today, mobile gaming is bigger than both the PC gaming industry and the console gaming industry combined. 

Since the very beginning, there has been a stigma attached to mobile gaming. The majority of PC gamers and console gamers didn’t even consider mobile games as “real games.” Mobile gaming has had tremendous growth over the years, and the future of this industry looks pretty promising and bright, offering some of the best games available in 2022.

Advantages and Downsides of Mobile Gaming

We’ve come a long way since Tetris was introduced back in 1994. Long were the days when people were limited to sitting down in front of a TV to play their favorite games. Today, mobile phones are considered small and portable computers with impressive graphics and sounds. 

Of course, just like anything else, mobile gaming comes with a certain amount of advantages and downsides. The main benefit of mobile phones is probably accessibility and comfort. Smartphones are very practical and convenient. You go everywhere with your phone, so you can play mobile games anywhere and anytime you want. 

Another huge benefit of mobile gaming is that it provides players with many free and cheap games. The extensive game library of mobile apps such as the App store and Google Play Store is indeed impressive. 

One downside when it comes to mobile gaming is the screen size. Smartphones are created to be portable, so the screen size is a pretty limiting factor that can not even compare to PCs, with huge grand strategy games such as Crusader Kings, and consoles. 

Furthermore, another frustrating aspect of mobile games is the battery life.

Mobile games are excellent if you want to have some quick fun outside or before you go to bed, but they still have certain limitations as compared to consoles. As for now, for more serious gaming, everyone would recommend consoles. But who knows what the future has in store for us? 

Advantages and Downsides of Console Gaming

If there’s one thing that can be said with certainty, it’s that the console gaming community has never been bigger and stronger. Although they have existed since the beginning of the gaming industry, they have advanced tremendously in recent years. 

They are way easier, more accessible, and overall better than they were a couple of years ago. New games come out virtually daily, even when it comes to AAA releases.

Generally, the prices of consoles are accessible and affordable. In fact, the majority of high-end and high-quality smartphones are much more expensive than consoles such as PS4. Speaking of quality, while consoles have far fewer games available than mobiles, they are of very high quality. 

Moreover, what makes consoles so unique is their exclusive game selection that no other device has. 

As for the downsides, a console does not leave you with a chance to customize, and pretty much all components of a console can not be upgraded except the hard drive. Last but not least, consoles have backward compatibility issues, meaning you can not play most of your PS1, 2, 3, or 4 games on your PS5 console. 

Conclusion  

Everyone wants an answer to the ultimate question: are mobile games better than console games? Well, the answer is that no single platform is the absolute best. It basically depends on the individual’s wants, needs, and preferences. Although the answer is pretty vague, it’s the only correct answer.