Mobile gaming has been around since Snake (or Snake 2) on the old Nokia phones from the late 90s into the early 2000s. The game was basic, you controlled a moving line that would eat dots (like Pacman) and grow in length. As the “snake” ate, it grew in size and speed. The only goal was to not run into yourself or the walls/obstacles. This proved more and more difficult the faster and longer the snake got.
This simple game paved the way for mobile gaming. With the iOS App Store and the Google Play store, there are more games for a mobile device than there are for any gaming console to date. This shows that the popularity of playing games on a phone or tablet is growing at a rapid rate. If the abundance of available games isn’t enough, some games even got their own movie like Angry Birds and even has a sequel on the way.
Even big gaming companies like Nintendo, have released games for mobile devices (Mario Run). At the very least, others have allowed mobile devices to even interact with their gaming consoles like Sony’s PlayStation App. Mobile gaming will continue to grow and will only get better as time goes on and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
Gaming on a mobile device is vastly cheaper than buying a PC or Console game, which also adds to the appeal. One can buy a game for a few dollars on the app store versus $60 to $80 from Amazon, GameStop, or the Console store. This also makes a great and easy way for parents to keep a child entertained for car rides, flights, or boring DMV waits. They could easily purchase and download a simple game for the child and let them have at it.
Even though I a am PC and Console gamer at heart, it’s hard not to have at least 1 or 2 mobile games. I play a lot during travel waiting in an airport etc. It’s easier to pull a phone out and play than say a DS or Nintendo Switch as the phone is always handy in your pocket and not stuffed in a bag or carrying case. Once mobile gaming gets to the caliber of voice acting and storyline as big-time video games, I am sure I will easily embrace mobile gaming a lot more and I am sure it will get there with some time.
