Will Mobile Gaming Overthrow PC and Console Gaming?

If you asked whether mobile gaming would overthrow PC or console gaming a decade ago, the answer would have been a swift and resounding “No.” However, times have changed, and so have the markets and user demands that dictate whether an industry is worth investing in or not. With reports such as when Activision revealed that in-game purchases for hit mobile game Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) have reached more than $1 billion and with more than 500 million downloads worldwide, it’s easy to see that the PC and console gaming Industry might be in trouble.

A Tiny Giant 

Despite the developments in mobile technology, smartphones still pale in comparison to dedicated gaming consoles and gaming computers. This means that in terms of performance, mobile devices are inherently at a disadvantage when it comes to gaming mechanics such as physics, content, sounds, and graphics. Yet, despite these apparent handicaps, the numbers paint a different picture.

The greatest irony here is that these limitations are exactly why mobile games sell. Mobile games are made for less powerful devices, which makes them more accessible to a wider range of people because these games can even be played on low-end devices. Their user base doesn’t need to invest a lot of money on their device to play these games.

Mobile games lack complex game mechanics, which not only reduces CPU and GPU load, but it also makes these games much easier to learn and master. This also makes it easier to make ports and remakes of many games. Even some of the top games to compete in have an official mobile port. A prime example of this is Riot Games’ League of Legends: Wild Rift.

The lack of content and depth of mobile games simply makes them ideal for people who want a less time-consuming alternative to full-sized video games.

Will Mobile Games Replace Console and PC Games? 

Even when the mobile gaming industry is growing into a market juggernaut, it won’t be to an extent that it will render console and PC games obsolete. The experience of console and PC games is simply on a different level. There will always be a market for products that are superior. They are simply marketed to a consumer base that’s both able and willing to buy their products.

It’s also for this reason that you don’t see car manufacturers trying to sell sports cars to the average person. Mobile games are simply treated as a different market that’s geared for a different, albeit wider and larger, demographic.

Mobile games are meant for casual gamers who simply want to find quick entertainment.
On the other hand, PC and console games cater to those who want to experience the peak of what gaming technologies can offer.

There are people out there who are willing to buy a PS5 even when it’s being sold for three times its market price. PC and console games are simply the luxury products in the gaming industry.

This is a paid guest post.