Has Mobile Gaming Beaten PC Gaming?

Gaming has become a mainstream culture. Ever since the emergence of smartphones, it was the mark of a new breed of video games: mobile games. Unlike PC games or even console games, mobile apps lean more on the casual side, attracting non-gamers into the world of easy gaming. Since most mobile games use a free-to-play business model, it gave people – both young and old, more access to the world of video games.

And now, mobile gaming has dominated the gaming pie charts between PC, Playstation, Microsoft and Nintendo when it comes to financial success. In other words, mobile gaming is the dominant platform in video games…at least financially speaking. Let’s take a closer look at the world of mobile versus other platforms.

Mobile Gaming Dominating Sales

You might be wondering, “If mobile games are free, then how come they make the most money?” One word: microtransactions. You see, most mobile games may be free but they’re using the trust and love of their consumers to get them to buy their products. 

The best example here is Fortnite – the game dominates as the most downloaded Free-to-Play (F2P) app in the market in 2019. People love the game so much they’re willing to pull out their wallets to support the developers. Purchasing outfits aka skins, emotes and the seasonal Battle Pass (a subscription where you can earn exclusive content as you progress through the game). Now, multiply that by the millions and you get nothing but $$$ rolling in. 

Take a look at Newzoo’s pie chart on how the mobile platform outdid every other gaming platform:

And it seems like nothing is stopping mobile gaming anytime soon. This is because mobile gaming is available to a wider market compared to PC and consoles.

But What About Quality Gaming?

Of course, nothing ever beats PC and console when it comes to “real” gaming. While mobile games cater to the masses, PC and console target the hardcore gamers – those with experience in the gaming world, looking to hone their skills competitively in multiplayer games or just want to experience a rich story and learn more about the world in single player games.

Let’s be honest, PC gaming takes a whole lot more skill than mobile gaming by a mile. Sure, the latter may have some “competitive” games these days like Mobile Legends, Clash Royale and Autochess but the skill ceiling is way higher when it comes to competitive PC games like DotA 2, CSGO and Apex Legends.

While it may not reach the same level of financial success of mobile gaming, PC gaming is arguably the heart and soul of video games. Even compared to consoles, PC still dominates in terms of quantity of games in the library as well as graphical and performance prowess – Quad HD display running at 120 FPS, anyone? Oh, and let’s not forget another very important component that makes people coming back to PC gaming: mods.

On a side note, mobile games are still no match to console games too. You’re looking at big ones like Halo, God of War, Red Dead Redemption II and pretty much anything Nintendo releases, for crying out loud. Even a phone with high specs for mobile gaming is incomparable.

So Why Do Lots of People Like Mobile Gaming?

Simple: accessibility. You’re looking at gaming on-the-go that’s more convenient than a PSP or 3DS. Furthermore, you wouldn’t need to connect to a modem to play online. Even with 4G mobile data, you can do so. People also like mobile gaming because of how easy most of these games are. You literally don’t need much skill to learn the ropes of the games unlike PC. 

With just one tap of an app icon, they can go from chatting with someone on Facebook to playing a clicker game in just mere seconds. 

Does This Mean the End for PC Gaming?

Even with its accessibility, mobile gaming still has much to learn when it comes to high-quality gaming. It will take them years until they finally cater to the hardcore gamers too.

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