There’s a shouting match going on, and I really don’t get it.
Console heavyweights are banging on about the mobile gaming market muscling in on their handheld sales; mobile gaming moguls are declaring handheld consoles “dead on arrival”.
What the fuck?
I mean, the crowning glory of mobile gaming is the low cost:high grade of software. People can buy quality software for small, inconsequential amounts. The idea: most people will make lots of little purchases. Compared to DS games which range from US$20 – $30, gamers would consider the US$0.99 – $9.99 price tag of mobile games to be insanely cheap. And as we’ve seen, they’ve sold accordingly.
Despite what the console kings say, this sounds to me like mobile gaming can coexist fluidly with console gaming.
Another point: no one is deciding to get an iPhone or a HTC instead of a PSP or 3DS. Like, no one is. The experience is totally different, as is the catalogue you can access.
My view: mobile gaming is actually good for console gaming. A wave of kids playing Angry Birds and Canabalt on their mum’s iPhone will wonder what else is out there in the wide world of gaming.
Think of mobile platforms like shareware. If you give people a taste for free (or cheap), they’ll spend the big bucks on the real stuff.*
* However pejorative this may sound, you get my point.
Read More