Have you noticed on the app stores that there is less AAA games available for download? Publishers like 2K and EA have been slowly pulling different big name titles, like Bioshock, Dead Space, and Need for Speed: Shift.
This increased move away from classic console titles helps predict the future relationship between mobile and console gaming.
So if you are hoping that big name games like Fallout 4, Destiny and Metal Gear Solid 5 will be making the move to tablets, you’re probably going to dislike this article.
Why It Happened
Remember back to 2009 when Angry Birds was first released. Within a year it had 12 million downloads, and by 2015, it has been download over 3 billion times. It’s considered the shining example of what mobile gaming can do and is the most download game of all time.
It quickly became apparent that mobile gaming wasn’t a fad, and big name developers wanted their slice of the pie. It makes sense since mobile apps are a flourishing business. What better way to attract a market than using one of their popular franchises to bridge the gap.
So games like those mentioned above were moved to the mobile market in hopes to attract new customers and avid fans to their games.
It’s Not Worth the Investment
When big name games are first released, they cost around 60 dollars. That’s so publishers can get a financial return on developing the game, get enough to pay for the next game, plus make a good chunk of cash.
Every company has a conversation on whether it’s worth their money and time to port the game to mobile technology. Sadly, mobile will never be able to match the power of a computer or consoles, so it requires a few years for the mobile tech to catch up, or severely downgrading the game itself.
Now, porting a game over to a new platform isn’t easy. It’s the reason why Batman: Arkham Knight had so many issues porting to the computer and why the developers hired a 3rd party company to screw it up.
Porting to tablets, and a lesser extent smartphones, adds additional problems. The developer has to adapt a game that requires eight to ten buttons and two joysticks into a single touch screen. Sure, some kids are crazy good with touch screen controls, but most gamers aren’t. That means the controls needs to be intuitive and easy to use.
So it’s a ton of work for the developers to move content to a mobile platform, but they can’t charge as much. Can you imagine if a game was 50 dollars on an app store? It would be next to impossible to sell! The most they can charge is around 20 dollars, and that’s pushing it. Games like Dead Space normally sell for around 7 dollars on mobile marketplaces.
So now there is less of a return on each game sold, meaning they need to sell a significant amount more to make up for all of the additional costs.
In addition to porting the games, there is the extra cost of maintain the game. This means fixing bugs, updating the game and managing the community. Plus, Google and Apple release new operating systems yearly that introduce a new host of problems with the game.
That results in developers having to update these massive games every year and spending chunks of money to do so. Very quickly, the game isn’t worth the investment. So it’s pulled from the app stores and swept under the rug.
Mobile Games on Consoles
On the flip side, porting a mobile game to a console is less than ideal. Because of popularity on mobile, games like Angry Birds and Jetpack Joyride have been introduced to the console market, either free with periodic ads, or for a purchase price. (For example, The Angry Birds Trilogy on Amazon is around 15 dollars.)
While it may be a nice distraction, or a nice cool down game, there hasn’t been a huge buzz when a mobile game makes the transition. Maybe it’s because there are more impressive free to plays out there, or maybe it’s because people can play these games on their phone like they were meant to be.
A Future Relationship
Luckily, indie games can give a happy middle ground for the two very different platforms. Plenty of indie games have simple enough controls they can be adapted to mobile and are fun enough to warrant playing on a console. Games like Goat Simulator, Terraria and Telltale’s The Walking Dead are all examples of success in both arenas. Hopefully major developers will take note of these examples and start developing more games that rely on gameplay, instead of high level graphics, that can succeed on both platforms.
Some games that could do very well in the mobile gaming world are: Don’t Starve, Journey, Bastion, Spelunky and Fez.
Is there a specific game you would love to come to mobile? Do you love playing AAA games on your tablet? Let us know in the comments below.
Source From - HSBLCO Solution
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