Our mobile phones have certainly come a long way since those chunky handsets of the 1980s. And few people in the early days of mobiles would have foreseen the fact that the devices would be capable of being incredible gaming platforms.
Already we’ve seen recent stories that mobile gaming has overtaken traditional console gaming, and here’s a quick look at how it became such an impressive success story.
Nokia were one of the first mobile brands to realise the future of mobile gaming with their devices in 1998 being preloaded with a primitive but relentlessly addictive game of Snake. This recently enjoyed a fantastic rebirth as Snake Rewind and there are many other games that have illustrated how popular mobile titles have become successful through being perfectly engineered for the smaller screen.
This can be seen in the online casino phenomenon that’s seen brands like Mr Smith Casino offering gamers a huge range of classic games, with even a Wild West-themed slots game displaying a great example of mobile gaming’s blend of convenience and innovation.
Such titles reveal the fact that it’s mobile gaming’s diversity that is perhaps its biggest strength. Rather than the multi-million dollar projects of major games developers, it’s the indie releases that have enjoyed reaching the global market through services like Apple’s App Store and Google Play that have often caused the biggest mobile gaming headlines.
Indie success stories like Angry Birds have not only been downloaded over 12 million times, but with high-grossing film releases helping them become mega-brands, it shows that even the simplest idea can have massive success thanks to the quick and easy power of mobile gaming.
But one of the most striking examples of mobile gaming has to be the Minecraft phenomenon. Reportedly designed by a solitary Swede on a coffee break, it’s managed to provide an open-ended world-building gaming format that’s capable of being played in a limitless number of ways – perhaps most impressively by this incredible Minecraft city that was co-created by over 1,500 ardent Minecraft fans.
However, it’s the gradual implementation of augmented and virtual reality into our mobile devices that could be the most significant step in the evolution of mobile gaming. With the Android-powered VR platform Google Daydream looking to provide us with evermore immersive battle arena games, shoot-em-ups and even slots games, it’s clear that mobile gaming is here to stay.