We all have our own springboards into gaming. Some of us started to play games behind a PC screen and some grew up with the Playstation bandwagon (like myself). The new generation of gamers start their digital adventure from a smaller screen, but better spec’d devices than what I had back then.

Without much explaining, mobile gaming concerns the games playable from mobile devices. The gaming convenience and fun factor go hand in hand with the technological developments of the said devices. Each year, there are newer and better phones and tablets forging a way for this kind of gaming  to take over the global games market. Newzoo reported that the whole mobile gaming phenomenon generates $46.1 billion – a whopping 42% of all global game revenue.

Game companies are looking into expanding their portfolio and business models to cash  in on the opportunity. Microsoft and Sony are already setting their foothold – just think about the astronomical numbers of revenue from first-party games, third-party game fees, and subscriptions. The most common business model would be the F2P or ‘‘Free To Play” as Gamasutra showcases:

In games that use that particular model, gamers are allowed to download and play the core game, but in order to unlock the extra bits and bonuses more monetary efforts are required.

But let’s not ramble on about what we might already know. The point is that for some gamers, such as me for instance, the other gaming branches get compromised due to the rising popularity of mobile adventuring. One of the most notable changes is arcade gaming – only in Japan this lost art of big machines gaming is hanging on. Even recent games for consoles are getting mobile alter egos or add-ons. From the business perspective, this would be a clever choice to cover the development costs and exploit the IP. In other words, squeeze every penny out of it that you can.

I may sound too skeptical about this gaming trend. Nevertheless, I got a whiff of this mobile gaming – I played some silly puzzles games at first, but then I switched over to bigger apps like:

• Monster Hunter Explore
• Neko Atsume
• Pokemon Go
• Kingdom Hearts Unchained / Union X (both US and Japan version)
• Symphogear XD Unlimited

I don’t dislike them, but I would prefer my controller and a big television screen. The mobile games tend to get more addicting and require your attention from time to time – almost reminiscent of tamagotchi. This form of gaming has also given birth to casual gamers, but that’s a topic for another time…maybe.

So what do you play? What do you think of this increasing mobile trend?  What games do you play on your phone? Give a shout!