We’ve sure come a long way in the past thirty years. Indeed, is there an area of life that doesn’t seem radically different to how things were a few decades ago? In some areas, the changes are obvious while in others, a little less so. Let’s take gaming as an example. Compared to how things used to be, we’re more or less living in the future. And things will only continue to get better. From humble beginnings to where we are today, the mobile gaming world has undergone massive shifts.
In this blog, we’ll look at how things have developed, including upgrades in quality, more diverse offerings, the most popular games today, and more.
The Early Days
So, where did we begin? Most people who were around during the early days of mobiles will remember Snake, the game that Nokia included on the 6110 model. We tend to think of this as the first mobile game, but that’s not the case. The now-defunct mobile manufacturer Hagenuk included Tetris on their devices back in 1994. But it was Snake that really captured the public’s imagination. Because of this, more or less every manufacturer included games on their devices. Still, the limited capabilities of these devices meant that games had to be fairly basic. That all changed when smartphones hit the market.
Improved Quality
The iPhone allowed phones to become so much more than what people had previously understood about these in the pocket devices. With improved graphics and more processing power, games could become more advanced. Still short of what a games console could do, sure, but leagues ahead of what dumbphones could produce.
There were games almost immediately following the launch in 2007. Within two years, Angry Birds had hit the app store. If there’s one game that changed the mobile gaming landscape, it was this. It’s still hugely popular and set the standard for what mobile gaming could be. As time went on, better graphics and more capable devices meant that games could become much, much better.
Diverse Offerings
It’s not just the quality of the games that have improved. The range of games you can play is also much more diverse than in the early days of smartphones, which were typically limited to arcade-style offerings. Today, you can play strategy, sports, action, and slot games online, to give just a few examples. And this has made mobile gaming more universally appealing. After all, no matter what type of game a person likes to play, they’ll likely be something that they enjoy.
The Most Popular Games
So what types of games are everyone playing? As we’ve just said, there’s no shortage of games out there, but as with most things, some game types are more popular than others. If we’re going to use revenue as the standard, then puzzle games are the most popular. Role-playing games, strategy, and sports games are also highly popular. The most popular game producers include Voodoo, AppLovin, and Crazy Labs.
Facts and Stats
To get a good idea of just how popular games are becoming, it’s a good idea to check out some key stats. For example, did you know that:
- In 2020, there were more than 80 billion game downloads
- The industry is worth more than $100 billion
- Mobile games spend an average of 4.2 hours playing each day
- Nearly 24% of smartphone users play games; this is expected to rise to 29% by 2025.
There’s no doubt that mobile gaming is here to stay. With gaming becoming more advanced than ever before, the future looks bright and will likely one day rival that of gaming consoles.
