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Topic: Is mobile gaming the new standards for handheld gaming now?

Posts 1 to 20 of 37

Tasuki

So after reading this article

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/07/sorry_nintendo_but_...

and the low says of the 3DS and with Sony ending the Vita one has to wonder is Mobile gaming (games on phones and Tablets) now the standards for handheld gaming? It somewhat seems that way without Nintendo or even Sony with a dedicated handheld system (The Switch is a Hybrid) it seems that mobile gaming has become the way to game on the go just as many predicted years ago.

I have never been big on handheld gaming myself, grew up with a Gameboy but that was more for vacations and going to relative's houses. Had a GBA, DS and 3DS but they never got much attention from me. So maybe I am not the right person to answer this but has mobile gaming become the new standard?

Edited on by Tasuki

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

Nintendo Network ID: Tasuki311

Banjo-

@Tasuki My New 3DS has so many games that it will be my "mobile gaming" for decades. I don't play on handheld consoles that much so I am not joking. I am not alone, many forum members say that they have spare 3DS/2DS systems just in case one breaks.

Edited on by Banjo-

Banjo-

ralphdibny

@Tasuki Technically yes, for casual gamers at least. I play alot of picross on my phone on the train. I also usually try Nintendo mobile games but the only one I played religiously was animal crossing and I nipped it in the bud when they introduced lootboxes. Unfortunately microtransactions and lootboxes infest mobile games which make them undesirable. I lost alot of time to Simpsons tapped out and animal crossing in the past due to refusing to pay and having to grind for stuff but I am much happier not playing them now.

I think standard gamers would prefer something like the Switch or Switch lite for handheld gaming, it's not pocketable but neither was the 3ds. And as @BlueOcean says the 3ds has so many games and many of them remain in my backlog, so I look forward to playing them in future. Normally I just decide to play a game or a series and use whatever system that game is on. I might not be typical in this regard because I am a cross generational multiplatform gamer. (CGMPG...could be a new acronym??) I am very slowly still playing paper Mario sticker star. Think I get it out on plane journeys once a year or something, one day I will complete it!

Edited on by ralphdibny

See ya!

skywake

@Tasuki
Mobile gaming didn't replace handhelds. If it did it would have done it before the 3DS even launched and yet the 3DS still managed to do pretty well. Also if it was replacing portable play nobody would have cared about the Switch. Clearly people do care about portability, if they didn't the Switch would have had only Nintendo IP to sell itself and we know how well that worked for the Wii U.

Nintendo on phones didn't eat up the market of the 3DS, it entered an entirely new market which Nintendo wasn't in before. The Switch canabalised the 3DS market which is a good thing because it was already on the decline in 2016. 3DS -> Switch was the transition, there was no transition from the Wii U because it didn't even exist in the eyes of most consumers.

I'd also note that during the peak of the Wii/DS era the sales revenue split is about 55:37:7 between home console, portable and "other". It's currently 88:3:6:2 between Switch, 3DS, Mobile & Other. So it's not just me on a vendetta to proove that the 3DS was replaced by the Switch. The sales numbers also strongly suggest that Nintendo have simply and successfully merged their porbable and home console buisnesses. And that mobile, while important, barely registers in comparison.

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Cotillion

I don't consider the majority of mobile gaming to even be "gaming" in the traditional sense. So many of them are just time wasters for short sessions: waiting for an appointment, something to do during commercial breaks, on the bus/train, while on the toilet, etc...akin to doing a crossword or sudoku puzzle book as a time waster. Pretty well every mobile game I've ever tried out seems to be designed with this in mind.
Traditional gaming seems to still be very much predominantly console/Switch and PC. For a full experience, with proper physical controls, and more depth that requires attention and time.
I certainly hope mobile isn't some new standard as I'd consider it more fluff than anything while console/Switch and PC offers games with more substance to them.
Both have their place. If I have 10 mins, I'll pop something up on the phone to kill it. But if I want to really get into something, I'll play an actual game.
They are also very different markets. Mobile gaming has people that would otherwise never play games. A whole demographic of people that would never touch a console or PC game. Meanwhile those mobile games tend to be too simplistic or limited for an actual gaming experience that 'gamers' want.

Switch kinda bridges the gap by offering both, which puts it in a different place than either mobile or console. I can play a quick session game while out of the house or I can get into something more while sitting on my deck in the evening or continue on the TV when I go inside.
Sony and Nintendo both have kinda shown that it's really difficult to support two systems concurrently. It divides their resources. Sony bailed and devoted itself to high end home consoles. Nintendo bailed on trying to support two systems and instead combined both into one, while sacrificing the power creep war. Which turned out to be a very smart move.
If anything has set a standard for what portable gaming can be, it's the Switch, in my opinion.

Edited on by Cotillion

Cotillion

skywake

@Anti-Matter
Can always trust you to make an emotive argument on this topic. And I use the word argument very loosely. I mean in this case I kinda am on the same page but still....

It seems you have these things you are against and will always be against regardless. Reality is far less black and white my friend

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Anti-Matter

@skywake
I'm an old school gamer.
I prefer dedicated handhelds with physical cartridge to play.
Mobile gaming will NEVER be my lifestyle.
They are sucks and will always sucks for me.

Anti-Matter

Banjo-

ralphdibny wrote:

I lost alot of time to Simpsons tapped out and animal crossing in the past due to refusing to pay and having to grind for stuff but I am much happier not playing them now.

Right! I feel the same. I prefer to focus on real games where there is satisfaction after progressing. For instance, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp (Android/iOS) has become a place for items advertisement and I don't feel any satisfaction playing it. Animal Crossing New Leaf (3DS) is a real game.

Edited on by Banjo-

Banjo-

Trajan

I think so. Sony and MS are getting into playing your console games remotely on a phone or tablet which is cool for those that want to do that.
Most dedicated mobile games are simplistic and boring, but they bring in money. Look at Fortnite.

I just hope big games continue to get made. Never forget MGS.

Sakurai: Which is why I think we should forget about console wars and focus on what’s really important: enjoying the games themselves.

"If we did this (mobile games), Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo." - Iwata

CaPPa

Mobile phone games haven't set any standards for handheld gaming, but it is the most mainstream platform.

CaPPa

Sisilly_G

The very same scummy practices that are the norm in mobile games have also become commonplace in full-priced console games. Frankly, the braindead apathy of so much of the audience is staggering.

I foolishly got swept into Pokémon Shuffle (and even foolishly bought some jewels, and I tried to rationalise it to myself as they were offer periods), but at one point I finally cracked and decided to give up. It was just wasn't worth it, and I'll never touch another F2P game again.

Edited on by Sisilly_G

"Gee, that's really persuasive. Do you have any actual points to make other than to essentially say 'me Tarzan, physical bad, digital good'?"

Switch Friend Code: SW-1910-7582-3323

Freelance

I can't bring my handhelds outside anymore, so I pretty much just play mobile games now. Yes there's a crapton of bad games, but you can say that about console/PC games too. There's plenty of good mobile games if you actually look. I doubt we'd see another handheld for a while.

Edited on by Freelance

Freelance

ThanosReXXX

The Switch Lite says hello...

'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'

Nintendo Network ID: ThanosReXX

Dogorilla

The Switch is a hybrid, sure, but it's still fully functional as a pure handheld, as the upcoming Switch Lite will attest. The Switch's games are the new standard of quality for handheld gaming. Even if you don't class it as a handheld, the technology is there for any potential dedicated handhelds in the future to be just as powerful as the Switch.

"Remember, Funky's the Monkey!"

Funky Kong

NikeVans

Mobile gaming is now bigger. Thanks to recent developments.

NikeVans

Krull

Mobile is perfectly viable as somebody’s sole gaming platform. There is a megatonne of excellent games, from original IP to a tsunami of ports, and pretty much everyone carries a phone around. The only thing really holding it back has been quality control, which is why Apple’s new curated, bespoke service might actually go somewhere.

That said, the lack of physical controls is always going to be a drawback, so bespoke handheld consoles - particularly ones loaded with Nintendo’s IP - should keep a foothold for some time yet.

The other serious flaw with mobile is the fact practically nobody is willing to pay money for games. I’m happily walking around with DQIV-VI on my smartphone, but the majority would rather watch an advert on a F2P clicker or match-3...

Switch ID: 5948-6652-1589
3DS ID: 2492-5142-7789

BruceCM

I played DQI-VI on mine, @Krull ... & still got VIII to go! Played all the Final Fantasy games on it, too & still have most of them for replays
I'm happy to buy games I'm sure I'll like & it's much better value than getting sucked into micro-transactions

SW-4357-9287-0699
Steam: Bruce_CM

DenDen

Mobile is not ment to game on period

Now playing
Nexomon
Dicey Dungeons
UnderMine
Steamworld Quest

FC - SW 2926-4689-1966

Switch Friend Code: Sw-2926-4689-1966 | My Nintendo: DenDen

MrVariant

Mobile is fun, just wish that it could do choose your own adventure like you are deadpool a lot better than manual go to pages where you choose. But for games, I like angry birds, to arms, an occasional Kemco RPG, lost frontier and pro strategy football.

MrVariant

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