While young people on Xbox may have a hard time believing games are not new. It has been around for a long time and those who are a little older remember everything from jumping over ropes to pinball. But perhaps the most important way the gaming industry has evolved in recent years is the effects of mobile phones.
Phones, both internet and non-internet, have caused the gaming industry to swing in different directions.
And with mobile phones offering a new wave of iconic games, some companies have had work to do to preserve the legacy of top brands. This article looks at how the gaming industry is constantly changing – and what it means for both players and businesses.
New iconic games
In all game bodies, some games become iconic. For a console generation like Call of Duty, it’s called a classic. In the arcade generation, almost everyone loved a pinball-like game. But with every wave of new gaming technology, new iconic games are created. But when it happens on mobile, the pace of technological development means gaming companies have to work to maintain the status of games.
Perhaps the most obvious example of a mobile game that has achieved iconic status is Snake. This game, which sees a snake made up of pixels chasing food around the box as it grows and becomes more difficult each time, was first released on Nokia phones and was popular before smartphones arrived. But the constant cycle of new iterations of cell phone technology led to Nokia releasing Snake over and over again in models like the N80 and then giving other companies the right to use it. But now that Snake has been sold to another company, it’s likely that new iconic mobile games will emerge as technology evolves and changes in the future – meaning gaming companies must remain dynamic and agile.
More options
In each previous generation of games, the physical requirements to play the game meant that developers could specialize a little. Only people with gaming consoles can traditionally use video games, such as when you have to live near another city or city to walk in the arcade and play old classics.
But the ubiquitous mobile phone has changed all that. There are over 220 million smartphone users in America – and with a significant number of them desperate to play games to spend their time, developers are suddenly challenged to ensure everyone has the game they want. This is one of the main reasons why the mobile phone market is so diverse and why app stores see everything from general information issues to competitive multiplayer games.
Games were once something that could only happen in certain places, but now that almost everyone has a HIGH SOLUTION screen in their pocket, it’s really no surprise that mobile games are so popular. From the areas offered by mobile games to easy use of mobile games, it’s easy to see how mobile technology has really turned around the gaming world.