Over the last five years, the mobile gaming industry grew at a tremendous rate. In the early 2000s, mobile games were limited to offline games. They had pixel graphics typically featuring a scoring system and a limited number of lives. The best example of this will probably be the Snake video games which were made widely popular by Nokia mobiles. However, with the arrival of smartphones, game developers, both small and big, started making huge leaps. Mobile games have become much more advanced since then. They started featuring multiplayer and cooperative modes. Many mobile games now have full-fledged single-player narratives. Mobile games eventually branched out to include various genres of games such as FPS, MOBA, adventure, battle-royale, etc. As a matter of fact, they have evolved so much that mobile game titles are now being featured in various esports tournaments around the world with huge prize pools. However, it is often seen that mobile games as well as the general mobile gaming community are often looked down upon by the player base of other video gaming platforms. Here are some of the reasons that explain why PC and console gamers hate mobile games so much.
1. Lack of Quality in Mobile games as compared to PC and Console games
It is true that mobile games have come a long way since it’s beginning, similar to how PC and console games have evolved. However, when we look at the general quality of even the top tier mobile games and compare it with PC and console titles, it is evident that mobile games are not even close to what their counterparts have achieved.
Now why is that? It is obvious. The hardware specifications of a PC or console allow them to run games that require heavy utilization of graphics, processor, and memory. Mobile phones are made for portability and contain much smaller hardware components. Even though semi-conductor and micro-processor technology have evolved hugely over the past decades, not everything can be shrunk down. In this instance, we are talking about PC and console parts, which cannot be made into smaller parts and fitted inside a mobile phone. Thus, mobile phones do not have the capability to render such games.
Moreover, most mobile games are made by small to medium scale developers who do not have the resources to make AAA titles with large number of levels and massive game worlds. Therefore, even if we keep aside the hardware angle of things, mobile devices would still not have the kind of games that PC and console gamers are accustomed to.
2. Advertisements and Micro-Transactions
Another reason why PC and console gamers hate and often avoid mobile games is the increased amount of advertisements. For instance, when you buy/get a game for PC or console, all you have to do is download/install it, and start playing. And once you start playing, it’s just pure gameplay. However, in the case of mobile games, you’ll often see ads pop-up on your screen. Sometimes the ads even partially block the screen thus hindering your gameplay. Generally, there is a way to permanently stop seeing ads while playing a mobile game. That, however, requires you to pay a nominal fee using real-life currency, even if the game itself is free. Since most mobile games are free, microtransactions are the primary source of income for developers. Therefore, they will keep on showing you advertisements for in-game purchases, thus tempting you to actually make a purchase.
In case anyone gets the wrong idea, microtransactions aren’t just limited to mobile games. They exist on platforms like PC and console too. However, in-game advertisement is almost minimal and is generally limited to hyperlinked thumbnails on the main menu of games. But in case of mobile games, they are much more intrusive and can sometimes be frustrating to players trying to enjoy their game in peace.
3. Superiority Complex
While the reasons mentioned above are completely justified, we do have to take into consideration that not everyone dislikes mobile games due to any particularly sensible reason. Some people simply hate mobile games because they feel that their choice of platform is “the best of all platforms”.
It’s not very uncommon to see people from various platforms arguing among each other about which platform is the best. For example, you’d often see PC and console players debating/fighting on social media about why their choice of platform is better than others. But when it comes to the mobile platforms, you’d see that the player base of almost all other platforms will unite to undermine mobile games. In this instance, it’s not because of the quality of games or other factors related to the gameplay experience. It’s a sheer superiority complex; the fact that PC and consoles are more expensive than an average smartphone.
It is quite common for PC and consoles users on social media to straight-up use derogatory terms against the mobile gaming community for their choice of platform. Some do not even consider mobile gaming as actual gaming. This is generally due to the typical toxic nature of some people. Their opinions do not actually reflect the whole of the PC and the console gaming community.
4. Misrepresentation of facts by Mobile Gaming Content Creators
Let me cite an example that will immediately make this very clear.
- Statement 1 – “PUBG Mobile is the highest-earning video game”.
- Statement 2 – “PUBG Mobile is the highest-earning video game for the mobile platform”.
If you noticed the difference between these two sentences, you probably already understood exactly what misrepresentation of facts looks like. While the internet is full of amazing content creators who make content based on gaming, there are many who somehow forget to pay attention to minute details in their caption, which eventually results in a backlash.
Misrepresentation/deceptive marketing is something which the mobile gaming content creation industry often gets criticised for. It is also one of the reasons why PC and console gamers hate mobile games and the mobile gaming content creation industry. Examples include, using a PC game thumbnail for a mobile game video, not mentioning the full title of a mobile game in the caption thus making everyone believe it’s the PC counterpart, and many more. This is something which content creators can definitely improve upon, as repeated mistakes eventually result in a bad impression.
Conclusion
Anyone who truly loves and truly respects gaming will agree that irrespective of platform, gaming is for everyone. Whether someone is playing on a PC, console, or a mobile, everyone has the right to pursue what interests them, things they are passionate about. The mobile gaming industry has added a significant contribution to the video game industry in general. In 2019, mobile games added to 60% revenue for the global video game market. And in 2020, the mobile games market is expected to generate $77.2 Billion.
The mobile games market is growing at a really fast rate. They are expected to add even more revenue to the video game industry in the coming years than what it’s already contributing. While some of the reasons as to why PC and console users dislike mobile games are indeed genuine, we need to make sure that our criticism does not include straight-up offensive remarks towards the people playing mobile games, since they are here to enjoy gaming, just like everyone else.
Are you a Console gamer or a Mobile Gamer? What are your views on the topic? Let us know in the comment section below.
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