Turning mobile phones into handheld consoles is genius

[rhorle]

It wouldn't. Squeenix has tried to do this with multiple titles at lower price points, even fairly premium titles. It's never worked out because the market, despite your claims, doesn't exist.

The Pokemon name is giving Niantic around a billion each year. It isn't the mechanics that are carrying the game but Pokemon. It is silly to compare something like Pokemon to Sqaure Enix. If people pay it for Switch why wouldn't they pay it for a phone? Remember the phone would be the "console" for Nintendo games. Are you saying people would just stop paying because they have a higher capable "console"?

They wouldn't

Right. As long as they have a first party console they wouldn't want to hurt their own hardware sales. We are talking about a what if when there wouldn't be a first party hardware because our "flagship" phones would be that thing.

[Edge-]

The Pokemon name is giving Niantic around a billion each year.

The Pokemon IP is generating that much. It's not a traditional Pokemon game like exists on Nintendo consoles, nor have many of their other licensed location-based AR games performed well. It speaks to the strength of the Pokemon brand more than anything else, though of note there are multiple smaller mobile Pokemon games that, while they've done alright, haven't exactly set the mobile world on fire, either.

If people pay it for Switch why wouldn't they pay it for a phone?

Same reason people pay $60+ on all kinds of PC and console games while scoffing at any mobile game charging more than $10.

Remember the phone would be the "console" for Nintendo games.

A phone is not a console. It's a smartphone.

Are you saying people would just stop paying because they have a higher capable "console"?

No, this market you keep claiming exists, still doesn't. We've got a decade+ of mobile sales data to back this up.

As long as they have a first party console they wouldn't want to hurt their own hardware sales.

No, hardware isn't where they make their money. It's software. And by releasing third party, that means that by default they're losing roughly 30% on all first-party software sales going that route. That's a lot of money.

[Yriel]

Mobile gaming is the future, whether MMOC luddites like it or not.

PCs are practically a dying breed, it's all consoles and mobile nowadays and it will grow further because they are massively more popular. And no amount of screeching will change that fact.

Yeah i hear that for a decade now and the PC market is bigger than ever before.

[Ealyssa]

Is that true?

Yes it is, market is just dead for full priced games.

[Gaidax]

Yeah i hear that for a decade now and the PC market is bigger than ever before.

And mobile market is frikkin' humongous in comparison.

PC gaming is dying and this will only accelerate with time as mobile devices catch up performance-wise.

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Controllers and Mouse+Keyboard are more ergonomic allowing for longer, more comfortable, play sessions while also allowing for what I would consider "better" control at the same time.

You can connect mouse, keyboard and monitor to your smartphone from like... 2 generations ago.

It's not something crazy to do too, Android supports it perfectly well. People just don't realize this, but for internet browsing, videos and light gaming you can do just that and it works.

[Yriel]

And mobile market is frikkin' humongous in comparison.

PC gaming is dying and this will only accelerate with time as mobile devices catch up performance-wise.

And i bet in 10 years you will still write the same shite. Mobile and PC gaming are not comparable, they are different kind of gaming and both will co-exists.
It's like saying "alcoholic drinks are dying because soft drinks sell much, much more".

[Nihilist74]

No thank you. Playing a game on a mobile phone sucks because of the touch screen controls.

[Katchii]

I feel like set-up is being exaggerated a little. Taking a controller out of a bag and turning it on isn't a lot of work. Steelseries sells a grip that holds a phone and attaches to your controller. Razer has a joycon like device that expands to hold the phone in the center. If you were at home would playing on a console or PC be better? Sure probably but look at how the Switch can be played in docked and handheld form. Do people always play docked?

It also ignores how people wouldn't have to buy a console if their phone can function the same, right? Your phone would be the console. This seems like something similar to when smart phones first came out and people said they didn't need a computer mixed with their phone and stuck to the "dumb" ones. Yet now it is crazy advantageous to have that power at our finger tips.

Fair points. It just turns the mentality of having a "phone" into having a handheld device with lots of accessories in order to be more comfortable using it. I'm not going to have my gaming accessories with me all the time I have my phone. It's still a phone primarily, not a gaming system. It goes in my pocket, not in a back pack. Typically if I have a handheld system like a Switch I plan to have it with me and plan accordingly by having a carrying case, a bag to carry it in, etc.... that's very different from just having a phone in your pocket.

Not deal breakers at all, but does somewhat change how you approach it's use which IMO. Part of the reason mobile gaming is so attractive and easy is because it's so accessible because it's JUST a phone. People can easily carry it with them by itself, in their pocket. They don't have to do anything to start playing besides taking it out of their pocket and unlocking it.

As I said earlier, if there were any gams on mobile that I really wanted to play, I'd think the trouble of turning my phone into a more comfortable gaming device would be worth it. But right now, it's just not worth it to me.

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You can connect mouse, keyboard and monitor to your smartphone from like... 2 generations ago.

It's not something crazy to do too, Android supports it perfectly well. People just don't realize this, but for internet browsing, videos and light gaming you can do just that and it works.

Never meant to imply you couldn't, just that doing that doesn't make it very "mobile" IMO.

Consoles and PC have better games. If you have to turn your phone into a Console or PC to play it comfortably, why not just play the console or PC instead? That's my mind set currently because there are no games on mobile I care about. If games come out on mobile I just can't live without playing, I'll take the time and effort to to it.

[Linkedblade]

I've spent a lot of time playing mobile games.

I play games like Fortnite/cod/PUBG with a controller clip and an Xbox controller, or with my phone case's kickstand down and Xbox controller. And the experience is fine. The on screen controls are abysmal for fps. For games like GTA and Max Payne, feels no better or worse than on console.

However, games like Diablo immortal and Genshin the on screen controls are fine. Genshin last I looked doesn't have controller support.

It just sucks when a game doesn't have controller support baked in and you have to use an overlay to make it work.

Phones have replaced handheld gaming. Icymi that's what the Xperia Play, practically a psp, was along with a few other devices like the Nokia engage. Nintendo stuck it out with the DS/3ds. Now the Switch and it's competition are the heirs to the market. And mobile gaming and handheld gaming have a large amount of games shared between the two. Only thing that sucks about gaming on Android is the myriad of spam games on the play store.

[ParanoiD84]

Never played a mobile game even close to the quality of the pc games i play.

[Fencers]

Never played a mobile game even close to the quality of the pc games i play.

There does exist equity in quality though. Apex Legends, Minecraft, Roblox, Shadowrun Returns, Ys, Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy, Diablo Immortal, Terriaia, Stardew Valley, Octopath Traveler, and most of the Square Enix games are on mobile, PC, and console and are essentially 1:1 between all versions. A lot of these are well reviewed and regard on PC and Console.

A person isn't necessarily playing a lesser version of Minecraft or Stardew Valley on their phone vs. PC or Console.

I understand you personally may not have played the games mentioned or even be interested in playing. However, it is possible to have games of the same quality as their PC and console counterparts on mobile.

Edit: Some might be even better than the PC/Console version. I play a lot of Black Desert Online on PC. Black Desert Mobile is kind of a better game in some ways and designed differently from BDO on console and PC. It's like Pearl Abyss made three different games called Black Desert.

[ParanoiD84]

There does exist equity in quality though. Apex Legends, Minecraft, Roblox, Shadowrun Returns, Ys, Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy, Diablo Immortal, Terriaia, Stardew Valley, Octopath Traveler, and most of the Square Enix games are on mobile, PC, and console and are essentially 1:1 between all versions. A lot of these are well reviewed and regard on PC and Console.

A person isn't necessarily playing a lesser version of Minecraft or Stardew Valley on their phone vs. PC or Console.

I understand you personally may not have played the games mentioned or even be interested in playing. However, it is possible to have games of the same quality as their PC and console counterparts on mobile.

Edit: Some might be even better than the PC/Console version. I play a lot of Black Desert Online on PC. Black Desert Mobile is kind of a better game in some ways and designed differently from BDO on console and PC. It's like Pearl Abyss made three different games called Black Desert.

To be honest i dont have much experience with mobile gaming other then Kingdom Rush and some other games but as you said games like stardew valley works as good there or even better as bdo (my favorite fishing game btw that was all i was doing there )i just find it hard to see them getting the same experience for some games even in the future to match the pc experience, massive games like Warhammer 3, Red Dead 2 for example but its come along way for sure since snake on the nokia but would rather have a steam deck or switch personally to get that on the way/move gaming not much for touch screens also the smaller screen but that's other issues then quality.

[Tommi]

Yeah, that genius i never would play on that small device.

Mans never used a gameboy, game gear or PSP.....

[Itori]

I would enjoy playing games on my phone more if there were more than a handful of genres to choose from. You got your adventure gacha, your turn based gacha, your collect them all gacha, city builder with heavy time gate, or your puzzle with heavy time gating. All have huge amounts of micro transactions. There are your few in between that have the potential to stand out but its not happening.

You can also throw your streaming services into the mix but I don't really count those because its all still played on consoles/PC but just streamed to your device and relies heavily on your signal/wi-fi speeds.

[Tommi]

Why would they if they got a full fledged PC with high end hardware?

Real gamers do not use their smartphones for gaming. As like they would not use their toasters for gaming.

Yes, thats a real scotsman. But that is just my personal opinion.

And a company which mainly produces games for PCs, should probably not wonder if their customers ask if their new mobile cash grab is an aprils fools joke.

Oh yes, I did forget you can just lug around a fully fledged PC with you no matter where you go.

Real gamers? You know that the word "gamer" doesn't just mean video games, right? Are we gatekeeping gaming now? Are console gamers not real gamers as well?

And if you're on about Blizzard here, did they not start with console games? I do seem to remember playing rock n roll racing and lost vikings when I was younger. Just beacuse they have made mainly PC games for past 20 years doesn't mean they aren't allowed to venture into the THE MOST POPULAR GAMING DEVICE these days.

[Tommi]

No, but i do not have to play games while traveling. I do that in a relaxed environment in my pastime, using a highly optimized hardware for games. With the best graphics quality.

But PC's aren't highly optimised hardware for gaming. PC's are general purpose devices. Highly optimised would be ASIC designed for nothing except games, like older consoles such as the SNES etc. I get what you're saying here, but you're a minority in this case. Mobile gaming is by far the most popular form of gaming these days.

I am not gatekeeping anything. I just talk about my opinion. I have no power to gatekeep mobile games. If people like to play cash grab spyware apps, sure, go for it. Because the vast majority of games for mobiles is exactly that.

Are you saying that PC games don't have spyware? Litterally every online PC game has a piece of spyware called Anti-cheat. It spys on all your PC processes to see what is running. A lot, if not all, of modern anti-cheats have kernel level access to your machine. They can track your keystrokes, mouse movement etc. You're giving these companies a lot of power over your hardware. Fuck, some games won't even run if you have virtualisation turned on. You can't play the game you bought becuase their spyware says no. Key one being battleye games.

Yes, a lot of mobile games have spyware for advertising, becuase that's how they make money. That's the price you pay for a free game. Still rather have that kind of spyware that might advertise something to me than have access to my full PC and lock me out.

Case in point: https://www.vice.com/en/article/d7y5...hter-v-rootkit

They can "venture" wherever they want. But examples like "Diablo Immortal" show what games they have in mind for mobiles.

And you can choose not to support it, that cool. I don't play those kind of games that ask for money to progress and shit. I do play other mobile games though when I'm out and about, waiting in hopsitals, for other people etc. I don't agree with gatcha style games, but it's where gaming is heading. Just look at the profits a lot of those games make. It's no wonder that many AAA studios are wanting a share of that market. Remember, they are for profit companies. They answer to the shareholders, not us gamers.

[Tommi]

SNIP

Ok, I have a question for you. What PC games do you play? I'm curious.

[Unholyground]

Ayn Odin Pro.

[Tommi]

Mainly strategy games. I think MMORPGs are boring nowadays. Civ VI after they removed redshell. I circumstance the Stellaris launcher.

Waiting for the "AHA!" answer.

No "AHA!", was merely curious.

[loras]

Dear Lord, i hope you're never put in charge of anything in the video game industry.

The only reason mobile gaming is No.1 is because the games are mostly free, small, grindy distractions that provide the opportunity for microtransactions. I personally think that the less console and PC gaming platforms learn from mobile gaming, the better.

This, plus availability.
I can type this from a toilet thanks to phones.
But that has little to do with them being good for gaming.