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You’re guilty too, you know you are! Just try to deny that out of boredom or curiosity you haven’t tapped away at the num pad of your phone as you tried to run that little snake into those ever-reappearing dots, or send a ball flying into a wall of bricks! But the question has to be asked in the world of gaming: will mobile gaming ever become a respectable gaming platform?
Let’s take a look at the current state of affairs. A huge percentage of games on phones are A). puzzle games B). retro arcade ports or C). necked down EA games like Madden or Nascar. So what’s wrong with that picture? As found in an incredibly scientific survey, most gamers who would qualify themselves as hardcore don’t play those games as a first choice. We see the vast majority favoring 1st and 3rd person shooters, RPGs, and action/adventure with all other genres trailing behind. That’s not to say that the gaming found on mobile phones isn’t somewhat amusing, but with the largest population of gamers (ie the people most likely to play mobile games) looking to get something more than amusing out of their gaming experience than connect the dots, you’d think the developers would cater a little more to their tastes. So what does it take for mobile gaming to become respected as a viable gaming platform? Something for gamers to take the experience they love on the go. Square Enix seems to know what mobile gamers want. We can start with games like Before Crisis – Final Fantasy VII that is rumored to use your phone’s camera, GPS service, and sport a handy 1-4 player option. Though the hype for this game spans back more than three years and two US release dates have come and gone, this may be one step in the right direction for the struggling mobile gaming industry. In the meantime, those of you who have Verizon or Amp’d Mobile can whip out the not-so-fabulous-on-PS2-but-might-be-more-amusing-on-your-cell-phone Dirge of Cerberus! Either way you look at it, it seems like the best ideas seem to come when you combine old(esque) skool gaming styles, with features you can only find on your cell phone to make it a completely new experience. Take Toyspring’s Arcade Reality, which I would consider to be THE most innovative game created for mobile phones to date. Is it one of the main genres? No, but the way that it utilizes specific phone features creates an experience you simply cannot find on any other gaming platform! The only drawback: unless they create a different version, it is only available on a Palm Treo. So is mobile gaming dead? Having started only in 1997, it is far from dead, it’s still in its infancy, but the developers simply are not concentrating on this market yet. The wireless industry has almost 3 billion subscribers in the world and if one third of people who use a mobile phone want to download a game, ladies and gentlemen, we have the workings of an insanely profitable market. But the truth remains, without games, success will not come to that industry. And the secret to success will come when developers can combine popular games, genres, and ideas, with the features and functions of your phone that you can’t find anywhere else. I can’t wait until it is common for some of the most unique and original experiences to come from the palm of your hand in between calls!
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One of the biggest hurdles is there is no uniformity in the market. With all the different providers, and on top of that all the different phone models, developers choose quite often to make a game available for one service and a few select models that provider has. There's also very little in the way of marketing, at least in the US. And I can't think of a major gaming site that consistently reviews mobile games- Gamespot tried that a while ago by acquiring a site that did solely mobile reviews, but I believe they've abandoned that project, and 1up does the occasional oddball game like Brady Bunch Kung Fu.