Mobile Gaming is currently the world’s biggest gaming market and there is nothing to indicate a slowdown.
Smartphone games are rapidly increasing in quality, graphics, and accessibility. Not only that, the number of smartphone holders in the world increases by the day. At the beginning of 2019, it was estimated that 2.5 billion people owned a smartphone. Around 5 billion owned a mobile phone of some kind in general. Over the coming years, more companies will stop production of older models which will force the other half of mobile phone holders to switch to smartphones. This will further increase the size and money going into the mobile gaming market.
Mobile gaming
Mobile gaming will account for 45% of the entire global gaming market in 2019. This will bring 68.5 Billion dollars in revenue. This huge revenue generator will further increase the desire for game designers and developers to work more on smartphone platforms and turn away from home consoles.
Games are becoming better
Smartphone games are becoming better every year. They are increasing in gigabyte size which means better graphics and a more satisfying experience for the mobile gamer. The capabilities of smartphone hardware is increasing. Popular consoles are now coming out with mobile versions of their games, which shows just how important the mobile market is. Not every household can afford a console, so users that have smartphones can still experience a version of the game everyone around them is raving about. Some smartphones aren’t the best for gaming
Implementation of 5G
The world is currently in a race to see which countries can adopt the best 5G system and coverage. With this emerging technology, smartphone gaming is expected to see an even bigger growth than in past years with 4G and 4G-LTE. Countries in Asia are incorporating 5G already while western countries are moving a bit slower due to regulations. Asian countries are known for their smartphone technologies including mobile gaming. Blockbuster hits such as “Pokémon Go” were developed and first released in these countries before making it to the US market.
Augmented Reality
Smartphones have opened the world to achievable augmented reality. Augmented reality defined is your smartphone imposing an image on top of the real world that isn’t really there. So when looking out at your back yard through your device, your smartphone could add a graphic of a grazing animal which is not actually there. Now, virtual reality platforms are following up with what the mobile devices started and are attempting to bring this technology to another level. Smartphones still have a large advantage by their lower cost and accessibility over virtual reality devices. They also come on top over these devices by their multi-purpose use. Making phone calls, a variety of applications/games, picture and video capturing, etc. Smartphones are not going to be taken over by any other gaming platform easily.
Conclusion
With the increasing capabilities of smartphones, the mobile gaming sector is going to keep producing billions of dollars in revenue. The ease of access to smartphones is further going to increase the smartphone gaming market. All of this revenue on the table will also provide competition between smartphone gaming developers. With increasing hardware capabilities, competition, and access to smartphones, the smartphone gaming market will continue to produce more games and at higher quality year over year.
