Support NeoGAF

[marjo]

Despite having a relatively high end PC, I find that the games I keep coming back to are small indy games that don't require high end hardware. Games like Slay the Spire, The Case of The Golden Idol, Balatro, etc.

I feel that a lot of these games would work perfectly on mobile devices, yet the mobile market is instead flooded with putrid 'Free To Play' garbage, where gameplay takes an obvious backseat to monetization schemes. I genuinely feel that phone games could have been amazing if they had gone down a different route. I mourn what could have been in a better timeline.

Instead, we have idiot consumers who baulk at the idea of paying $15 for a great mobile game, while they end up spending multiple times more on pay to win microtransactions. What a shame.

 

[killatopak]

Years ago, I was playing Zenonia, Chaos Rings and Game Dev Story. What could have been if only people went this route instead. Now all we have are gaas games.

 

[analog_future]

Apple Arcade provides exactly what you're looking for.


Unfortunately the market seems largely uninterested and instead prefers the shitty "Free to Play" games you're describing.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Sigh.....I remember the days when mobile gaming was fun.

 

[Nankatsu]

Mobile gaming was a mistake in the first place.

 

[Magic Carpet]

The Apple 'Get' Store.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I remember playing these games and thinking mobile would just get better and better

 

[P:axMagellanic]

Peaked with Gameloft LOL

 

[marjo]

Mobile gaming was a mistake in the first place.

Mobile gaming had the potential to be amazing. It sadly didn't turn out that way.
Hopefully, what happened to mobile won't prove to be the tip of the iceberg.

 

[onQ123]

Microsoft buying Rare was the biggest tragedy in gaming

 

[Jigsaah]

I also indulge in the daily climb...well...daily. Not to mention there are some pretty cool PVP and Co-op mods for Slay.

I dunno I just kinda avoid games on a case by case basis. Not all games with microtransactions are bad...though a great many of them are. Pick and choose. I'm getting into this Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, only 10 bucks on Steam. But I love me some Warframe...microtransactions all up in your face there. I think hasty generalizations ultimately kneecap your overall experience and potential enjoyment of the medium.

 

[reinking]

The problem with the mobile market is it trained people early on that “mobile” games were not worth a premium price no matter how premium they actually are. Greed set in and now we have a market filled with trash that can be made cheap or F2P crap. It is rare to get the larger budget titles but they do trickle in.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Touch controls in a mobile game=== Ewwww, that's commoners.

 

[Shut0wen]

Peaked with Gameloft LOL

Yet they turned it into the shit hole that it is even if they were the more friendlier of the mobile f2p games

 

[delfrickintree]

FF7 Ever Crisis...

 

[Shut0wen]

Microsoft buying Rare was the biggest tragedy in gaming

Rare would of been bankrupted at the start of 360/ps3/wii era if they werent purchased by microsoft, nintendo had no intention of buying them, only thing ms did bad was forcing them to use kinect for years

 

[jakinov]

Don't worry about what others are playing. Not everybody likes the games you mentioned. There's still a market and still developers who make the kinds of games you are talking about. Just like with console gaming even though GaaS dominates, people still make traditional games.

Reasons people play those free to play games over the paid ones are because they don't know they would like the game as they usually can't try it first or they do know they don't like those kinds of games. If they were going to spend moeny on MTX anyways I doubt it's because they didn't want to pay $15 upfront and more likely they didn't want to lose $15 on something they wouldn't end up liking or simply didn't care for the game.

Just ignore the games you don't like and play the games you do like.

 

[Shut0wen]

Despite having a relatively high end PC, I find that the games I keep coming back to are small indy games that don't require high end hardware. Games like Slay the Spire, The Case of The Golden Idol, Balatro, etc.

I feel that a lot of these games would work perfectly on mobile devices, yet the mobile market is instead flooded with putrid 'Free To Play' garbage, where gameplay takes an obvious backseat to monetization schemes. I genuinely feel that phone games could have been amazing if they had gone down a different route. I mourn what could have been in a better timeline.

Instead, we have idiot consumers who baulk at the idea of paying $15 for a great mobile game, while they end up spending multiple times more on pay to win microtransactions. What a shame.

Same im really surprised it didnt end up being full of miniclip like games but at the end of the day free games appeal to the average joe, cant see them wanting to play the likes of infinite blade and such

 

[Minsc]

Touch controls in a mobile game=== Ewwww, that's commoners.

Works pretty nicely for quite a number of DS games.

I guess stylus != touch controls though. Very similar though, but touch works great if the game isn't designed around a dpad and buttons, which a fair number of DS games are not.

Mobile in general is perfect for emulation though. OLED display, put the phone in a bluetooth controller and you're good. Even have stuff like Emulation Station on mobile, for a perfect frontend.

 

[Hudo]

Mobile did it to itself.

 

[IAmRei]

i recall when i saw deadspace in mobile, i said that mobile game has lot of future, then what we got this decade is gaas ...
i tried, i tried to play one of them and i felt like a fool, my knowledge in games are useless there, i return to console and pc again, and use phone as old game emulator for translated japanese exclusive games instead.

 

[Bernardougf]

The biggest tragedy was the invention and popularity of the bloated asscreed like open world genre. Fucking awful.

 

[diffusionx]

I still remember playing XCOM Enemy Unknown on my iPad through a long flight a long time ago, shit was cash.

There is such great potential and some devs do realize it, but for the most part, yea it's not just garbage games but bottom of the barrel business practices.

 

[Bry0]

I’m pretty sure StS is in the App Store, but yeah. I miss the early days of cool little indie games on iPhone. It’s not like it used to be.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

What was that one called that you used to move planes round the screen by swiping your finger and had to land them on the runway?

 

[ReyBrujo]

It's all Valve's fault. Had they kept Team Fortress paid you wouldn't be flooded by all these F2P games

 

[RuneFactoryFanboy]

I have had the same thoughts/opinions about mobile gaming for a long time as well. The state of the market can't sustain premium games, and the demographic has been trained for so long to outright scoff at any attempts.

For example, Capcom will launch Resident Evil 4 Remake at $60 on a traditional console and it's acceptable. They dare charge $30 for the same exact game which runs impressively well on mobile and it's considered a ridiculous proposition? Spare me arguments about a "lesser experience" because hell, back in the day people would still shell out that kind of money for gimped 3DS/PSP ports, just to play portable. It's mostly a mentality issue.

As someone who has always enjoyed portable systems, it's a frustrating waste of potential. We carry around these insanely powerful devices that are more than adequate for most games, they have top-notch displays, and are always by our side. Best of all they accomplish something that no other portable system ever has: they are socially acceptable to use in public. Touch controls are not ideal, but the beauty of mobile is that it has options. I've always been a big believer that portability is worth certain compromises, but if you feel differently then again, the platform has options.

It becomes even more painful when you see the direction that portable systems are headed. Nintendo's Switch is too large for pockets already and has protruding analog sticks that will snag (and break) on all kind of stuff if not kept in a dedicated case. Don't even get me started on the behemoth that is the Steam Deck. I still shake my head when I see people call that monstrosity the "perfect portable".

 

[Audiophile]

I only really like more rudimentary experiences on mobile. Gimme a good Tower Defence game or early Angry Birds and I'm set.

 

[poppabk]

Yeah it's sad that emulating the Wii on my phone is a much better experience than games actually made for mobile.
I remember playing games like Shadowgun or Where's my water and they were pretty cool back then. Now shadowgun is some crazy GaaS thing and Disney sold Where's my Water 2 and it is just a giant mess now.

 

[marjo]

Don't worry about what others are playing. Not everybody likes the games you mentioned. There's still a market and still developers who make the kinds of games you are talking about. Just like with console gaming even though GaaS dominates, people still make traditional games.

Reasons people play those free to play games over the paid ones are because they don't know they would like the game as they usually can't try it first or they do know they don't like those kinds of games. If they were going to spend moeny on MTX anyways I doubt it's because they didn't want to pay $15 upfront and more likely they didn't want to lose $15 on something they wouldn't end up liking or simply didn't care for the game.

Just ignore the games you don't like and play the games you do like.

I guess the problem is one of discoverability. How do I find these games? It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

 

[_Ex_]

There was a period of time, many years ago, when mobile had a chance. I did enjoy beating some mobile games that were actually good games. Real self-contained games. Such as:

Bourin
Bulb Boy
Devil's Attorney
FRAMED
Monument Valley
Orcs & Elves II
Ravensword: Shadowlands
Shadowgun
Sorcery! (series)
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor
The Shadow Sun
Tormentum - Dark Sorrow
Traps n' Gemstones

But this was all years ago. Since then mobile has truly devolved into a quagmire of lost potential. The apathetic platform holders are just as much to blame as the predatory developers and the short-sighted demographic.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Candy Crush is single handedly responsible for why mobile gaming is the way it is.

 

[March Climber]

The types of games listed ITT are still around on mobile. You have to filter by price and try to uncheck ‘free’ if you can, or sub to apple arcade/google play monthly for the good stuff.

One of the biggest things that ruined mobile gaming was the collective idea that ‘we shouldn’t initially pay money’ which poisoned the well.

I also agree that certain genres that used to be popular core genres can potentially excel on mobile. Turn based RPGs, Strategy games, Puzzle games, Moba, ARPGs, and click-based MMOs.

 

[LarsQMorient]

It's funny how some people like emulating old consoles on phones instead of just playing many of those same games that have Android versions.

 

[ManaByte]

I feel that a lot of these games would work perfectly on mobile devices, yet the mobile market is instead flooded with putrid 'Free To Play' garbage, where gameplay takes an obvious backseat to monetization schemes. I genuinely feel that phone games could have been amazing if they had gone down a different route. I mourn what could have been in a better timeline.

Nintendo tried a one-time $10 charge for Super Mario Run on mobile. It failed. Meanwhile their F2P Mario Kart and Fire Emblem Gacha games are flourishing.

 

[Closer]

I STILL want to play Chroma Squad on my Android.

 

[nkarafo]

Yeah no, i never expected good quality gaming from mobile phones. The devices were never good for controlling games except a few genres that could benefit from the touch control screens, such as point & click stuff or turn based strategy.

Additionally, phones are made for the average Joe, not gamers. Mobile game devs don't care about gamers, they just want as many of the average Joes to download their flashy trash, play for a while and then move to the next flashy trash.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Despite having a relatively high end PC, I find that the games I keep coming back to are small indy games that don't require high end hardware. Games like Slay the Spire, The Case of The Golden Idol, Balatro, etc.

I feel that a lot of these games would work perfectly on mobile devices, yet the mobile market is instead flooded with putrid 'Free To Play' garbage, where gameplay takes an obvious backseat to monetization schemes. I genuinely feel that phone games could have been amazing if they had gone down a different route. I mourn what could have been in a better timeline.

Instead, we have idiot consumers who baulk at the idea of paying $15 for a great mobile game, while they end up spending multiple times more on pay to win microtransactions. What a shame.

The main issue is phones are a utility, so everyone has one. So the audience is billions of people. It’s the most casual audience you could possibly imagine. And the for the types of games you enjoy, people buy hobbyist devices to play them on.

Like I’ve literally never bought a phone game. Why would I? I need buttons and joysticks. And even if I didn’t, I don’t want to receive texts, or calls or email alerts on my screen when I’m trying to play. Games are an escape for me. Like reading a good book. I don’t want any distractions.

So for many reasons it’s just not an ideal platform to game on, and it’s really not conducive to the types of experiences “console gamers” like us want. And because of all the other things phones can do, I doubt it ever will be.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Shit it doesn't even need to be 15, 5, and 10 are also options for pricing.

The sad thing is it didn't start out this way.

Mobile had j2me games from gameloft, com2us, and other companies that were awesome. I remember as I bought a ton for my old phones back in the 2000s.
Ancient Empires (i think there is a android remake of this)
Might and Magic 1 and 2 (java type games)
Splinter cell and chaos theory mobile
Doom RPG
Wallenstein rpg
Prince of persia.

Shit i had so many $5 games on my sony ericson walkman phone, and pantech keyboard phone amougst other dumb phones I had.
I loved these games, and they are no more except through emulation.

Then we got the first wave of iphone/ipod touch -> (android wasn't really a thing for a few years later)
Infinity blade 1-3 shut down , off the store...
The quest - no mtx.
Sword of Forgoal - no mtx ,
Peggle and other games like it , no where on the stores as EA can't monitize mtx on it them.
Cardinal quest 1 and 2
Spiderwebs software titles.
And many more.

Same thing happened with many android games.
The problem with mobile is companies like EA who own pop-cap won't put games like peggle and zuma etc.. on there as there is no way to monetize it outside of initial buy in.
They don't even try anymore. Its sad.
Games like sword of fargoal , cardinal quest, many averun games gone as they get removed when the OS updates and the game doesn't.

Game companies making mobile can't go back and update every game to each yearly OS. Android removes any access (even side loading) for anything from before sdk23. That means anything pre 2015 --- gone.

There are around 20 or so full priced games on android and probably more on ios (haven't had an apple product since 2015 so don't know)
That is is the rest are f2p with micros. Some do have a full version to unluck for a few bucks which is nice. Others ask for a subscription. Like this guitar hero phone game, no I am not paying you 9.99 a week to play a finger version of an inferior guitar hero. No I am not spenig $10 a month on triva for song quiz.... gahhh..

I really wish they would do a pay in model with no mtx.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Nintendo tried a one-time $10 charge for Super Mario Run on mobile. It failed. Meanwhile their F2P Mario Kart and Fire Emblem Gacha games are flourishing.

Thats just sad. Its only flourshing because kids and f2p. They don't have money , but are they are really making any there? I hope not.

 

[RoboFu]

Mobile will be the dominant gaming platform in some form. Just probably not during our life time.

 

[alphachino]

I'm delighted with exactly what happened. Fuck touch controls.

 

[LarsQMorient]

Thats just sad. Its only flourshing because kids and f2p. They don't have money , but are they are really making any there? I hope not.

From a 2022 article: "Nintendo's mobile games have generated more than $1.8 billion from player spending worldwide, combined. Fire Emblem Heroes is now the most successful Fire Emblem game of all time according to these new figures." https://www.gamespot.com/articles/f...ame-to-hit-1-billion-in-revenue/1100-6505005/

 

[LarsQMorient]

Candy Crush is single handedly responsible for why mobile gaming is the way it is.

How?

 

[Raonak]

How did it devolve from the golden era of java games like Doom RPG to the endless trash that it is now.

A new big problem with mobile games is that the app stores now hide old games that arent running on the latest apis.
Between the insane saturation and the reluctance to pay for games.

As a developer, it seems totally pointless making native mobile games anymore.

 

[Ulsterman]

How anyone can game on mobile is beyond me and for micro transactions isn't that only kids.

 

[cash_longfellow]

How?

Micro transactions, and disgustingly obvious paywalls.

 

[marjo]

I'm delighted with exactly what happened. Fuck touch controls.

Touch controls don't work for every genre, but they're actually superior to a controller for many types of games (strategy, puzzle, adventure, turn based rpg, etc.)

 

[LarsQMorient]

Micro transactions, and disgustingly obvious paywalls.

Microtransactions started years before Candy Crush Saga. Paywall for what? You can earn the power-ups by playing the game. Also, Candy Crush Saga started as a browser game.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Microtransactions started years before Candy Crush Saga. Paywall for what? You can earn the power-ups by playing the game. Also, Candy Crush Saga started as a browser game.

Bruh…I know micros were here before that. CC normalized that garbage. Sure you could unlock power ups playing the game, but they made it more and more difficult knowing at that point they could anchor the players with that garbage and charge for more power ups. And I also know the shit started as a browser game…Facebook games are a whole different (but same) argument. Please ffs don’t try to act like CC didn’t change the whole damn landscape of mobile gaming. You are wrong

Plus…Lars, I’m gonna be real with you. As a new user, you can come on here and try to argue every single point any poster makes…but all that’s going to do is make people not respect you, or believe you are an alt account.