Almost everyone, regardless of their age, now seems to either own or have access to a smartphone. And the majority of them play games on their smartphones.
As a result, mobile games are immensely popular at present. It is now the most popular sector within the overall gaming industry, accounting for nearly 51% of the game industry’s overall revenue.
But if you look at the mobile game history you will see that they were not always this profitable nor popular.
History of Mobile Games
The Snake game in earlier Nokia headsets can maybe credited as being responsible for bringing mobile games into public consciousness. To many gamers of today, it gave the first taste of gaming. To this day it occupies a special place in the history of mobile games.
The first version of the game was played in black and white Nokia phones and could only be played by a single player. A later version of the game introduced the option for multiple players to enjoy the game at the same time by connecting two phones with the game via infrared.
Like Snake, many of the first mobile games in history were very simple games. Mostly because the hardware and software were also really simple. It was only later that better mobile games came to being.
Better Phones
In later years mobile phones became more and more advanced. They started getting color displays, cameras, and better software. As a result, the games also got better.
Particularly popular during this era were the Java games in Sony and Nokia phones. The users of these phones could visit popular websites like GetJar and get both free and premium games from multiple genres. Many of these games were far advanced compared to games from the black and white era, with a few even having decent 3D graphics.
Another development that happened during this era that will forever hold a place in mobile game history is the release of the N-gage series of phones from Nokia. These phones, which included the original N-gage and the N-gage QD, were gaming phones aimed to rival the handheld consoles at the time.
But they never took off. Both the hardware and games were far inferior to its rivals and consumers never liked it. Thus the first gaming mobile phones in history met a tragic end.
Games started getting better in the coming years as phones got more advanced hardware and software. But the real change only comes in the second half of the 2000s.
The Release of iPhone
In 2007, Apple released the iPhone. And it sparked the biggest change in the mobile gaming industry. The advanced software and hardware tech of the iPhone made it into a feasible handheld gaming device, unlike any other mobile before it.
The App Store also played a pivotal role. It enabled developers to get a much higher percentage of revenue compared to third-party vendors and also gave them access to a better user base. With this IOS game development shot up with rocket speed. As a result, developers started releasing many amazing games, many of which like Angry Birds, now hold a special place in mobile game history.
Around the same time, Android smartphones also took off. More and more users came to both iOS and Android and started gaming.
Casual games, games that had simple gameplay, also made a comeback in this era. And a lot of people started picking up gaming and saw it as a viable method for getting rid of boredom.
Current Era
As said before, mobile games have now surpassed all other platforms. And it is getting even more popular with each passing year. The Q1 of 2020, for instance, saw the biggest spending in mobile games history.
There are also a couple of developments that may push mobile gaming to even further heights.
First, is the release of gaming smartphones. The N-gage series of mobiles might have been a failure. But the current generation of gaming smartphones is anything but that. They have highly advanced GPUs and unlike the older counterparts in the mobile game history, they hold up well as daily usable mobile devices too.
Second, is the release of AR games. Smartphones of the current era have gotten better enough to handle AR games. And games Pokemon Go have millions of users worldwide. Many AR games are being released each year. As a result, we’ll see a new breed of gamers
All these provide evidence that mobile games are here to stay. The history of mobile games might be exciting. The future, even more so.
In Juego Studios, the game developers use the latest technology that has high-definition graphics and pictures. The mobiles are now cheaper and hence the preferred way to have Gaming Experience for long hours.
