I'm still waiting for mobile gaming to prove itself to me. I haven't seen a big game that doesn't use time-gating and micro-transactions. The only things that seem to come close are the Final Fantasy ports. There's potential, but right now the standard seems to be Free-to-play or $.99 with micro-transactions. (If anyone has any suggestions to prove otherwise, please send them my way.)
It also doesn't help that smartphone hardware specs vary wildly. I remember downloading Crazy Taxi: City Rush onto my Gen 1 Moto X, only for the developer to pull support of that device. If a developer did that with a major gaming platform (Like Arkham Knight) there would be a huge uproar.
As for VR, I wasn't sure, but then I played Elite Dangerous at PAX East last year. I had an "AHAH" moment. I'm locked in a space dogfight, and my bogey zooms right by me and I lose sight of him. My typical gaming reflexes kick in, and I try to find him by turning my whole ship around. I then realized that I could just look up and out the back of the cockpit. The realization was pretty exhilarating.
Now, I don't think that all gaming should switch to VR, but between that Minecraft Hololens demo and my Elite Dangerous experience, I'm pretty excited.
Agreed. While I loved The Wolf Among Us, these phones have the capability to deliver more than a play-along mystery story. I can't help but get the impression that what we consider mobile gaming is just not profitable enough to invest in...especially with the success of Zynga apps and the like.
It's a different market. It's been completely flooded by casual gamers and casual games for them. It's really hard to stand out and be visible to the people who like traditional games. There's some really solid games for mobile with solid gameplay and a good story, but they're almost impossible to search for in the app store.
Have you tried Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery on mobile? The only game on mobile that has really hooked me. The story is well written and they make use of touch controls in a cool unique way. Super Hexagon is another good fit for mobile.
Ahh I love that game!! I keep wishing for more mobile games like that - strategy based sagas with an actual storyline to unlock.
Although I am a HUGE mobile gamer, (I'll download nearly any free trial/free to play game from the App Store) I rarely buy full versions unless I REALLY get hooked. Sword & Sworcery was definitely one of the ones I bought with no regrets. (I also bought the soundtrack!)
Gaming storylines are important to me. Think about text-based games - you can get so sucked in just based on the story alone.
I'm still waiting for mobile gaming to prove itself to me. I haven't seen a big game that doesn't use time-gating and micro-transactions. The only things that seem to come close are the Final Fantasy ports. There's potential, but right now the standard seems to be Free-to-play or $.99 with micro-transactions. (If anyone has any suggestions to prove otherwise, please send them my way.)
It also doesn't help that smartphone hardware specs vary wildly. I remember downloading Crazy Taxi: City Rush onto my Gen 1 Moto X, only for the developer to pull support of that device. If a developer did that with a major gaming platform (Like Arkham Knight) there would be a huge uproar.
As for VR, I wasn't sure, but then I played Elite Dangerous at PAX East last year. I had an "AHAH" moment. I'm locked in a space dogfight, and my bogey zooms right by me and I lose sight of him. My typical gaming reflexes kick in, and I try to find him by turning my whole ship around. I then realized that I could just look up and out the back of the cockpit. The realization was pretty exhilarating.
Now, I don't think that all gaming should switch to VR, but between that Minecraft Hololens demo and my Elite Dangerous experience, I'm pretty excited.
Agreed. While I loved The Wolf Among Us, these phones have the capability to deliver more than a play-along mystery story. I can't help but get the impression that what we consider mobile gaming is just not profitable enough to invest in...especially with the success of Zynga apps and the like.
It's a different market. It's been completely flooded by casual gamers and casual games for them. It's really hard to stand out and be visible to the people who like traditional games. There's some really solid games for mobile with solid gameplay and a good story, but they're almost impossible to search for in the app store.
Have you tried Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery on mobile? The only game on mobile that has really hooked me. The story is well written and they make use of touch controls in a cool unique way. Super Hexagon is another good fit for mobile.
I definitely agree on your other points.
Ahh I love that game!! I keep wishing for more mobile games like that - strategy based sagas with an actual storyline to unlock.
Although I am a HUGE mobile gamer, (I'll download nearly any free trial/free to play game from the App Store) I rarely buy full versions unless I REALLY get hooked. Sword & Sworcery was definitely one of the ones I bought with no regrets. (I also bought the soundtrack!)
Gaming storylines are important to me. Think about text-based games - you can get so sucked in just based on the story alone.
See I'm not even a mobile gamer and even I absolutely loved that one. Best money spent on a mobile game ever.