Mobile gaming is big news. If you aren’t aware, a recent report by Newzoo estimates the size of the industry to be in the region of hundreds of billions of pounds, with revenues for 2020 hitting £55.8 billion and projected to grow by 13.3% annually. The genius of the sector is to innovate.
By regularly pushing boundaries, the industry enhances the user experience and gives them what they want, making the market even more valuable. In the past, the focus on 4G and 5G technologies was crucial. However, currently, it’s the ability of mobile offerings to leap from the screen into the real world that is pushing growth and transcending popular culture.
Using Real-Life Inspiration
There are many ways for developers to make their titles more life-like, many of which we’ll analyse in due course. But the easiest and most effective is to take elements of in-person experiences and implement them in a virtual setting. It may sound impossible, yet gambling operators have struck the perfect balance.
Take in-play betting as an example. Without the need to enter a bookmaker or a shop to place a wager, bookies need different ways to engage punters once bets are placed. In-play action keeps customers focused as they can watch a game on their phones and place bets simultaneously as everything is relayed in real-time.
Bingo is another example of a game that uses authentic properties to appeal to audiences. For instance, the biggest providers have bingo rooms like the ones you would expect to find in a traditional venue. Finding a provider without rooms isn’t an online bingo possibility since you can’t build a bingo site without some rooms, according to the majority of the industry’s big players. This mantra holds firm, as highlighted by the renaissance of a former institution that is beginning to once again make waves.
Powered by Technology
Modern mobile devices are less like phones and more like hand-held computers because they contain considerable processing power, storage space and multimedia features. As a result, they can combine with the latest releases to make them extra life-like, as seen by the introduction of augmented reality.
AR is probably as popular as virtual reality right now as it’s straightforward to combine with mobile titles. There are several examples, including Pokemon Go and Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast, two offerings that encourage players to head into the outside world to capture nearby animals and hunt for ghosts. The former generated almost £1 billion in revenues in 2020 by using AR to introduce Remote Raid Passes to open up the world further.
Even a classic game such as bingo is utilizing augmented reality to appeal to its bases, with AR 3D puzzle cubes designed to engage the elderly and improve their cognitive abilities. The reach of tech is unrivaled because it can be used by players to boost their lifestyles, something that the world of mobile gaming has understood for quite a while.
Thanks to a combination of real-life influences and adopting technology that enhances users’ lifestyles, mobile titles have managed to move from the screen into the real world and affect people positively. Hopefully, this will continue in the long term and more adults will recognize the importance of gaming.
