For a long time, the video game industry has tried to ignore mobile gaming. It was almost seen as the black sheep of the gaming world, as console and PC manufacturers tried to protect the empire they had built. Of course, this changed as the numbers showed that mobile gaming held one of the largest market shares, leading to software developers rethinking how they approached mobile gaming. This has caused a significant increase in the quality of mobile games currently available.
If you’re thinking of getting into mobile gaming, we’ve put together a guide that will help you to find the very best options available to you.
Online casinos
Online casinos are an area that many tend to ignore, and because people think that the only way to play at online casinos is by making a deposit and spending money, they refuse to play them. However, this isn’t the case, as there are actually a number of ways to play at a top-level online casino without having to spend your money.
The most popular way to do this is to try out games using the demo mode that a lot of online casinos offer. This makes it easy to try out a game without having to spend any money. Some of the games won’t be available, such as the live dealer games, but the majority of games can be played in this manner.
There are some great online casino games to enjoy, and using the demo mode will allow you to do so without having to make a deposit. All you have to do is sign up and start playing.
The other way to play without having to use your own money is by utilising the free-spin promotions offered by the casino, which are occasionally (but rarely) offered without the need to make a deposit. Although it doesn’t happen often, when it does, it will give you the chance to play for free and have the opportunity to win money at the same time, which makes it an extremely popular promotion among players.
Free-to-play games – big releases
Free-to-play games are a relatively new innovation in the mobile gaming world. However, the popularity of mobile gaming means that players are able to enjoy a large range of big-name releases on their mobile devices, as software developers understand the speed at which the mobile gaming industry is growing.
Some great examples of big-name releases that have seen free-to-play mobile versions being released are Call of Duty, PUBG and Fortnite. It might be surprising that three battle royale-type games, which are notoriously heavy on system resources, are available on mobile, but the game developer for each one has done an incredible job.
There are some small differences between the console/PC versions of these games and the mobile versions, but not enough to make these titles stand out as lesser releases. In fact, the ability to add Bluetooth controllers to your mobile device and stream to your TV means that the experience isn’t too far removed, especially as mobile devices continue to become more powerful as time passes.
Free-to-play games – casual games
Casual games are arguably to blame for the boom in mobile gaming. The ability to play a simple game quickly and easily at any time has meant that mobile games are accessible to everyone.
One of the biggest names in the mobile gaming sector is Candy Crush Saga, which is still hugely popular today – it has raked in over 1 billion downloads on Android devices alone. Of course, there have been numerous copies of this game, and a number of similar releases, which means that there are hundreds of thousands of different casual mobile games for players to enjoy.
Most of these titles are ‘freemium’ games, meaning that they are free to download and play, but with extra aspects that can be purchased for a price – this is normally in the form of boosts or extra lives. These games help to keep the market strong, as there is always a steady stream of new free-to-play games available for players to enjoy.
Paid games
Paid games also make up a good-sized portion of the market. Paid games allow players access to a great selection of different titles for a small fee, and a lot of these titles are mobile ports of classic video games. For example, you can find Duke Nukem 3D and Sonic the Hedgehog on mobile devices. The controls have been simplified slightly, but in essence, they are the exact same game as when they were originally released.
On top of the re-releases of classic console and PC games, there are also brand-new games that have been made especially for mobile. This provides mobile gamers with their own community, within which they can talk about games that can be played solely on mobile. Indie game studios often focus on this area, as the development costs and time are much lower than for other platforms.
Augmented reality games
Augmented reality (AR) games are some of the newer games to hit the mobile market. Although AR technology was previously used by both the Kinect and the EyeToy, it has certainly had more success on mobile devices.
The biggest name in this type of game is Pokémon GO, which uses AR technology to allow players to actually see the Pokémon on their screens before they attempt to capture them. This provides an extra layer to the game, making everything a little more interesting.
While Pokémon GO has been the only real breakout success so far, there’s no doubt that another title will step up to the plate in the near future.
There are a lot of different mobile gaming options out there, and it can be hard to decide which one to choose. Some of the most popular mobile gaming options include mobile games like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, and Pokmon GO