Cortyn has little interest in mobile games, but thinks the “danger” associated with them is exaggerated. There are good reasons why PC gaming remains as it is.
In recent days, a wave of outrage has swept through the gaming community. Blizzard has announced that it has numerous mobile games in development and NCSoft has several titles for smartphones in development. The concern among many players is that mobile games will gradually replace every other form of gaming.
The apocalyptic vision: In just a few years, there will be no cool titles left on PC or consoles.
However, I consider that to be complete nonsense. There are several aspects that mobile gaming cannot replace at this current time and likely not in the future either.
The lack of immersion
The biggest factor for me is the lack of immersion in mobile games. No matter how atmospheric a game may be in theory, when I see it on a phone screen, it loses its value immediately.
Good examples of this are NieR: Automata, Dead by Daylight, or Evolve (Rest in Peace).
For these games, I need a large screen and a headset. Only that allows me to fully immerse myself in the game and block out my surroundings for a few hours.
I want to flinch when a killer suddenly stands before me. I want the epic music to blast in my ears during a boss fight, and the adrenaline to drive me to experience a cool sequence as a character in a game world.
That cannot happen with a smartphone.
Not only is the size of the display a disaster for me, but also the fact that I constantly see my fingers and have to tap “on the play area”. This is just manageable in Hearthstone, but there I don’t need any immersion.
For completeness’ sake: I couldn’t do that even back in the day with mobile games on the GameBoy. Even though I secretly played Pokémon Red under the covers, I never felt as “in the game” as I did with Final Fantasy IX on the PlayStation.
The social and relaxing component
The second point concerns all games or game content where immersion is not the main focus. A large part of my gaming time is “meditative relaxation” – it can be farming herbs or fishing in WoW, turn-based combat in “The Darkest Dungeon”, or a few cozy rounds of Hearthstone. Dungeon visits with friends also fall into this category.
During this time, I often hang out on Discord with friends and acquaintances, chatting casually, talking about succubi and the world, sharing memes and the latest ridiculous YouTube trends. I can do all of this while looking at a second monitor.
Or I browse through Reddit on a second screen, listen to the news, tune into a podcast, or watch an image editing tutorial.
Neither of these is possible with a smartphone, neither meets my needs. I can’t “just jump” to a second screen – at least not easily. The handling on a small display is cumbersome and simply not suited for many tasks simultaneously.
My eyes already hurt
Admittedly: This is more of a typical “old people” argument that could stand alongside “You’ll get square eyes from the GameBoy”, but for me, it is a decisive factor: My eyes.
The longer I stare at a small display, the more my eyes hurt. When I play Hearthstone on my smartphone for an hour during a train ride, it becomes really uncomfortable.
Maybe it’s just because I have been used to large screens like the PC or console for years, but I keep noticing it.
Gaming on a smartphone already creates discomfort after a short time that I can’t shake off. While I can easily do a 24-hour gaming session for a WoW release on a PC screen, I would likely reach for my smartphone after a maximum of three hours.
Moreover, constant staring at small, close screens can have health consequences anyway. There are good reasons why in Asia, 95% of youths are nearsighted (via SWR) and the numbers are also growing to over 50% in our region.
The market isn’t going away
The last important argument for me is that the market for console and PC games is not disappearing. While the mobile market is growing rapidly and attracting new players who would never have come to gaming otherwise, the PC users are not disappearing magically.
Even if Blizzard, EA, NCSoft or any other big publisher were to say: “We are only making mobile games now” (which I consider extremely unrealistic), the demand for games on PC and console is still there. Gamers are not disappearing, and at least in my environment, no one has said, “Hmm, I now have a smartphone, I guess I no longer need a PC.”
If some major developers disappear from this market, others will emerge who would be all too eager to fill that gap.
In summary, gaming on a smartphone can never replace what I consider the “real” gaming on PC or on the couch in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere.
Playing a round of Hearthstone or a pet battle in WoW will fit on a smartphone. But for everything else, I still prefer the large screens.
