Why is Mobile Gaming So Bad?

Author : Efrain Silva

Many have made the argument --- true hardcore console gamers, as well --- that mobile gaming simply sucks, offering a bad experience, to begin with, and leaving the player more de - motivated than when he or she picked up the phone and downloaded the game. Why is that? Well, there are many understandable reasons behind it, the first and foremost perhaps being the simple truth that the screen is too small (not like the massive home theatre type of screen you’ve got sitting in your living room, with all the best graphics and surround sound quality that money can buy). Of course, then, it’s no competition --- your full - sized, HD TV console clearly wins!

There is hope, of course, which has been slowly but surely coming (especially in these last 10 years) : Mobile games have now started to ‘up their game’ by offering all kinds of compatible accessories you can get, while you play the game, some including a controller that connects to the phone and holds it in place. Yet, all this said, it’s still not the same. We, as gamers, at the end of the day, still long for that console, and to be able to not “squint our eyes” (at least half as much as we normally do) whenever we play, to be able to see more on a bigger screen, and even to play multi - screen mode with friends.

And, of course, we want to not have to worry about running out of battery charge (especially when we should find ourselves on that hard level we’ve worked hard to get to), since a console game will usually be connected to your wall’s power source and can’t run low on battery. And I have not even begun to bring up one of the “most - hated” of all elements of mobile gaming : the infamous, nefarious in - game app purchase or ad. There is perhaps nothing more (mobile gamers will agree with me on this) than being interrupted right after reaching an important world or level, or simply being told that you have to pay a certain amount of money in order to keep playing and / or move forward in the game. What a rip!

Some players do not mind this, and actually love this about their mobile game, but honestly, that’s not most of us. Most of us are not made of the money that drops from trees, and we’d prefer to keep playing without interruption. You see, the great thing about traditional console gaming is that, while some console games offer the option of paying for add - ons and such, out of your own wallet (to get upgrades, new characters or to reach certain areas faster, perhaps), it still remains as that --- an option. You will still, in this case, be able to beat the game you so rightfully paid for, without dropping another penny into the bucket, so to speak.