Wed, May 09, 2012 | 11:28 BST

Why we’re dropping the ball on mobile game coverage

Nathan Grayson pulls no punches in his attack on the core gaming press, issuing a rallying cry to promote and support one of the most important sectors of our rapidly transitioning industry.

Here we are, largely ignoring the best and brightest on one of the most ubiquitous platforms in the world because… why? Are we afraid to expand our horizons the tiniest bit? If, as alleged journalists, can’t even be bothered to pick up a different rectangle than the ones we’ve grown accustomed to, then I’m forced to ask: what the hell are we doing?

I think I might be a bad person. I’ve played god, you see – and quite a lot, to boot. Oh, but that’s not the bad part. No, when handed said great power – the forces of birth and death literally at my fingertips – I may have manipulated it for cheap, slightly maniacal laughs. In short, I managed to, sort of on accident, tie a fully functioning ecosystem into an infinite suicide loop where spider-like plant aliens continuously birthed their young directly into the jaws of an evil jump rope monster. I accomplished all of this through gardening. Mars gardening.

The game? Waking Mars. At this point, I’d have to say it’s one of my favorite games of the year. And that’s only the beginning of the story.

So, having sown the seeds of life into the extremely fertile soils of certain demise, I fired up my jetpack and pressed on – oddly proud of my perpetual murder machine. As the hours passed, however, I found myself feeling legitimately terrible about my act of early game callousness. Mars, as it turns out, can be a pretty lonely place, and these twisted entanglements of otherworldly tendrils – obvious enemies in any other sidescroller – became beacons of warm familiarity. They were extremely skittish creatures, but I’d feed them seeds nonetheless – at first to make them multiply in an effort to solve puzzles, but eventually because I simply enjoyed their company. None of this was scripted, either. It just sort of ended up, well, happening.

I’ve never had an experience quite like that in a game before. I sort of completely despise spiders and anything that looks vaguely spider-esque. But then, Waking Mars subverts quite a few expectations – principally by, you know, being an iOS-exclusive. Conventional wisdom says it should be a nickel-and-dime-driven insult to your intelligence with less depth than a puddle located on the surface of the sun. But, as it often tends to be, conventional wisdom is wrong. So very, very wrong.

And yet, it continues to color the entire discussion surrounding iOS games with shocking cynicism. “They’re not real games,” core players clamor. “They’re just a bunch of cheap minigames vying to be the next Angry Birds.” And though we critics and in-the-know gamer types claim to be above all of that nonsense, I don’t think we actually are. After all, larger “core” gaming sites (VG247 included) tend to spotlight iOS titles only when there’s a convenient link back to the console/PC world’s heaviest hitters. Max Payne, Burnout, Baldur’s Gate, etc are getting iOS ports? Story! Battlefield 3′s been removed from the App Store because it’s garbage? Story! Team Meat’s Edmund McMillen makes a giant blanket statement that hardly applies to all mobile games? Story!

Meanwhile, mobile-focused sites tend to take a rapid-fire evaluative approach to the scene’s rarely reloading shotgun torrent of a release schedule. BLAM. Five reviews. BOOM. Six more reviews. KABIFFTHWACKPOWZOTT. Look, now all those games we reviewed are on sale! It’s a senses-overwhelming fast lane of announcements, releases, and reviews that – to be frank – mirrors the horrific organization of the App Store instead of making sense of it.

Waking Mars

Waking Mars is basically amazing, and available from the App Store for $2.99.

There’s no focus – just volume. Waking Mars gets just as much consideration as the latest Infinity Blade clone or half-baked yet fully priced port of something we all played ten years ago. And we can discuss how that might harm developers or cork up the platform’s nearly bursting bottle of original ideas with risk-averse cautiousness, but as games writers, that’s not where our allegiance lies. First and foremost, we’re here to provide a service to our readers, and in that respect, I’d say we’re doing a pretty awful job.

We’re a resource. We tell passionate players about things that interest them. Generally, that means games – good ones, mostly. And when something’s truly interesting or worthy of merit, we give it the well-considered discussion it deserves. Said objects of our chin-stroking affections don’t even need to be mega-seller money magnets (see: Enslaved, Psychonauts, Chocolate Castle) or unanimously beloved (e.g. Far Cry 2). And yet, here we are, largely ignoring the best and brightest on one of the most ubiquitous platforms in the world because… why? Are we afraid to expand our horizons the tiniest bit? If, as alleged journalists – people who are paid to uncover new, interesting, and relevant facts and ideas – we can’t even be bothered to pick up a different rectangle than the ones we’ve grown accustomed to, then I’m forced to ask: what the hell are we doing?

All of this in mind, is it any wonder that the Republiques of the world are failing to gain any traction? I mean, it’s very nearly ludicrous on paper. Here’s a highly cinematic stealth-action powerhouse with gobs of talent from Halo, FEAR, and, oh yeah, Metal Freaking Gear, and yet – unless some roving deity swoops in on the wings of a singing chorus of angel investors – it’s going to get an unceremonious boot from Kickstarter. “Maybe,” say many pundits, “it could’ve succeeded if Camouflaj announced a PC version straight out the gate.” Yes, because iOS is such an obscure platform.

So long as we cling to this outdated notion that iOS games can’t be smart or unique or capable of true depth, we’re holding our favorite medium back.

So long as we cling to this outdated notion that iOS games can’t be smart or unique or capable of true depth, we’re holding our favorite medium back. These tiny devices are – like it or not – the future of media, and yet, we’re treating them like something to be ashamed of or even feared. Actually, no, it’s even worse than that: we’re dismissing them. As ever, difference does not equate to inferiority. Rather, it opens up new, incredibly interesting possibilities. Mobile gaming will not peel back its tiny, innocuous facade to reveal a set of gigantic console-devouring teeth once it earns our trust. It’s another option, and it’s beginning to produce tons of interesting original content. So let’s talk about that.

But, to conclude, I pose this question: even if there was only one truly interesting mobile game, why wouldn’t it be worthy of further examination? Isn’t it our job as writers, critics, journalists and newshounds to be on the forefront of these things? “Up-to-the-minute” and “on-the-scene” shouldn’t preclude our coverage from having substance – sort of like how, you know, “mobile” and “quickly accessible” don’t have to come at the expense of depth. Waking Mars has a fully self-sufficient plant-based ecosystem that’s rooted in actual science. On Mars. And it’s really, really fun. Now try searching VG247 for an article about it. Oh, whoops. Maybe we’ll start paying attention now that it’s coming to PC, the oldest videogame platform on Earth.

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51 comment-trail-alt Posted in: Android, Mobile, Opinion, Windows Phone 7, iOS, indie
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51 comments

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#1

Ali Hayas
09/05/12, 7:53 am

Sorry but I have never been interested in any hand held device. Not just the iOS but that includes the PSP/DS. Thing is, I am not a guy with free time no more and gaming for me is to spend the time following a hard day at college/work playing on the big tv. I just can’t see the enjoynment in playing games on those tiny screens of the handhelds. They don’t interest me. Playing a game while I am setting in the class or in car just don’t give me the same feeling.

The iOS devices have pretty much a good list of games that can be smart, but that ain’t gaming for me where the game has nothing when it comes to set a story or themes… it just doesn’t interest me beyond the fact it is on the go gaming experience and I find myself shutting it down once I get into the house.

#2

Kabby
09/05/12, 8:12 am

It’s a massive sea of shit with few non smelly floaters.

Start a vg247 site dedicated to phone/tablet/browser gaming. The punters will decide if it’s worth reading or not.

OR

Do a weekly roundup or reviews of great mobile games and publish it at the weekend. Bugger all happens on vg247 at the weekend.

#3

Duckey
09/05/12, 8:19 am

Very well said Nathan. I too initially saw iphone gaming as little more then Angry Birds and other short, relatively simple timewasters. My love of Mass Effect led me to buy ME:Infiltrator, and while the game is a pretty blah shooter, the beauty of the game opened my eyes to what the platform was really capable of. I’ve been exploring iphone games, and while there’s a whole lot of garbage, there are some surprisingly deep and lengthy games that would feel at home on a dedicated handheld console. For the most part, these are ignored by the mainstream gaming press, which is a real shame.

The iphone has a lot of gems hidden amidst the tickle-spongebob apps, and SOMEONE needs to help us shift through this mess and find the real gems. Like, apparently, waking mars (which I shall now buy).

#4

nofear360
09/05/12, 8:31 am

I agree with Nathan. Mobile games (excluding dedicated handheld games) didn’t use to be much, especially in the pre-smartphone times. But today, mobile games are surprisingly deep and diverse in their own ways. They might not have the production values of console games, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t provide enjoyment to the core gamers. I’m a diehard core console gamer, but don’t belittle mobile and social games. There is no reason too.

I think the resentment is to do with change. Not liking that console and hardcore PC games are no longer the only big boys in town (especially in terms of generating some serious revenue, that’s the area this kind of games are really taking the industry by surprise).

P.S. I prefer console games and pray they will remain to exist for many years to come (but that’s no reason mobile games shouldn’t be enjoying the same success; the two can coexist in my opinion).

#5

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 8:53 am

There are some real problems with mobile coverage from our perspective. Firstly, there are so many games that it’s essentially impossible to know what’s going on without being an expert. As with all things, you either do all of it, or you just focus on one thing. If you’re after good mobile game coverage, try Touch Arcade (http://toucharcade.com/). And even they focus specifically on iOS, because if they did Android, Blackberry, etc, it’d be incredibly difficult to be relevant.

If you look at the iOS stuff we do cover, it’s generally “big” stories (Angry Birds, Apple sales figures, people setting up developers and, as Nathan rightly notes here, transmedia offshoots of traditional core games). We tend to be writing about iOS games when they’re a hit, as opposed to saying, “This tiny game is amazing!”

VG247 is traditional core, really, and we have to focus on that. I honestly believe “mobile gaming” is a different market. We asked in a survey once if people wanted more mobile coverage, and literally one or two people said they did out of about 2,000. I really expected a lot more to say they did – everyone has a smartphone, right? – but I think people buy and play mobile games in a different way, and it’s probably outside our remit.

Our focus has to be on big-selling news. The simple answer to our mobile coverage has to be that we’ll leave it to the specialists and cover the big stuff when it gets big.

#6

nofear360
09/05/12, 8:57 am

Patrick, focus is good. Focus on your strengths. Simple business logic.

#7

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 8:58 am

@6 – Yep. Verticalism, right there :)

#8

Hunam
09/05/12, 9:01 am

I have an iphone, I played some games when I first got it (game dev story for the win) but after about a year or so I fail to care in even the slightest way. I prefer to just look on the app store rather than go on the net to read about them.

#9

Gekidami
09/05/12, 9:04 am

So whats your opinion on XBLIG coverage, Nathan?

#10

manamana
09/05/12, 9:06 am

Waking Mars indeed is a great game. Thanks for the read Nathan, well choosen words. But like Patrick mentioned, there is already one of the best sites for covering iOS games, which I read on a daily basis just because it happens, as Nathan wrote, that the games are sometimes poring in like crazy.

I don’t think you need a coverage under this circumstances, albeit I like the idea from Kabby to do a weekend roundup.

#11

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 9:21 am

The round-up idea’s good, but why would you read it when you have something like TA? Honestly, we’ve done this sort of stuff before. Steph used to do an MMO round-up, and we had to scrap it because so few people ever looked at it. If you’re solely in the market for MMO news, you go to an MMO site, right?

#12

Freek
09/05/12, 9:35 am

That’s all fine and perfectly reasonable. But it makes you look rather silly, doesn’t it? You publish an atack article and then come to the conclusion that you can’t do it better either.

#13

manamana
09/05/12, 9:41 am

Business as usual then. ;-)

#14

Lahanas
09/05/12, 9:59 am

Mobile/social gaming needs to DIE

#15

nofear360
09/05/12, 10:04 am

If there is no interest, then it has to be business as usual. It doesn’t make sense to cover something there is little interest for.

If you ask people if they want to read about a certain topic and 95% say no, it’d be foolish to write about it anyway. A complete waste of resources (I’m not saying this holds true for all products, but it does in journalism ).

#16

The_Red
09/05/12, 10:11 am

I think even Social and Mobile gaming have to be separated. Mobile gaming is different to traditional / core game as is Social one.

A gaming site must only focus on one of those 3. If VG247 was to focus more of either of those 2, I would end up visiting it less. That’s exactly what happened with Eurogamer. I still check that site and like it but the increased focus on Mobile and Social aspects has made it a bit annoying for me.
I check gaming sites to see news of PC, Xbox360, PS3, Vita, 3DS and Wii U news, not iOS games or Facebook crap.

#17

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 10:20 am

@12 – It’s not silly. You don’t come here for mobile games coverage. Should we start doing in-depth stuff on Farmville?

#18

JackTheLittle
09/05/12, 10:49 am

Why we’re dropping the ball on mobile game coverage?

lets play a bit with the title!! i admit mobile gaming can be good sometimes but let me guess why you emphasize so much on an incomplete platform WITHOUT reading the article!! it really can be a hard question but let me guess some answers!!

1. apple paid you :D
2. you’ve paid all your salary to buy an iphone! so u cant let it go :D
3. you sleep with your iphone!
4. you want us to keep iOS as Steve’s legacy :D
5. you’ve bet your life on this!
6. you hate Sony & psvita :D
7. 3ds is childish :D
8. all answers are correct :D

aside from joking i believe mobile gaming will grow more but will never become core gaming so i can’t care more! thank for the article though ;)

#19

The_Red
09/05/12, 10:58 am

@17
I don’t think mobile games and crap like Farmvill should be mentioned so close :)
I come here for neither of mobile or social stuff but I could tolerate mobile games (iOS or Android). Seeing Facebook and social games here on the other hand would make me lose all interest in VG247.

#20

Keith Andrew
09/05/12, 11:13 am

“There’s no focus – just volume.”

When an article on VG247 criticises other sites for putting volume over focus, it’s taking the piss, right? They have to see the irony in that statement, surely?

#21

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 11:17 am

@20 – We’re well aware of the focus issue we have. We’re going to fix it.

#22

Keith Andrew
09/05/12, 11:23 am

On the wider topic, I do think mobile gaming is outside of VG247′s remit.

It’s a mistake to think that mobile gamers are ‘different’, though. They might, on the whole, be a physically different group of people, but the strength of feeling they have – the prejudices, the bias they have towards different platforms – is as strong as on consoles in my experience.

Without wishing to create competition for myself, it’s certainly an area you could cover in your current format, Pat, but perhaps on a new, sister site.

#23

absolutezero
09/05/12, 11:24 am

I think if you need a closer focus on the things that sell well on the App store then you need to focus on the games that people play on Facebook. Both are of around the same depth and both have similar underhanded ways to get you to pay constantly.

Mobile and Social gaming goes hand in hand because both are barely gaming as we know it.

(Both also have stand out interesting games but from my three and half years of owning an iphone I played next to nothing at the end. I have a few games on my Windows Phone now and I don’t really touch those either.)

#24

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 11:27 am

@22 – I definitely would like to, but it’s a different world for me. It’s obviously really important to a lot of people (and “games” in general, natch), but I just don’t know enough about it on all levels.

Like, PG’s been going for years and is well-grounded as a commercial entity. It’d be like starting a new business. But yeah, that’s food for thought.

#25

Hunam
09/05/12, 11:28 am

Huh? I come here to read new about every tiny little bit of information about games/gaming industry. That’s what I want really, lots of news all the time.

Also, because johnny posts news about Persona. That’s what keeps me loyal.

#26

Keith Andrew
09/05/12, 11:31 am

Yeah, it’s no light venture, that’s for sure.

Drop me a tenner and a bacon sarnie, and I’ll knock something up for you over the weekend, chap.

#27

hanknova
09/05/12, 11:32 am

Whatever the verdict on whether the games media is missing the ball on mobile coverage, it takes some balls to publish this. Nice work Pat and Nathan.

#28

Patrick Garratt
09/05/12, 11:34 am

@26 – Innit. “Let’s launch a mobile site!” I’ve been there before :)

@27 – Cheers. I enjoy punching myself in the face, to be honest. Makes me stronger.

#29

Keith Andrew
09/05/12, 11:40 am

Yeah, but not with my less than ample, hot-headed mind on board. Mobile 24/7, here we come!

#30

Dragon246
09/05/12, 11:42 am

Smartphone games will certainly only improve, and I am sure next gaming handhelds will at least incorporate the basic features of a smartphone. I just think gems on smartphones are rare.

#31

Telepathic.Geometry
09/05/12, 11:53 am

For what it’s worth Pat, I think ye have the right focus. You asked “Do you want more mobile gaming news” and we said no and you respected that. It’s all good as far as I can see.

I’d say that the next time you do that survey, mobile gaming will have changed, we’ll have changed, our relationship with mobile gaming will have changed and VG will have changed. Maybe then more people will pipe up and it’ll be time to take it on board more seriously.

Until then, relax. You’re doing a great job. And frankly, if you’re asking yourself “Am I doing the right thing by my subscribers?” then you probably are. /plus one

#32

Hunam
09/05/12, 12:16 pm

I do find the rant a little odd because Republique has had a lot of press in a lot of places, some big news on the big sites and gamers that read those sites are still going ios = meh.

The game wont get funded simply because whilst it has the pedigree and ideas, the people who know about it simply don’t think it’s worth it for a mobile game.

#33

Da Man
09/05/12, 12:19 pm

I’d much rather see news about Gameloft (the bottom of mobile gaming) cloning everything than yet another jap grindfest, some masochistic dungeon crawler or a quicktime events demo disguised as a videogame. Too much ‘hardcore’ in here.

Plants versus Zombies is way more of a videogame than Journey. Now Farmville on the other hand.. pretty close.

#34

Freek
09/05/12, 12:29 pm

@17 I don’t no, and i’m fine with that. EG also posted an article a while comming to the same conclussion: mobile gaming is best left to the specialists.

But then why are you publishing an atack article that the core gaming press (wich includes this site) is dropping the ball on mobile gaming?

#35

manamana
09/05/12, 12:31 pm

@33 Heavy Rain is a good example for being an outstanding videogame, at least for me.

#36

JPickford
09/05/12, 12:33 pm

Independent Mobile News:

Bafta Nominated Magnetic Billiards:Blueprint on special offer of only 69p at the moment.

#37

Gadzooks!
09/05/12, 1:41 pm

#35

You find a barely interactive QTE-fest a good example of a videogame? The only worse waste of time I reckon is Dragons Lair, about to blight XBLA.

QTEs need to die and never surface again. They are the weakest form of intetaction ever invented. I cant even bring myself to call them a gameplay mechanic.

#38

StolenGlory
09/05/12, 2:01 pm

I think Keza hit it on the head when she said that it all comes down to simple, brutal economics – “Saying that core gaming sites don’t consider mobile worth covering isn’t true. It’s simple economics: they do no traffic, and take up time.”

Sad but true.

On the flipside, you could hire a mobile gaming ‘specalist’ I suppose, like Stuart Campbell for example, but the more I think about that, the more akin it would seem to The White House allowing an intern from Al Qaeda to work at the front desk.

#39

stealth
09/05/12, 2:13 pm

I dont see the problem.

All mobile games do suck, and are all broken piles of crap. The best mobile game isnt better than the worst gameboy game

#40

polygem
09/05/12, 2:28 pm

vg247 mobile phone coverage? i say: NO SIR!!!

#41

Hunam
09/05/12, 2:34 pm

If Stuart Campbell started working for VG247 I’d never come back. I have no idea how one man can be so wrong in everything.

#42

DSB
09/05/12, 2:50 pm

I think Keza hit it on the head when she said that it all comes down to simple, brutal economics – “Saying that core gaming sites don’t consider mobile worth covering isn’t true. It’s simple economics: they do no traffic, and take up time.”

I couldn’t disagree more. First of all, journalism is anything but simple economics. There’s no such thing as profitable news, or unprofitable news.

It’s a whole, and it’s largely about providing a service. A gaming medium is meant to say “Hey you, I got everything you need about games right here”. The more you can cover competently, the better your product, and the product IS the pitch when it comes to media.

Whether people are satisfied and like what they see when they read your site, means everything for whether they’ll keep coming back or not.

Based on that, you’re certainly not better off by excluding an entire platform, and especially not a platform that most people are playing games on every day.

I’d say given that mobile games are maybe 80% shovelware, competent advice, tips and opinion on the games that are actually worth something is pretty invaluable.

You have old guard like Stuart Campbell or Tom Chick writing lots of articles on it, and to me that makes perfect sense.

If you consider the journalistic obligation to report the news as they appear, mobile games are highly relevant news, and failing to cover them could mean that you won’t have coverage on the next big thing.

What’s to exclude mobiles from having a huge gaming experience more than a Vita? Journalistically, you can’t justify taking that risk.

#43

SiskoBlue
09/05/12, 4:05 pm

If people have that attitude towards mobile gaming then they’re idiots. If something is fun and a videogame then I want to hear about it. The only reason game sites have to separate stuff into channels is because we all don’t have every device. I’m not a fan of Nintendo so don’t own a Wii. I won’t read most Wii stuff.

But if a truly awesome game comes out that 99% of people absolutely love then I want to know about it. I might even get a Wii.

It’s funny how many people above say they won’t play mobile games because they’re stupid and silly. That’s what most people said about videogames when they first appeared.

#44

StolenGlory
09/05/12, 4:11 pm

@42

I do agree with you on the need report it for sure, I just believe it’s a tough tightrope to walk for many gaming-related sites to cover whom aren’t mobile specalists (TouchArcade, PocketGamer etc.).

Really, I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t spotlight certain standout mobile content, much like EG do with their ‘App Of The Day’.

So that, as you quite rightly mentioned, The Next Big Thing doesn’t get swept under the carpet and forgotten about because the medium as a whole has shunned mobile gaming under false perceptions. Ditto for the need to educate the masses on mobile gaming in light of the general amount of ignorance and lack of knowledge concerning them.

@43

Agreed – I have many, many mobile games that are among some of my most cherished gaming experiences – 100 Rogues, Pix’n Rush, Rolando, #sworcery and LOE 1/2 to name just a few. For people to ignore them is silly for sure and represents outdated thinking – my only real point, is that a lot of the sites who publish a myriad of journalistic gaming content haven’t worked out a way to do the coverage efficently; they’re simply intimidated by the wealth of content available IMO.

#45

DSB
09/05/12, 4:41 pm

@44 You don’t really need a mobile specialist though, do you? I mean it’s not like you need a Nintendo or Sony specialist to play console games.

I’m not really familiar with platform-centric journalism online, really because I don’t see the need to go to a site to read about one platform. At least for people like me, a site has a lot to gain by covering everything without hedging their bets.

For my part I’d rather have a guy with lots of references across platforms, than one who only sticks to the same thing. I reckon he’s far more likely to be more excited about something on that platform, than I am.

#46

Mike
09/05/12, 5:59 pm

I hate mobile games and never play them. Boring. No sense of wonder.

#47

manamana
09/05/12, 6:14 pm

@37 right. The interactivity is false dumb and utter shit. But the truth is, this “game/interactive movie” happend to be on a console ergo as a videogame. Nowhere else was this great game available and it was the reason I bought a PS3. So this “non-game” sold one more console.

As a living, breathing and working photographer I am very visually orientated. Games like Heavy Rain aren’t there to please my “hordemode-allnighter with chaps” site of gaming, but the visual/audiophile site. Thats all. And yes, while you mentioned Dragons Lair, its not a “real” game its not even QTE. Its utter reactiontest/memorizing bullshit. And yet its a form of interactivity(yes, stoneage). I like it somehow, perhaps because I played it as a child in the arcades. I love all kind of games and therefore it doesn’t matter on which plattform or brand I play them.

#48

OlderGamer
09/05/12, 7:28 pm

Nathan that was one of the best pieces I have ever read on this or any other site about games.

I think mobile games and traditional games(market wise) already overlap. And I think we will see that trend continue. Mobile games are games. Not talking about them would be like having a music descusion but not including an act like Lady Gaga because you don’t like the style. The sales speak for themself.

Having said that you will have a hard time covering Mobile phones because of the sheer volume of it. It is hard to get a handle on them. And shift thru the trash to find the gems. But you wouldn’t hire a rock n roll expert to critic Gaga tunes for Gaga fans either.

It has always been easy to sterio type the demographics for video games, untill this generation. And to some extent last. It is best to stop trying to define a gamer. Not easy I know, we like to define, we like neat catigories. Eventhing has a place and everything in its place. But it is not like that today.

Gamers don’t retire, they just get older.

Look at me, at most of us. Just because we are older then we were when Nintendo reenergized gaming with its NES, doesn’t mean we enjoy games less. But because I enjoyed Resident Evil on a PSone doesn’t mean I still enjoy Resident Evil today. My point is gamers change as they get older. What they like changes, thus the demographic changes.

More girls are walking around with gameboys today then when the system was first introduced. And that too brodens the scope of what a gamer is. Girls game today, and like their male counter parts they do it at a younger age. Games out there that are aimed 100% at young female gamers. Just like us guys, they won’t stop playing in 25years. So how will that influence the games indursty? Again, the demographic changes.

Peoples lifestyle changes. Smart phones are in the hands on young and old, male and female. For bizz and work to just calling home for a pick up after school. They are everywhere. So they have become a vehicle for moving games. And people have shown that they are interested in playing mobile games of all sorts. So the market has expanded.

Who are you, me or we, to think we can control and define what is a worthy game? Or what a “real” gamer is. And when Mario Kart out sells CoD, when Angry Birds sells more copies then Skyrim, I think some of us are only seeing what we want to see.

In my book, a 37 year old housewife playing a game on Yahoo games, a 22 year old guy playing ass cred on his PS3, a 14 year old playing Halo Reach on Live, a 57 and 56 year old couple playing a game of Bowling on Wii Sports, or Nathan enjoying Mars on his smart phone, are all the same. They are people enjoying games. other then that it boils down to my toy is cooler then your toy stuff. it all reminds me a bit of being a fanboy, just instead of one platform we love, we have a couple we hate.

As for this site doing large coverage for mobile…I think it is tough. Of the people that come here, the vocal ones will speak out against Mobile gaming. Atracting to new readers could prove tough too. I don’t think the average gamer on a mobile platform is dedicated or thinks about it enough to bring them to seek out a dedicated game site. It takes a special kind of Nerd for that ;)

I am just saying, don’t dismiss Mobile altogether.

#49

Ireland Michael
09/05/12, 8:19 pm

Remember when we were all younguns and we thought or grandparents and parents were old fashioned and out of touch with the “modern” way of doing things?

This is exactly what is happening with many of the older generation of gamers. And they’ll soon be left behind, waving their canes and complaining about the “good old days”.

#50

OlderGamer
10/05/12, 12:41 am

Reminds me of Cranky Kong from the Donkey Kong games on the snes, Michael.

I think your right tho.

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