Mobile and Console Gaming – Do the Two Almost go Hand in Hand?

Consoles may have started it all, but in recent times the dedicated gaming devices have been losing ground to mobile. The mobile gaming market boomed thanks to smartphones and tablets, and that offshoot of the gaming industry is now much more lucrative than consoles. This is highlighted by the fact that mobile gaming made up 60 percent of the global gaming market in 2019.

To keep up with the booming mobile sector and stop it from pulling too far ahead, some developers have realized the need to make their games available on both platforms. There seems to be a partnership forming between mobile and console.

Multiple Platforms Are Key in Modern Gaming Industry

If there is one thing to say about the gaming industry, it is adaptable and open to change. It constantly evolves with advancing technology, and different offshoots of gaming learn from more successful ones. The console market has clearly taken some inspiration from the thriving online casino sector, which has ballooned in the last ten years thanks to its spreading out across various platforms.

When online casinos first came about in the late 1990s, they were restricted to desktop computers. Progress gradually improved over the next twenty years, but things took off when smartphones became mainstream in the 2010s. Now, Betsson casino and numerous other sites have comprehensive mobile options that provide a mobile-friendly gaming experience for players on the move. There is integration between different devices, and players can easily switch between desktop and mobile if they need to. HTML5 has helped with this, as the games are now optimized for any screen they are viewed on.

Games Which Have Flourished By Crossing Between Mobile and Console

There are several games for consoles that have found success by replicating this model used by the online casino industry. Indeed, the current generation of consoles has seen a massive rise in what are known as companion apps. This is seen as something that is used alongside the console game to compliment the player experience. Some of these are even considered essential, and can massively enhance the overall enjoyment of the game.

Call of Duty Elite was one of the top companion apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. The free app was used in conjunction with the mainline Call of Duty games and allowed players to check career summaries and other useful information about their clans. The app was discontinued in 2014, but it evolved into Call of Duty Mobile. This offers a similar experience, but also allows players to play a mobile version of the game.

PlauerUnknown's Battlegrounds is another game that has successfully transitioned across to mobile in order to take advantage of the huge market for gaming. However, the developers did it in a more traditional way as they produced a mobile version of the game rather than developing a companion app.

Console games are ideally suited to the bigger screen, and players generally play them for longer than they would mobile offerings. However, the idea that games can now be supplemented with companion apps is really taking off. This provides an integrated experience and serves towards the overall enhancement of the games, although there is also the option of porting games directly across which has remained popular.