Mobile games are so popular that the major tech companies are recently buying game studios like the changing landscape in other media industries.
The shift to simple monopoly and complex games
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Despite the Coronavirus Pandemic causing more people to play video games to pass the time, there is not a lot of hype for most games notwithstanding the recent update of major video game systems generations. Even for these video game systems including the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox series line, the current supply chain issue, surrounding microchip processors has led to low quantities of stock of them as well as the possible transition from physical discs to digital streaming. Playing a game on my Xbox One is like installing an app on my computer instead of just putting the disc in the Xbox to play.
Also, I am currently using it more to watch films and shows since there are not a lot of current games that appeal to me and are family-friendly. The games that Nintendo released recently are still interesting including Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. While the cost of the Nintendo Switch went down since it was released in 2017, it is still expensive at $379 (non-OLED). Though it now has an OLED screen, games are still not presented in 4K even on a 4K TV.
Both PlayStation and Xbox have versions of their video game systems that do not include an optical disc drive which lightens the weight of the console and is optimal for playing games on game streaming services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now. The disadvantage of this is that if you have a data limit on your internet, the amount of space needed to download the game could use a lot of it. Unlike installing the game with the disc where the internet will only be used to download updates for the game.
Some of the games that I had been playing recently are mobile games including rhythm games. Nintendo also made mobile versions of some of their popular games including Mario Kart and Animal Crossing which have the spirit of the originals. Modern cellphones allow almost the same quality as gaming systems because of the powerful modern phone processors.
When I watch TV and use the internet, I see a lot of ads for mobile games more frequently than a decade ago. Mobile games like Genshin Impact, Among Us, and Clash of Clans have in-app purchases which would be considered as a type of gambling to speed up the game or trying to get a rare character or card. Mobile games are so popular that the major tech companies are recently buying game studios like the changing landscape in other media industries. Like PlayStation buying Bungie which created the Halo game series and The New York Times surprisingly owning the popular word guessing game Wordle which soon may not be free not as the creator intended.
The pandemic might have impacted how we play video games today. But at the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe there will be new games that will be played for generations to come outside of virtual reality.
