The gaming industry grows by over 1.4 percent every year.
In 2021, the global racked up about $180 billion in revenue. And according to a Newzoo report, mobile gaming was responsible for much of this, earning the industry $93.2 billion, to be precise. PC and console gaming earned $36.7 billion and $50.4 billion, respectively. What these numbers mean is that mobile gaming currently enjoys more than 50 percent of the market share in the global gaming industry.
It also means that PC and console gaming are becoming less popular. Let’s review why and the differences between the three gaming modes.
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Mobile Gaming
Mobile gaming is a fairly recent innovation. In fact, the sector enjoyed a mere 18 percent market share in 2012. But, four years later, mobile gaming had become so popular that it became a real competition to console and PC gaming. And by 2018, the sector was worth 51 percent of the entire market.
According to Newzoo, this trend will continue thanks to widespread growth in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The publisher estimates that mobile gaming will be worth $116.1 billion by 2024.
Why Is the Mobile Gaming Market Growing?
Mobile gaming is easy and convenient. Gamers cannot seem to get over the fact that it allows you to play your favorite video and casino games from anywhere – in the bathroom, at the office, on the bus, at the gym – anytime. But besides convenience, mobile gaming is becoming more accessible than PC and console gaming. This is thanks to device penetration, which experts report is increasing every year.
Because mobile phones are much more affordable and compact than PCs and consoles, gamers are preferring to play on their phones more. Smartphone penetration was at 21.6 percent in 2014 compared to PC penetration at only 17 percent – and that number has only grown.
Game developers are also key drivers of the mobile gaming sector. With emerging technologies like AI and 3D animation, game designers now provide mobile games at a quality only previously accessible on consoles and PCs. This is working hand in hand with the growing online gambling industry, which in addition to great graphics, provides players with the opportunity to make money.
In order to access a casino game like slots, all you have to do is click here from your phone. This is amazing and, before now, unprecedented. The only factors that might hold mobile gaming back include the increasingly saturated market, popular games that don’t offer a mobile version, and the battery damage playing on your phone can cause.
PC Gaming
These reasons explain why mobile gaming has yet to completely replace PC gaming. PC games have been all the rage since the early 2000s when more families started purchasing home computers. If you were a gamer then, you may remember the hours you logged playing solitaire and pinball.
But, like mobile gaming, PC gaming has evolved. For starters, PCs are more compact than they were a decade ago, and the gaming options have also increased to include exciting, great-graphics titles like Halo Infinite, Hitman 3, and Resident Evil.
PC games also use technologies like GPS, 3D gaming, and voice recognition to create a more immersive gaming experience, high gaming speeds, and better graphics. So far, mobile gaming has yet to replicate these perks. The only downsides to PC gaming include the lack of convenience and constant hardware upgrades.
Console Gaming
Consoles like the Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation were once the hallmark of video gaming. In fact, you could not call yourself a gamer if you did not own one of these setups. Console gaming has evolved, too, over the years to allow higher-quality graphics, multiple players, and streaming services. Also, thanks to exclusive releases, console gamers enjoy a sense of community that PCs and mobile devices cannot replicate.
Unfortunately, console gaming is growing less popular by the day, especially compared to mobile gaming. Experts blame this on the need for new console versions with every release, high initial investment costs, and longer release times.
Conclusion
Mobile gaming overtook console and PC gaming in terms of market share around 2018. And as the sector grows by leaps and bounds every year, PCs and consoles are getting less popular. This might be because of supply chain constraints and game delays, among other factors. Whatever it is, all signs point to mobile gaming as the future of gaming.