Mobile Gaming – we all engage with it in one way or another.
But what does the future of mobile gaming look like?
I reached out to SpilGames, one of the most popular mobile game developers and publishers, and got Franz Stradal to answer the questions you always wanted to ask.
Now, shall we take a look into the future of the gaming industry?
Q: In recent years, you have decided to shift your focus towards online and mobile games. Why did you take this step?
A: First of all, because the market has changed. Over Christmas 2015, more tablets haven been sold than PC’s and laptops combines, smartphones even ten times more.
Further, mobile users are more interested in the entertainment factor than PC owners and users, they use it primarily for work and not for gaming (excluding the hardcore gamers).
Secondly, I decided to shift my focus because I am always interested in new things. How does everything work, in what ways can you play with a touchscreen, and how do players experience the new platforms?
I am just incredibly curious – and in the end, you find out that players are players no matter the platform.
Q: Mobile games have the potential to go viral and build a large franchise very quickly. On the flip side, they tend to vanish as fast as they emerged. What do you think makes a good, interesting mobile game that attracts players in the long run?
A: Oh, now these are two completely different things. There have always been viral games, be it on the PC (Lemmings, Mohrhuhn), on the console (Pacman, Donkey Kong) and every other platform and system, even going as far as board games (Catan, Monopoly).
They went viral because they were new, but easily accessible; you can understand them quickly whilst still experiencing a welcome twist.
Mobile games that are successful in the long run are usually very hard to create, the life span of games such as Flappy Bird or Crossy Roads is simply limited.
The most attractive, long-lasting games like Clash of Clans, Game of War or Candy Crush are entertainment products with long-term user participation rather than simple mobile games, and that is what makes them different.
Q: What are mobile gamers today spending the most money on – and why?
A: Victory, Desire, and Impulse: just like in real life. Victory complies with success, desire with extended experience, and impulse with indulgence.
It is because of the same reason that people buy a Golf GTI instead of a Lupo, put gas in their car rather than take the bike, and buy chocolate bars instead of bread.
On a side note, the Lupo-bike-bread party gets their victories, desires and impulses elsewhere, even in exchange for money, for example by flying to a climate demonstration to Paris, by paying a surety at the police station, or by buying fair trade coffee.
Q: How do you think the future of mobile gaming will look like, especially looking at recent VR (Virutal Reality) developments for smartphones?
A: Smartphones will degenerate to interfaces in the next few years. VR is just the precursor who will vanish soon enough. Data glasses, VR Gloves and Screenshare are perfect for gaming – this is going to be fun.
Q: In your opinion, what is the best mobile game currently on the market?
A: This is an impossible question because it always depends on the player.
To put it simply: All of my games.
We are releasing the game for the movie “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” by Luc Besson. It is going to be an absolute hit, both in terms of the technology and the gameplay.
Q: There are theories that say that there will not be any more rivalry between Android and iOs in the future, but instead only one merged operation system. What do you think of this idea, and what would it mean for the gaming industry?
A: This is never going to happen. Even if Apple was to go bankrupt and Android had the market to themselves, there will be segmentation solely because the hardware is very diversified.
Even if there was only one platform and one hardware, the economy would create artificial segmentation, simply because every consumer wants to be able to an individual choice.
These are some of Mr. Stradal’s predictions on the future of mobile gaming – and only time will tell if they are true.
But while we’re waiting, why don’t you let me know your theories down in the comments below?
I would love to hear from you!
mopselnator 