Table of Contents
Nothing is forever, and yet it feels like the rivalry between Playstation and Xbox will never end. Sometime in the far future, players will still be debating whether Playstation 104 – which is shaped like an egg – or Xbox 103 –which is, for some reason, called the Xbox 2 – is the superior gaming console.
But we all know that won’t happen. With the rise of the smartphone and the incoming world of VR, gaming consoles, as a concept, are already slipping into the distant past. This is proven by the lack of competition for PlayStation and Xbox. In many ways, both consoles are at the height of their power, but the competitors have stopped showing. Not because they know they can’t win but because there are far greener plains right out west.
Those plains are known as “mobile gaming”, and for the last ten years, the grass has been getting a lot greener. While the global mobile gaming market was worth around $70.3 billion in 2018, five years later, it is worth over $116.43 billion, with an annual CAGR of 15.04%. According to recent data, there are around 2.7 billion mobile gamers worldwide, and as the technology in smartphones gets better and more money can go into mobile game development, there might be a time when every game is exclusive to your pocket.
So Why Are Mobile Games Growing?
The main reason why mobile games are growing more popular is convenience. Compared to consoles, which belong in one room of the house, gamers now have a digital platform available on any device, meaning they can play their favourite games at any time and in any place. This is an essential advantage that mobile games have over consoles – though, there may be some back-and-forth between game progress on mobile and on console.
According to a study taken in late 2022, as much as 90% of consumers are going to select a brand that guarantees a convenient experience. Additionally, 52% of consumers believe convenience influences at least 50% of their decisions, and this is even more of a blow to consoles when considering the act of gaming itself.
This is a luxurious, individual experience that the player does in their own time. It is far more convenient and fair for the consumer if they can play a good game in a cafe, on a bus, or basically wherever they want to play a game. Consoles cannot offer that experience, while mobiles can.
Are Playstation And Xbox Really At The End Of The Road?
We’re not saying that PlayStation and Xbox are going away any time soon. But it’s hard to see a market for them in twenty to thirty years. Even players who like RPG games over-simplified mobile games will have the option to play them on mobile soon enough.
As mentioned before, the market is huge and growing, which means more money will be put into sustaining it and developing the best new games for mobile. Similarly, for players who want to play on wider, 4K television screens, they’ll eventually be able to broadcast the images on their phone onto any television they choose quickly and easily while using the phone as a controller.
At this current time, the only way that Xbox and PlayStation are going to survive is if they go with the tide and start focusing their efforts on mobile that doubles as a handheld console. This could even be a realistic future, especially with the recent news that PlayStation is creating a team solely for mobile game development. They would have to move quickly, however. The gaming world waits for no one, and it’s only a matter of time before other companies sit on a newer, more profitable throne.
