For all the gamers here, whether hardcore or casual, what do you think of the mobile gaming market? Why is it so successful despite apparent rejection from a lot of gamers? Is it fine the way it is, or can it be improved (and how)?

I just hate all the bot-made shit ad filled 'games' that some people publish

Plus braindead reviewers

Too many reskinned games that have been done a thousand times. Too many overbearing ads.

I think there is a place to marry phone gaming with portable console gaming, but I don't know if it will ever be profitable enough for companies to pursue. I really liked the idea of the Xperia Play, but it just didn't prove out.

It will be interesting to see if streaming services like Stadia are able to bring more action-oriented gaming experiences to mobile hardware.

@alexbrooklyn @PaladinRevenant The distaste for ads I find is pretty universal, even for myself. I've also seen distaste for other methods of mentization for free to play (and even some paid apps), such as gacha/casino/lootbox systems driven by secondary currency purchasable with real money.

So, would you prefer paying an upfront price the game with all the strategies above removed? If they kept it FTP to reach a wider audience, what other ways could you see them monetizing that are more acceptable?

@obsecurity I understand that developers need to be compensated for their work. I am a developer after all. I think there should be a balance, some games can be ad-supported, some games can be pay up-front. I really like it when a game that has ads also has an in-game purchase that allows me to remove the ads for a few dollars.

If we can get to the point where we can get games of the quality of a 3DS or Vita game, but on a phone, I would be willing to pay up-front for that just like I would for those systems. But I don't know if the market would bear that. The idea of what a phone game should be is pretty well ingrained.

@obsecurity I should add that I have purchased a few phone games up-front. They have all been on the recommendation of others. The Room series comes to mind as games that I bought for my phone before playing them.

@PaladinRevenant I have as well, and IMO the game I purchased (Cytus II, a rhythm game) was well worth it. Sure, there are many IAPs for new songs/maps, but it's not a random system so you exactly what you're getting.

Seeing its success and popularity in the Play Store makes me believe mobile gaming can be good, hence why I'm curious how people think it can be improved.

As someone who worked for the mobile game industry briefly: I hate it, specifically the copycat companies spitting out nothing but clones filled with psychological fuckery to make you play whether you like it or not and microtransactions.

Its so profitable exactly because its exploitive and most people can't tell. Portable devices and games are like a match made in heaven, but what we get is bs

@Hazarth sorry to hear about the terrible experience working on mobile games. Having the experience working with them, though, do you think the market can improve? If so, how do you think it can/should be done

@obsecurity it wasnt *horrible* I did learn a lot there, I worked there as a game designer under a senior I really respected. I just found the industry disgusting because the many words we used for customers and all the tricks we had to implement to keep people locked into playing...

If we were to improve we'd need to probably push forward the idea of more expensive games for mobile platforms tbh. I understand that scraps like 0.99$ and ads can only attract exploitive scum and rats. The whole idea of cheap games has the problem od implying quantity over quality for the companies to even earn anything, but phones dont have the reputation to convince people to byt 10> for a phone game. If we could make quality phone games a viable business model more quality titles would show up, but as it stands its only seen as "toilet casual market". If you asked me I'd say the potential is wasted