Video Games Consoles have seen large leaps in development from the 1970’s to present day. As the introduction of 5th generation consoles such as Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Saturn, brought a new level of sophistication to home video games. Wolf (2013) highlights evolution has been present in the gaming industry throughout the past four decades as arcade games had once been dominant during the 70’s and 80’s however suffered from the introduction of 5th generation video consoles during the 90’s as arcade developers found difficulty in duplicating features in the home e.g. moving cockpit, ski’s etc.
During the 2000’s with the demise of Sega who suffered financial difficulties and weren’t able to offer similar gaming standards as competitors. Donovan (2010) identifies Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were still thriving and remaining relevant through console development. Offering consumers increased gaming interaction and engagement e.g. introduction of multimedia by PS3 & Xbox 360 and body motion gaming by Wii . Today 8th generation video consoles Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Wii U, dominate the market.
Growth of Mobile Gaming
There has been significant growth among the mobile gaming market, New Zoo (2013) highlight the mobile market is set to double to $23.Billion this is through an increase in the number of people playing mobile games and average spend per game. See here for full infographics.
Needleman (2015) identifies U.S revenue spent among apps through downloads and in-app purchases are predicted to increase by 16.5% to $3 billion in 2015. In comparison to other segments of app market e.g. music and video which are predicted to rise by 5.4% and 13.8%. see here for the full study. This demonstrates the positive and rapid growth of mobile gaming and massive appeal they possess amongst consumers. Parrish (2012) highlights Sony Computer Entertainment identified growth of mobile market through the launch of Playstation Mobile in 2011 which enabled users to play games on smartphone however Sony have struggled implementing popular franchises and incorporating same online community to which is existent within gaming consoles.
Strengths
Accessibility-Mobile games are available through smartphones and tablets which have become an integral part of individuals day to day life e.g. messaging, internet use, gaming etc. therefore having portable direct access to games provides quick and easy use, as opposed to consoles which need to be played within a fixed location and require a longer start up time. Hazelwood (2013) highlights the largely reduced waiting time is a large incentive among individuals with busy schedules. Whilst the variety of games available means a wide audience can be targeted something which consoles may struggle with due to focused target market e.g. PS4 is positioned as a hardcore gamer’s’ console.
Competitive Advantage-Mobile games possess a competitive advantage in regards to accessibility on smartphones. Porter (1980) identifies through his five forces model substitutes products which are cheaper than industry products leads to an increased threat of substitutes which can negatively affect company’s profitability. In this scenario mobile games are considerably priced cheaper than consoles games, therefore revenue generated from mobile gaming could have possibly been spent on consoles online network (Playstation Network & Xbox Live Arcade) e.g. purchase songs, videos, in games add-ons etc, thus affecting profitability.
Freemium –This is a concept which has been popular among mobile games consumers who purchase games for free but later pay small fees which enable them to access increased content e.g. characters, maps, upgrades. Tassi (2012) highlights this has been popular among consumers due to paying considerably less in comparison to console games e.g. Call of Duty (COD) disk can cost as much as £40 whereas mobile first person shooting games would be free with small fee usually £1-£5 for additional features. In addition freemium is not occurring with all mobile games, therefore consumers can download certain games completely free.
User Generated Content (UGC)– Due to the accessibility of a wide variety of function on smartphones. Consumers have both access to social media and games. Therefore, this availability enables individual to post performance/opinions of gaming experience within social media e.g. Facebook, Twitter which is considerably quicker to navigate between pages in comparison to console gaming.
Povarchik (2013) highlights UGC allows online community to view and engage with content posted. Successful mobile games which incorporated UGC were Candy Crush, Draw Something which were simple platform games that gained worldwide attention. The availability of these games across all mobile smartphones with no download fee meant no consumer was isolated from playing games.
Conclusion
Signs of evolution which occurred during fall of arcade gaming are existent within video game consoles e.g. popular games which generations grew up playing that create a sensation of nostalgia are now being reintroduced into mobile gaming formats. e.g. street fighter, fifa series. Gaudiosi (2015) highlight New Zoo chief Executive Peter Warman predicts during 2015 mobile gaming revenue ($30.3billion) will overpass console gaming revenue ( $26.4billion). However this is not to say video games consoles are becoming extinct due to the popularity of big franchises e.g. Call of Duty, Madden, Fifa Series, etc. Swider (2013) identifies Sony have combined both elements of mobile and console gaming having developed new software, which enables for console controllers to be synced and played on Xperia smartphones via Bluetooth. Therefore growth of new markets doesn’t simply provide negative consequences, also enables opportunity for more creative risks to be explored increasing innovative creations.
References
Donovan,T. (2010) Replay: the history of video games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant.
Gaudiosi,J.(2015) Mobile gaming revenue set to overtake console games in 2015.http://fortune.com/2015/01/15/mobile-console-game-revenues-2015/[ Accessed 5th April 2015]
Hazelwood,S.(2013) Mobile Gaming:It’s here to stay.[Online] http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/mobile-gaming-it%E2%80%99s-here-to-stay/ [Accessed 4th April 2015].
Needleman,S. (2015) Mobile-Games Revenue Growth Is Outpacing Other Content, for Now. [Online] http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/18/mobile-games-revenue-growth-is-outpacing-other-content-for-now/ [Accessed 9th April 2015.]
New Zoo (2013) Infographic: Mobile games market to double in size until 2016 and reach $23.9BN.[Online]http://www.newzoo.com/insights/infographic-mobile-games-market-to-double-in-size-until-2016-and-reach-23-9bn/#Rcz0Kx4ZTj9Itu7O.99http://www.newzoo.com/insights/infographic-mobile-games-market-to-double-in-size-until-2016-and-reach-23-9bn/ [Accessed 23rd March 2015.]
Parrish,K. (2012). Hands-on: Sony Finally Launches PlayStation Mobile. [Online] http://www.tomsguide.com/us/PlayStation-Mobile-Xperia-PlayStation-Vita-preview-review,news-16127.html [Accessed 5th April 2015].
Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy.New York: Free Press.
Povarchik, R.(2013) The game is you: 5 mobile games that leverage user generated content. [Online]. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-game-is-you-5-mobile-games-that-leverage-user-generated-content/ [Accessed 9th April 2015]
Swider, M. (2013) Your Sony phone could soon have DualShock controller support. [Online]. http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-phones-could-see-dualshock-3-controller-support-1143574. [Accessed 4th March 2015]
Tassi,P. (2012) How mobile Games are big business. [Online]. http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/04/19/how-mobile-games-are-big-business/ Accesssed 10th April 2015.
Wolf, M.J.P (Ed.) (2008) The video games explosion: a history from pong to Playstation and beyond. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
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