The mobile phone is the world’s favorite gaming device.
When it comes to apparently unremarkable statements that would have made no sense at all 15 years ago, this one is right up there with “I’m going to ask my speaker for a pancake recipe”.
Yet here we are. According to some recent research, mobile is the preferred gaming platform for 70% of gamers, followed by consoles (61%), computers (50%), tablets (34%), and VR (9%).
What this study by ExpressVPN reveals, above all, is that we’re playing a lot of games. Consoles, computers, and tablets all make a decent showing despite the dominance of mobile.
This makes perfect sense to us. A typical day in our lives might start with a quick Wordle session on our phones over breakfast, followed by a sneaky round of Slay the Spire at our PCs between meetings.
Later, we might find ourselves prodding at a Suduko grid on our phones while waiting for the kettle to boil. That evening we might well flop down on the couch, controller in hand, to bust out a few rounds of Fortnite before bed.
But mobile is still the big one, and we suspect there are two reasons for this
The first is convenience. Of all the devices to play games on, mobile is the only one that’s with you pretty much all the time. Chances are, you could be playing a video game within three seconds of reading this sentence if you really wanted to.
The second is awesomeness. Once upon a time, mobile gaming was an afterthought – the sort of thing no self-respecting gamer would lower themselves to.
But then the iPhone landed, triggering a tidal wave of innovation and experimentation. New genres appeared overnight, plucky indie studios became global superpowers, and video games changed forever.
Some of the best games released in the last decade period have been mobile games, and that’s a big part of the reason that 70% of gamers prefer playing on their phones.
How about you? Let us know in the comments.
