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[yami4ct]

I think a part of it is a fear that these games are going to take over the industry and "push out" the games people like. I think the majority comes from people who made their impression of mobile from a time where there was a ton of shit. Stuff like FarmVille, CandyCrush, whatever shit overly-pay to win game EA was doing was the market for a while. You'd occasionally get something good like The Room, but those were few and far between.

Now we've got Dessert Golfing, Threes, Republique and more doing the traditional pay once and play model and are being really cool experience. You also have Japan redeeming the F2P model with games like Terra Battle, Puzzle and Dragons and Monster Strike. You can find games with a lot interest and depth on mobile, the problem is if you can't get passed the F2P model or have a hard time sorting through all the shovelware that still gets put out.

 

[SolidLifts]

the bitterness comes from them being disguised slot machines that exploit peoples' addictive nature, rather than fun design

 

[KnockOneOff]

I wonder if the guy who was walking around my local tesco playing clash of clans who didn't even acknowledge the cashier or people who walked past would call himself a gamer, addict or just a casual mobile player

I should have asked him

 

[Beelzebufo]

I've never thought this ever, and I don't think mobile is compelling

#reaching

 

[Lothars]

I mean, I don't think I'm making this up.

I don't think it's a coincidence a lot of heavy GamerGate communities often have a pretty strong dislike of mobile gaming.

And even on NeoGAF I've seen plenty of anti-mobile posts which usually left me with the impression there was a bit of insecurity at play with "cool kids" getting into games.

I'm not saying you're horrible for feeling this way, I just think it's a bigger driving force against mobile games than people would like to admit.

I think you are incorrect, It has way more to do with mobile gaming for the majority of games are not good. The ones that are don't always rise to the top but alot of the ones that do are just trying to get your money for every little thing. There are some fantastic games released on mobile but also way more crap.

It's also that companies are taking money away from other gaming to use on mobile and it does affect companies that were releasing games on none mobile platforms.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I don't get this... Was gaming unpopular during your teenage years? Is this genuinely a thing? I'm a 90s kid and have never heard anyone being bullied or losing popularity for playing games at any age.

In my experience, by middle school it quickly declined from being acceptable.

I remember in elementary during the Pokemon boom, everyone except me had all these cool Pokemon merchandise. My cousin had some neat Japanese cards even which I was so jealous of. My parents didn't let me buy that stuff at the time because they felt it was a waste...

Well, eventually, I got them to fold and started collecting cards and had a lot of cool merchandise like Pokemon binders, and even a cool Vileplume pencil sharpener. But like then everyone suddenly was over it, and gaming in general, and I was basically laughed at. Even my cousin told me that Pokemon was lame the next time I saw him when I finally had my own cards.

Yeah, there were people who still enjoyed games---but being open about your enjoyment killed your popularity with like every cool group. And, well, that was a big deal for me as I never felt like I fit in with any group during my entire school career. Even in college, where you think it'd be more open, I never really felt comfortable telling people I liked games except for a very small percentage of people, and even then they'd mock me.

 

[KnockOneOff]

the bitterness comes from them being disguised slot machines that exploit peoples' addictive nature, rather than fun design

Worse than disguised slot machines, at least with slot machines it sometimes lets you walk around with extra money until you find the next slot to sink it in

 

[retroman]

I think it has more to do with the 'old-school' crowd feeling that:

- touch controls are a poor substitute for buttons
- scummy F2P practices are more prevalent on mobile than on consoles
- app store quality control is non-existent

 

[Inuhanyou]

My dislike of mobile games comes from not liking the format of playing games on a small phone, the control interface, and the types of games that the industry propagates with the piecemeal structure destroying the concept of actual game design in favor of a purchase element. They are usually the exact opposite of the types of games i usually gravitate toward.

For every tower defense clone, i sigh

 

[Manmademan]

It is NOT the same at all. The signal to noise ratio of Quality Vs. Crap in Mobile Gaming Vs. Every Other Form of Media Ever Made in the History of Mankind is completely incomparable. That's not a hyperbolic statement. That's just how absurd the number of shit being thrown at the App Stores every single month is.

This right here. And mobile gaming seems increasingly reliant on cancerous business models just to stay viable.

This isn't the case with console, PC, or handheld gaming.

 

[FinalStageBoss]

It's because mobile games suck.

 

[muteki]

I don't get this... Was gaming unpopular during your teenage years? Is this genuinely a thing? I'm a 90s kid and have never heard anyone being bullied or losing popularity for playing games at any age.

I think it is highly dependant upon when you grow up but for me, I'm 31 and can certainly remember a time during the NES/SNES/Genesis days that it was generally looked down upon. Part of it may have been a jealousy thing too though, growing up in a small town not all kids my age were lucky enough to have a home console.

But yeah, I don't like mobile gaming because I'm not so much a fan of the games. No ambition in the majority of them.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I don't think quality really matters though in the grand-scheme of things...all of us kids probably enjoyed games that were objectively bad, because there were people who we could share that experience in and feel like a part of something.

Mobile Gaming is easy to access, and seems like a great way to start conversations now with a very wide range of people, something that's harder with traditional gaming. I think that's the appeal more so than the actual enjoyment of the product.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I hate it because my phone's battery is crap.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

Totally agreed.

 

[Myggen]

And it sounds as "women will kill our games" as other ridiculous stuff like that


So yeah, basicaly cool kids

That's really weird as a blanket statement.

 

[alienator]

Oh the enormous amounts of money i would spend on mobile phone gaming.. if every phone came equipped with a good Dpad and a set of A and B buttons ...

It not really mobile gaming that is holding me back from it, its the imprecise nature of touch-controls and how they are ruining everything other than a game of flappy bird.

Touch controls even make a game like dodonpachi on my mobile phone boring as fuk.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

They just don't interest me. Its got nothing to do with the other people that play them.

 

[yami4ct]

the bitterness comes from them being disguised slot machines that exploit peoples' addictive nature, rather than fun design

F2P can be a very scummy model, and often is. The way games like Dungeon Keeper and Game of War use it is terrible and borderline immoral.

That being said, I don't think it's fair to write off the model as a whole. If used well, it can provide devs a way to continually update and expand a game, similar to an MMO. I currently play 3 F2P mobile games (PAD, Terra Battle and Monster Strike) and I only put money into 1. I have never felt the need to put money into any of these to continue. I choose to put ~$10 a month into PAD because I appreciate the work they put into it and the constant stream of new content. I view it as a MMO subscription. Sure, people can be addicted to the RNG money systems of these games and there needs to be more bars in place to prevent those people from destroying themselves, but I don't think that's something that should be placed on the model as a whole.

 

[Mesoian]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

Yurp.

 

[...Scatter...]

It's just a hobby. Try not to overthink it. It's like camping. Some people love the ever living shit out of camping and go every weekend. Other people, like me, don't get it and think they're a little odd. I accept that some people think my gaming is weird.

 

[Steel]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

 

[Cizeta-Moroder]

I mean, I don't think I'm making this up.

I don't think it's a coincidence a lot of heavy GamerGate communities often have a pretty strong dislike of mobile gaming.

And even on NeoGAF I've seen plenty of anti-mobile posts which usually left me with the impression there was a bit of insecurity at play with "cool kids" getting into games.

I'm not saying you're horrible for feeling this way, I just think it's a bigger driving force against mobile games than people would like to admit.

The mentality certainly exists, but it is indeed mostly limited to gamergate communities. Hell, "jealousy at cool kids" basically explains the whole movement.

 

[Blobbers]

Imagine if there was an industry where an outstanding majority of games were like the Early Access/Steam Greenlight section of Steam with reused or bought assets, shit or no writing, uninspired levels, uninteresting gameplay and all of that sprinkled with scummy microtransactions. Imagine all the stuff you don't want in your games, all the stuff that makes your blood boil, rolled up into one industry.

That's the mobile gaming industry.

Ahem.

Supposedly.

 

[User 479360]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

First post wins again

That and mobile games are boring/ad-heavy/full of microtransactions. They're ruining gaming.

 

[Crocodile]

• -High noise to signal ratio (not exclusive to mobile but doesn't help) with poor curation
• -Multiple genres are unviable or handicapped on mobile control schemes (some are enhanced but its not worth the loss of total genre diversity)
• -Battery technology still sucks
• -Selling games for $20+ is unacceptable so predatory Freemium models are often deployed which often negatively impact game design
• -Siphoning of talent and products from traditional space (focus on mobile by Konami sure did Silent Hills no favors)

Like I'm sure there are non-zero number of people who feel the way you described in the OP but I dunno what kind of mental gymatics you have to do to actually thing its equally or more relevant that the reasons I posted above. Keep It Simple Stupid!

(I don't actually think you're a dumb person BTW. I just think you're REALLY reaching here almost to the point of absurdity in how important or prevalent this mindset is)

 

[BocoDragon]

Not for me. It's entirely mechanical. Mobile favours short fleeting experiences, and asks for money and plays ads in the middle of the experience.

As a core gamer who loved the idea of self-contained long-form experiences... that's anathema to me.

I actually have no problem with mobile as its own thing. The problem is that it's eating my long-form game experiences.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

The mentality certainly exists, but it is indeed mostly limited to gamergate communities. Hell, "jealousy at cool kids" basically explains the whole movement.

Is it though? I'm not part of GamerGate but I certainly think I have a bias against mobile gaming for this reason.

And I don't think I'm that unusual of a gamer that I have a super niche mindset either.

 

[dinosaur_hunter2]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

First post and everything.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Its worse that a lot of the mobile industry does rely on concepts that are the antethesis of traditional core gaming. Bite sized gameplay segments cut off from pay models and such.

The entire industry including Japan has gotten into mobile because the costs are so low compared to working on core games, the investment compared to the return is so low.

Your not going to make a Devil May Cry or a FF15 on a mobile device because unfortunately, that goes against the point of low risk low cost high return mentality with the amount of people who actually use phones. And those who normally play on those phone titles are more of the casual sort to begin with, who dont even want core games on their phone to play, they want time wasters.

If many of the people who played on mobile were handed a core game, they probably would not even know right from left

 

[BrokenIcarus]

It's because most don't want something like CandyCrush, Clash of Clans or Game of War to threaten traditional gaming and it can't be blamed. Those games just don't have nearly the same depth to them

 

[KTO]

It is NOT the same at all. The signal to noise ratio of Quality Vs. Crap in Mobile Gaming Vs. Every Other Form of Media Ever Made in the History of Mankind is completely incomparable. That's not a hyperbolic statement. That's just how absurd the number of shit being thrown at the App Stores every single month is.

Look at self published E books or youtube videos for your comparison. The reason there is more noise in the mobile gaming is because, like those formats, the barrier to entry is so much lower. But it certainly isn't unheard of in the history of mankind for things like this to happen.

I don't think because a couple Youtubers are now millionaires Hollywood is feeling the squeeze.

 

[DealWithIt]

My problem with phone and tablet gaming, so called "mobile gaming" is that the devices are mechanically bad for most kinds of games that I like. A touchscreen tends to require that you are blocking part of the action with your hand. A touchscreen is great for swiping controls but it's inferior for the kinds of high precision responsive controls that I tend to prefer in games. Mobile games are fine if that's what you are into, but phone and iPads just aren't designed in a way to grant the kinds of compelling experiences I crave. Monument Valley looks nice, but it's not, and cannot be Majora's Mask.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

GAMER HULK FEAR CHANGE

 

[Nyoro SF]

the bitterness comes from them being disguised slot machines that exploit peoples' addictive nature, rather than fun design

The worst is when people extol their exploitative nature

This isn't the future I envisioned, where people begged to be taken advantage of in the digital space

 

[Nia]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

This is my fear.

 

[Duxxy3]

Nope. I hate mobile gaming for a few reasons - it's HIGHLY exploitative in general, the marketplaces are loaded with shitty game after shitty game, and the controls suck.

 

[Akainu]

 

[bj00rn_]

Jealousy..? That's a big truck loaded with rolling eyes right there, lol. What's next, a theory linking people who just doesn't play mobile phone games to Gamergate for some reason?? Nah, what am I saying, that would be too crazy.. Nobody would do that..

Anyway... I'm sure it's popular, but I literally don't know anyone who is a "mobile phone gamer". I've never seen anyone in my circles even play a game on their phones.

I do have one game on my S6 Edge though, and it's a Mahjong game. Is that enough to be a cool kid?

 

[Ivan Amiibo]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

im in that group and they could stop making traditional games this minute and i wouldn't give a single shit b/c there's already too much out there to play in 10 lifetimes.

I think you mean the "always gotta have the new shit DAY ZERO HYPE LOL OMG" crowd, of which there's a loud crew on this site, if not the majority.

 

[JaseMath]

It's the cash-grab, freemium model that makes me despise the mobile gaming industry. That and it has very, very few transcendent games that aren't tailored to people looking to pick up and play.

 

[davepoobond]

I hate them more because of the exploitation factor baked into the game mechanics.

At least with traditional content most DLC actually has content unless they are mirroring mobile game exploitation items or in-game credit.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

No, I just don't think mobile games, generally speaking, are very enjoyable as a result of design choices and control schemes. It's... pretty much as simple as that.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

No, I think people just see a distinction between real games and mobile games because mobile games are generally low budget, have bad writing (if any), have cheap and heavily recycled mechanics and are generally boring as all hell.

Yup. Mobile games are inferior in nearly every aspect.

 

[spookyfish]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

One and done.

 

[DashReindeer]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

First reply and all that.

Sums up my feelings on the matter pretty well. I also am just someone who is fond of the control precision and comfort offered by a game controller and would be sad to see the controller replaced by tapping.

 

[Sijil]

No that's not it, mobile flourishing is making all the the big publisher see every smartphone or tablet as a potential sack of cash, the problem is how it will affect the hobby that I enjoy. Publishers abandoning beloved and long established franchises which are expensive to make these days and will need to sell in the assload to make a profit in favor of cheap to make mobile games that rely on addictive mechanics to reel in big chunks of cash from addictive fat cats and money whales.

Now I know all of the above is a bit of an exaggeration on my part, but recent events with Konami and the ongoing trends in the Japanese gaming market do not bode well.

But I still got my awesome AA games like Pillars of Eternity to keep me comfort, those aren't going away any time soon.

So I don't necessarily hate the medium, I enjoyed a few mobile titles like Out There, and played Xcom, Banner Saga and Shadowrun, already own them on PC but wanted something to pass the time. It's more about how it's impacting the current gaming industry.

 

["D"]

While there may be some good mobile games out there, I personally don't care for them because like stated before, I'm a traditional gamer. Mobile games making this huge boom means that more and more companies, looking to line their pockets, would try to come in and partake of what's making mobile games so popular, and either try to adapt those schemes into their own games (in game purchases w/ real money, etc.) or get so caught up in the $$$ that they move the focus from their traditional games and shift more toward making mobile titles.

I don't want my console games to be overshadowed by the success of mobile cause that means that's where the focus will migrate to....and it it does then I'll have no where to play as I'm not interested in using my phone to play freaking Bloodborne or anything ridiculous like that.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

It's because traditional games are hard to play on mobile and people who have grown up loving traditional games feel threatened that they may go away. And they don't want them to go away.

This plus some of the most successful mobile games have monetization schemes that make $60 + $40 season pass look downright generous.

 

[SolidLifts]

F2P can be a very scummy model, and often is. The way games like Dungeon Keeper and Game of War use it is terrible and borderline immoral.

That being said, I don't think it's fair to write off the model as a whole. If used well, it can provide devs a way to continually update and expand a game, similar to an MMO. I currently play 3 F2P mobile games (PAD, Terra Battle and Monster Strike) and I only put money into 1. I have never felt the need to put money into any of these to continue. I choose to put ~$10 a month into PAD because I appreciate the work they put into it and the constant stream of new content. I view it as a MMO subscription. Sure, people can be addicted to the RNG money systems of these games and there needs to be more bars in place to prevent those people from destroying themselves, but I don't think that's something that should be placed on the model as a whole.

PAD has fun design and I played it very similar to you, but it has a literal slot machine to prey on addicts and children that aren't equipped to make informed decisions on how much to spend. Any game that turns real $ into points/coins/in-game currency knows EXACTLY what they are doing.