We read the gaming blogs and message boards. We know what you all think about mobile games. Over the last two years Modojo has reviewed over 200 of them, so we think it's safe to consider ourselves experts on the subject. And the fact is, nearly all of you are wrong.
Mobile games don't suck, and we can prove it.
I'm calling you out, game journalists. I know many of you personally. For the most part everyone that writes about games is reasonable, intelligent, and friendly. You love giving great, underexposed games their due and bringing them to the attention of your readers. For the most part, game journalists are a progressive bunch.
So, it's time to give mobile a fair shot. A real shot.
Things have been moving in the right direction for a while, but as a press collective, we just aren't there yet. *******'s Alexander Sliwinski expressed shock that God of War: Betrayal was actually... fun. Destructoid's Nick Chester expressed similar surprise. Sliwinski also seemed pretty surprised that mobile games weren't just "Tetris clones," despite the fact that only about one in eight mobile games reviewed by us, IGN Wireless, or any other mobile games site is a puzzle title.
Kotaku's Mike Fahey seems to have a somewhat more enlightened view towards mobile's potential as a gaming medium, but still expresses a little more doubt than is probably fair.
On the flipside, Wired's Chris Kohler and MTV's Stephen Totilo seem to have a more healthy opinion - they're skeptical, but open-minded.
We totally get everyone's attitude towards mobile. We felt the same way (that the games weren't worth our time/money), until we were forced to start covering them here at Modojo. It was only when we went hands-on with some of mobile's AAA titles that we realized that mobile games were more fun than we ever believed they could be.
So, here's the deal. We're requesting (nicely!) that all the game journos outlined above download a couple of the mobile games listed below and give them a fair shot. Any other publication that doesn't pay much attention to mobile (1up, GameSpot, Game Informer...) you're welcome to join in as well, of course. Play through them like you would any other handheld, keeping in mind that mobile games are designed around being fun for short bursts of downtime, are designed to be interruptible, and are (usually) designed to by fully playable with just one thumb.
And then simply report on your observations. If you still find the experience lacking, Modojo will reprint your negative opinion in full in a follow-up article, and we promise to pay for your downloads (or buy you a few rounds) at the next gaming show or the next time we see you. If, on the flipside, you find the games to be as enjoyable and addicting as we at Modojo do... we won't rub it in. We didn't think mobile games were worth anything until we gave them a lengthy look either.
So really, you have nothing to lose. At worst you'll spend a few hours and a few dollars on something only marginally enjoyable, and at best you'll come away a more well-rounded gamer, with some new upcoming games to get excited about.
