As the most financially well-performing part of the modern video game market, mobiles are here to stay. Whether or not you personally play them, that’s always going to be true, and it has some important implications for the future of gaming. Notably, many long-time series like Call of Duty and Final Fantasy have been eyeing the platform as they extend beyond their traditional roots. As for how well-suited mobiles can be and how far this relationship could go, that raises some interesting questions.

Limitations on Mobiles

As it stands, two major issues prevent existing big series from making direct ports to mobile systems: device power and input concerns. While these might seem insurmountable, this idea isn't as definite as it might seem.

Unsplash

Consoles and desktops are powerful, but this power comes with a significant asterisk. Firstly, we've long since reached a point of diminishing returns in gaming, where an enormous leap in power only results in a minimal improvement in looks. As Nintendo has consistently proven with its less-powerful device, style is far more important than raw output. Their Switch has some amazing-looking games like Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, and neither is exactly cutting-edge.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1rPxiXXxftE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is important because, in terms of raw performance, the Switch and modern mobiles aren’t far off. In fact, the Switch is capable of around 1 TFLOPS of performance, while the new generation of Apple iPhone Pros offer double that. Combine that with the possibility of game streaming, and the performance difference becomes even less of an issue.

Input is a much more difficult gap to bridge, as flat touch screens are an integral and base part of mobile design. Directly, there's no way to make one of these matches up to the potential of a controller or keyboard and mouse. Indirectly, it's incredibly easy to pair additional input systems with mobiles via Bluetooth. While inconvenient, this issue can nonetheless be overcome.

The Suitability of Genres

Assuming that a person doesn’t want to lug around a controller or keyboard with them at all times makes us wonder how device power alone might influence play with different titles. After all, games on PC and console can control extremely differently, so it’s natural that some could fit full-fledged adaptions onto mobile more easily than others.

A perfect illustration of this idea in action is found outside of video games, in the landscape of online casinos. Consider what goes into modern real money casinos on mobile systems. The slot machines available on these websites like Cleopatra and Book of Ra place their engagement in simple-to-play systems. This makes their translation to mobiles easy, requiring no fast-paced action on behalf of the user, with the games easily controllable with just a few simple presses. The platform provides access to tens of thousands of mobile games, as well as information regarding game availability, payment methods, bonuses, and device compatibility from only licensed and reputable casinos.

In video games, the closest analogy would have to be turn-based titles like Fire Emblem. Since the fundamentals of what you're doing in these games are simple, you don't need to rush, and the risk of missed presses with mobile screens is minimized. With these factors in mind, such strategy games could see full ports to mobiles without compromise.

Also offering the potential for strong fits could be retro platformers. Without the use of a huge number of buttons, emulation of games like the original Super Mario Bros has already proven popular on mobiles, and the same could be said of other retro remakes or throw-backs.
In terms of translation impossibilities, it would be the games with the fastest pace and most buttons that will likely never see strong releases on mobile. Dragon Ball FighterZ, with all its chaos and speed, needs buttons and real-time feedback for players to be able to perform. The same could be said for many large-scale real-time strategy games and FPS titles. Racing games, while offering simple controls, could also face an insurmountable issue in their need for analogue controls.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oBI0MU73nlc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

With the power of mobiles on a constant uphill battle, more games are making full ports to the platform. So far, it’s tended to be smaller indie titles like Stardew Valley, but don’t be surprised to see some AAA games make the move in time. The implementation and developer skills will determine a positive or negative result. Of course, if a company like EA has any say in the matter, we might not be holding our breath.