It is quite hard to believe that just 15 years or so ago, mobile gaming was a nascent industry consisting of a handful of simple games that were possible to play. Indeed, mobile phones were simply viewed as devices in which you communicated with others and for nothing more.
But fast-forward to 2022, and mobile gaming is now a massively successful global industry worth tens of billions in any currency that you wish to look at the industry in. So, how did we get here?
In this blog post, we will take a look at how mobile gaming exploded in the 2010s.
The invention of smartphones and tablets
The 2010s will go down in history as the decade when mobile gaming came into its own. Thanks to the advent of powerful smartphones and tablet devices, as well as the introduction of new business models like freemium games and in-app purchases, mobile gaming quickly grew from a niche interest to a mainstream phenomenon. By the end of the decade, it was believed that there were more than 2.4 billion active mobile gamers around the world, with many of these continuing to spend vast sums of money. For instance, many would have been playing the array of real money online casino titles that are available to play now back then, too, as they would have been able to use their favorite device to access an industry that had been exploding in its own way during the same time period.
What factors contributed to the growth of mobile gaming?
There are a number of factors that contributed to the explosive growth of mobile gaming in the 2010s. First and foremost among these is the sheer number of people who now own smartphones and tablets. Once seen as extremely expensive devices when they first entered the market – and there are some that can still be considered to have very high price points, the improvements experienced in technology have made these devices cheaper and more accessible to consumers all around the world nowadays. These gadgets may have been seen as a luxury in the past, however they are perhaps no longer described as such nowadays.
In addition, advancements in processor speeds and graphics capabilities allowed developers to create more immersive and realistic games that could take advantage of the full range of emotions and engagement levels that players experience. And with more people playing games on their commutes or while waiting in line, there was also a growing demand for bite-sized or multiplayer games that could be enjoyed in short bursts.
All of these factors combined to create a perfect storm for mobile gaming’s meteoric rise.
Final Thoughts
Who would have thought that such a humble beginning would lead to such massive success? But that is exactly what happened with mobile gaming in the 2010s. Thanks to smartphones, app stores, and some innovative thinking from developers, mobile gaming has become one of the most popular pastimes around the world. Indeed, it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so we should expect the mobile gaming industry to boom even further in decades to come.
