From last year’s feverish success of Pokemon Go to the consolidation of an array of mobile gaming trends in adult entertainment, VR, AR, and social gaming, we have already passed through an overwhelming range of trends.
But that was last year. Now, industry expert Keval Padia picks the top six trends that are going to dominate mobile gaming in near future.
1) VR game hardware will be more affordable than ever
Virtual Reality as an immersive gaming technology just starting to catch on, and shortly we can expect more widespread adoption as hardware manufacturers and game developers proactively work to make VR games more affordable.
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VR is popular because of the immersive gaming experience it offers. But VR is too expensive for the average gamer. Buying VR game hardware for playing at home requires at least a few thousand dollars, and needless to say, most gamers just cannot afford it, which is one reason that contributes to its inexpressibly slow adoption rate.
The cost alone is the biggest obstacle to the popularity of VR games; however, as mobile gaming experiences are continuing to integrate with multichannel gaming experiences, offering affordable VR gaming experiences will be crucial to the success of the majority of mobile game developers.
As VR game hardware makers are taking positive steps to slash prices, we can see VR games to be more affordable in the near future. This may result in an influx of VR mobile games that can be played across different devices.
2) Game analytics will continue to remain in focus
As the mobile gaming scene is continuing to thrive with competitive battles across all niches — grabbing attention, acquisition, engaging players, and retaining them have become more challenging than ever. Most of the game developers these days publish a series of games with the hope of ensuring a few hits. To make games profitable with a proper and effective monetization drive, they need to keep a close tap on the data analytics concerning the actual game players themselves. In the coming year, this focus on game data analytics will continue to prove crucial for the success of mobile games.
While providing highly customized and tailored gaming experiences can be crucial to making a game charming and lucrative for the majority of players, developers are now leaning towards a more granular-level analysis and micro-level segmentation based on the behavior of gamers. While there will be more focus on the personalized gaming experience, game analytics will pave the way for it.
3) Physical collaboration and wearables
Virtual reality in gaming continues to evolve with new gadgets and interfaces that pave the way for more physical collaboration and active game playing that involves both aptitude and physical reflexes.
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This trend of collaborative and more physical game playing with the real-time movement of hands and feet will continue to thrive in the coming months.
Besides, physical participation and collaboration will take on a new level with virtual reality games available to play in groups rather than alone. Sporting VR headsets several players can take on a single multiplayer game at the same time. To add more spice to this collaborative game experience, VR can extend to many home gadgets and new wearable gadgets.
4) Game graphics will continue to hold key
The CPUs and GPUs of your smartphones are continuing to be more powerful and robust. Thanks to the most sophisticated displays with optimum graphic processing capabilities, your games receive an automatic visual boost on the latest mobile devices.
As device displays continue to be enriched, game graphics need to be more stunning, fluid and beautiful. The life-like quality of game graphics will continue to hold the key for mobile game apps in the time to come. Game graphics will be the single most important factor to stand out competitively. An immersive gaming experience consists of two important things, great game graphics with top notch game mechanics.
5) eSports will continue to flourish
eSports or the digital versions of real-life sports are still a popular niche for fans and followers of popular players and sports icons. Several market types of research are claiming this to be a silent killer in the gaming industry with an unprecedented level of growth awaiting.
As per the estimation of SuperData Research, the game market will reach $1.9 billion by the end of 2018. Apart from active game playing, eSport apps will garner a passive audience amounting to hundreds of millions. The endorsement of star players of the game with the eSport apps of their games is already an established phenomenon that will continue to thrive in the coming months.
6) A multichannel approach will be crucial
In spite of the unprecedented growth of mobile gaming, the game apps will no longer be limited to the mobile devices. Gaming apps are going to be made available across a whole diversity of gadgets including consoles, wearables, smart TVs, and other devices. As gaming is going to be a more competitive industry, the multichannel approach will continue to proliferate in the time to come.
To conclude
We must say that game monetization will experience more focus on the creative rendering of game ads. Free to play games have to find more creative ways to include in-game monetization.
Something we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
