10 years ago, mobile gaming can be seen as something to kill time; games like Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, and the now-gone Flappy Bird are nothing more than just your usual casual games. There are also emulators that are available for smartphones that can make you relive nostalgic memories while playing Pokemon Emerald as a 10-year old. But times have indeed changed– as more and more games are available for smartphones, the demand for higher-end smartphones has also raised the requirements for mobile gaming. Games like Mobile Legends, Wild Rift, and even offbeat foreign games like Arknights, Genshin Impact, and Azur Lane needed to be played on higher-end phones.
As of late, huge manufacturers that are well-known for their gaming PCs like Razer and Asus ROG have all entered into the smartphone market with an intent to give gamers a good mobile gaming experience. Companies like Xiaomi, Nubia, and Honor have all released their respective gaming smartphones as well. Though, that still begs the question: why would they release these, and what’s the end game for all that’s involved?
A Specific Target Market (and so much more)
I’ll give you a minute to think about what all of these companies have in common.
Figured it out yet?
Spoiler alert for those of you that still haven’t, they’re all Chinese companies that are primarily charging the Chinese market head-on. This isn’t something new, as many companies love the Chinese market. Fun fact, Jaguar and Audi specifically make Chinese-exclusive cars in order to earn more.
A whitepaper released by the China Digital Entertainment Industry Annual Summit revealed that the Chinese market made almost $14.6 billion in mobile gaming revenues alone, which is twice what the United States has posted in the same year. Tencent’s hit mobile game Arena of Valor has almost 200 million users with an outstanding 80 million daily active users. The release of outstanding mobile games like PUBG Mobile, Fortnite, and Genshin Impact has also given rise to a higher demand of gaming smartphones, too. All of these games are both big in China and require more than your regular smartphone to fully enjoy as well.
Trickle-Down Effect
Video games have come a long way from just being a method to kill time. There are now competitive series for almost every mainstream PC game that you could think of; games like DOTA 2, League of Legends, PUBG, and Overwatch have an almost cult following of competitive players.
This, in turn, produces a trickle-down effect on mobile gaming as well. Games like Wild Rift, Call Of Duty Mobile, and PUBG Mobile have their own respective competitive series. E-sports are now huge in all aspects, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down any time soon. The rise of competitive mobile gaming would drive more people to buy higher-end smartphones as well.
This would always result in higher sales for manufacturers as well. Though gaming phones are generally priced higher than their mid-range phones due to their higher hardware specifications, they’d still make more money from it. It’s a win-win for both the gamers and the manufacturers, as gamers could play their favorite games with their phones, and manufacturers can still make money from it.
They’re More Than Just Phones
Yes, you could always save up a bit more to buy something like a Samsung Galaxy S20 or even an iPhone 10. But don’t forget that gaming smartphones are more than just smartphones; they’re much, much more than that. They provide a smooth gaming experience to everyone involved as well. Yes, Samsung can also run those games with no problem at all. But, it’s all fun and games right up to the point where it inevitably overheats and becomes way, way too hot for you to actually hold your phone.
That is where gaming smartphones come it. Almost all of them come with their own liquid cooling systems which would help when things get too hot. They also come with their own gaming peripherals that would make mobile gaming that much more comfortable for you as well. Gaming smartphones always have the leg up on regular phones than regular phones if all you ever wanted in life is to play games on your mobile phone.
Unapologetic And Different
Almost all of these gaming smartphones can be seen from a distance. Their unique design and beautiful highlights make them stand out from a world full of iPhones and Samsung Galaxies. The good thing about these as well as the fact that you don’t need to apologize for having them. You don’t need to continuously explain to everyone why you have it. You have it because you want to do more with your phone than send emails and respond to calls; you have it because gaming isn’t your hobby. You have it because gaming is your lifestyle. Standing out from the crowd has always been the goal, and these phones would make you stand out like a good cosplayer crossing the Shibuya Intersection.
Gaming smartphones are a great leap for phones in general. We can now do so much more in our phones other than make calls and respond to text messages. You can now connect with people with the same hobbies enjoying the same game that you do. To say that they’re promising is a bit of an understatement; they’ve shown us that mobile is the new platform for gaming. It’s gone past the point where it’s just a trend. Gaming smartphones are designed to give people that want games more choices when all they want to is to play games. They’re not just a substitute for mainstream phones, either. Their performance, specs, and design gives them a different feel and provides the mobile gamer all that they ever needed. And, for someone who loves to play games myself, that’s all I needed to hear.