Mobile vs PC gaming: which is best?

PC gaming has been one of the most popular types of video gaming for ages. In the last decade, however, mobile games have shot to the top of the gaming market. Mobile gaming now makes up nearly 60% of the gaming market and is expected to keep growing. Can PC games compete with that kind of popularity? What is it that makes mobile games so appealing to so many people, many of whom have never had much interest in video games before?

Expense

The average PC game runs between $30 and $60. This can be a big investment for some, especially if you’re not positive you’ll enjoy a game before you buy it. Other PC games, such as World of Warcraft, require a monthly subscription to be able to play. PC games are, however, not always expensive – Steam games and indie games are often available at lower prices.

Mobile games often don’t require the same kind of initial financial investment that PC games do. Many mobile games are free to download and play but may have premium content that can be purchased to make gameplay go faster or to make certain levels easier. These sorts of small charges can add up without you noticing and can quickly lead to the game becoming more expensive than just buying a PC game. This is especially concerning when children have access to mobile games on their parents’ phones and don’t understand that the money they are spending is real. It has become such a big issue that Apple now includes “unauthorized child purchase” as a reason for disputing a charge. With these issues in mind, maybe just buying a game outright isn’t such a bad idea.

The real cost difference between PC and mobile gaming is allied to the gaming system. Few people consider buying a phone simply for its ability to run games and even fewer people have a second phone just for gaming. The majority of people own a smartphone for communication and also use it to play games. For serious PC gamers, however, a dedicated gaming PC is a must. Depending on the hardware, these computers can cost anywhere from $750 to $2,500, with some of the most advanced costing upwards of $4,000. This is a serious outlay that can act as a barrier to new gamers.

Accessibility

For people who didn’t grow up playing PC games, learning how to play them can be overwhelming. There are just so many keys and commands and buttons and shortcuts, and it’s easy to get frustrated and give up before you’ve even really started to play. For PC gamers, the complexity is part of the fun. There is a significant amount of skill involved in getting good at many PC games and that is an appealing aspect to some people. Mobile games are more accessible to a wider audience because they are much simpler to play – for most games, you only need to use a single finger. Mobile games can still require a lot of skill to master but they are ultimately far less complicated.

Online casino games, for example, don’t require any special skills to play and tend to be optimized for smaller screens. You might need to brush up on the rules if you’re going to attempt to play a live casino hand of poker so you can tell your Royal Flush from your Full House but the actual gameplay mechanics are easy to understand. Countries such as Finland, which has a staggering 98% smartphone penetration, see their audiences catered for via mobile-based entertainment. Betsson casino offers a huge range of slot machine games and table games, all of which are straightforward to understand and easy to play.

Community

Much like the film industry, the gaming world has a serious problem with sexism and misogyny. The issue is more extreme in console gaming but is still a concern in PC gaming. As long as gaming is seen as a ‘guy thing’ the problem will continue. Mobile games are less affected by this issue because they attract such a diverse audience. Of course, grandma might get a bit sassy when she’s playing Words with Friends but she’s unlikely to be hurling abuse at her competitors. With such a wide variety of games, it is easy for people to find a mobile gaming community that they feel comfortable in.

Mobile games and PC games both have their own positives and negatives. They appeal to different audiences and which is best really just depends on who you ask and what you value about gaming. Some people like Coke and some like Pepsi, maybe it’s the same with PC games and mobile games – it’s just a matter of taste.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)