Consoles will control less than half of the UK games market this year

The success of PS4 and Xbox One hasn’t managed to beat back mobile’s growing dominance of the games market, says research firm Newzoo.

[bunt-custardly]

Who cares, I just wanna play great games.

[DarkOcelet]

You really should care unless you want developers and publishers making more games on the Mobile and less on the consoles.

Thats really bad news. Hopefully it increases from here on out.

[bunt-custardly]

More people own mobile phones these days but that doesn't mean a massive exodus to the mobile platform imo.

and maybe we get more quality on consoles then and less remasters and rubbish.

To add, I can dig playing games on mobiles too. As a gamer the platform doesn't matter to me as long as all bases are covered.

People have been spouting the doom of consoles with the arrival of mobile gaming for quite some time now yet here we are.

[Palitera]

Surely it will increase... The mobile share.

[someOnecalled]

Actually I want better games on mobile I'm not always stuck in the house. And when I'm out and about I do have moments when I like to play some mobile games. I like how people call themselves gamers but shun mobile games. I want better mobile games I'm not going hate on the potential of it. People here praising remaster but don't appreciate ports to mobile platform. I got final fanasty and GTA sa on my phone I barely even play it on my ps3, but when Im on the move and have a boring down time I can relax and play for a little.

Gamers ain't even gamers anymore they shun anything that's not on their console preference.

[hay]

If every publisher is slowly doing the "mobile is teh futurz" then it's pretty 1+1 that there's going to be a decline. What's curious is the revenue rise despite the share drop. It contradicts what they BS us about.

[KeplerNoMore]

Unless you are only playing the Candy Crush Saga clones or Clash of Clans ones, then its fine for you, but for the rest of us who buy platforms, upgrade PCs, its not really ok. I guess i will be playing Candy Crush on my Win10 OculusDK2 PC because CANDY CRUSH IN VR OOOOOMMMMGGG

[Ocsta]

Mobile gaming is a scourge and I hate it with every fiber of my being. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

[Maddens Raiders]

Amen.

[Malacath]

Agreed. Mobile games are all about advertising and putting viruses on your phone. Can't stand them.

[fiveby9]

I am not very interested in mobile gaming given the current technology. I am not sure the point of the article? More low end automobiles are sold than high end vehicles too. That doesn't mean there isn't a strong market for luxury or performance cars. If a person wants to slum it on mobile at the expense of pc or console fine by me. But I have always felt the two markets service vastly different needs. For someone on the go alot then a mobile game is great. This only proves the pie has grown not that it is merely divided up differently.

[NuggetsOfGod]

Android Master Race!

console peasants will never catch down to us!

[DarkOcelet]

Seriously :/

if you said PC MASTER RACE!

I would be like, ok cool. But android, really?

[sonic989]

it might happen we cant predict it as of now .
even sony is gearing towards the PS now and focusing on clouds.
lol PCs are no master race by the way dont know who is the loser who felt so insecure to use that term .

[Clunkyd]

The "PC master race" is just PC fanboys that feel insecure because they feel they're left out for the reason that consoles get a whole lot more attention.

[Hellsvacancy]

Mobile gaming baffles me, my missis for example, she hates me gaming, she doesn't see the point in it (story driven games etc)

Buuuuuut it's ok for her to play Sim City on her iPhone "you play your Playstation for 3 hours straight sometimes" as to which I reply "yeahhh, but you play on you phone throughout the day, you probably spend more time gaming than I do"

[bunt-custardly]

Can't we all just get along. Why the them and us?

[Hellsvacancy]

People have been saying that for centuries buddy, it's our primal instinct to have conflict with the lesser species

I don't make up the rules otherwise we'll all be high and happy

[SaveFerris]

@Hellsvacancy

Do you mean women or mobile phone users who play games? /s

jk

[Hellsvacancy]

Man they're gonna kill your comment, two things i've learnt about N4G, don't make fun of Nintendo users and don't make fun of women

[Halo2ODST2]

Because mobile games are tiny and half assed

[n4rc]

ive never understood this debate or whatever you call it..

mobile gaming taking over.. what exactly? every person that spends 0.99 on angry birds or sudoku is now compared to people dropping $70 on games?

"mobile gaming" is not even close to console or PC gaming in any regard imo

[cartoonx1]

well if u actually play some mobile games, there are tons of ppl spending grands of $ on those f2p mobile games. some of those developers arent dumb to adopt mobile development without any benefits. there are really huge profit.

[Nodoze]

How can it be a HUGE profit center for developers. Apple takes 30% right off the top. Sure there are fees for both MS and Sony, but I highly doubt it is anywhere near 30% to release a game on their platform.

I just don't get it.

[n4rc]

well no, i understand that... i watched south park lol

what im saying is comparing the two sectors is like apples and oranges... literally millions of people will buy a game like angry birds and simply play it on the bus or on break at work (or the shitter lol)..

those people arent really "gamers" and are not competition for consoles or PC gaming..

[hennessey86]

I hope gaming doesn't go mobile, I fear that consoles will go that way and PC will be the only true gaming platform left. Mobile gaming is where the money is and companies will follow the cash. Its sad to think, But I honestly believe we will only have a maximum of one more genuine home console generation if that.

[comebackkid9891]

PC is riddled with F2P and microtransactions, not to mention forces in the industry (Gabe, Cliffy B, etc.) abandoning traditional game design. A falling tide drops all ships.

[EvilWay]

That is because it's free to play on PC. I don't like F2P but. I understand why they are big on PC. Consoles should not have any F2P

[comebackkid9891]

@evilway

Thank pc gamers for allowing it to become the norm.

[Rob_Ko]

Actually consoles are the last bastion of traditional AAA gaming, with phisical discs, gaming stores etc.
There are probably 100 times more f2p microtransaction games on PC than consoles, take off that rose colored master race glasses

[Manubiggs]

Mobile gmaing is fun for 5 minutes ... it seemed fresh and exciting 5 years ago when I first got an iphone with Angry Birds .. but then I went back to a deeper gaming experience and got a Vita for the time inbetween. Can't remember the last time I played a game on my phone or tablet(unless it was a companion app like the ones for Black Flag or Watchdogs), but clearly I'm in the minority.

[Kurisu]

5 minutes* is all that phone batteries last when playing games xD

The *only* mobile game that I have ever purchased was Final Fantasy III and it sucked the life out of my S4.

*slight exaggeration...but not far off =p

[cartoonx1]

but its not the same case with mobile gaming thn it was few years back. there have been some quality games released, also many companies porting their games to mobile. almost every genre of game can be found in mobile platform now. personally i dont like it, no point playing HD games on 5 inch screen.

[stuna1]

Not only that, many of the ported games are watered down versions of their PC/Console counterparts. Many of the control schemes are in my opinion half-baked and a chore to master and a large majority have transitioned over to ply to win schemes with many relying on a constant Internet connection.

[stuna1]

I don't think this will be a continuing trend, this year maybe, but we're talking about a fairly new console generation here! And like all markets saturation plays a big role as to what dominates. Mobile gaming is what's popular now, but as time progresses and with proper and popular game releases the consoles will start muscling in on some of gaming market.

There will always be fluctuations.

[Antifan]

Mobile gaming is a very half-baked, temporary occurrence in entertainment. It's un-innovative, and does nothing to progress virtual worlds that we interact with. It just teases us, and gives no fulfillment at the end unlike a story-driven AAA title. People will realize this, and call for better quality games.
It's sad that all game companies see are charts and numbers. They don't understand gamers, better yet, they don't understand people.

[uth11]

they are like completely different markets

mobile is very casual, very fickle, and loaded to the brims with shovel ware. I don't see a 'mobile gamer' identity who can't wait to get their hands on the newest mobile games. It seems like it would be hard to guarantee a hit in that market.

Plus I think it's ripe for a crash
Fad + Shovelware + Casuals is the formula that caused the early 80s crash and sank the Wii.

[yankolo]

The only ones playing on there phones are my wife and my kid ...but i dont think a console or pc gamer will ever play on his phone ....or pay for a phone game jejej

[comebackkid9891]

I <3 when console gamers get blamed for this. Console gaming normalized F2P while PC had no hand in it.

[Confickercrash]

This is just the UK they're talking about. In emerging markets, a current gen console still costs less than a flagship smartphone, so buying a smartphone just for games clearly isn't an option in developing countries.

[Nodoze]

I am sick of hearing about mobile. Yes as a platform mobile phones are significant. That said the experiences are fundamentally different.

Mobile games are time wasters at best. Puzzle games, or other small distractions. Console titles are MUCH more immersive. I am growing concerned that all these companies are going to chase what they see as easy money and that console (and for that matter PC) gaming will be left in the cold.

Who will remain to make great games? When decisions are made by suits in the c suite with no concern other than $, gaming will die. We will face an issue similar to what was faced in the 80's. Only this time I don't know if anyone could save gaming (last time it was Nintendo).

I sense a crash coming.

[Protagonist]

Seems to go hand in hand with this article - http://n4g.com/news/1726689...

[clouds5]

The big problem for me is that mobile gaming is not about quality. I've really tried gaming with my phone for a while and even bought a gamepad for it etc. The best mobile games are old console games played through an emulator. Those are quality games.
But all these plucked together free to play bullshit (excuse me but it's true) mobile titles are not even worth your time. I've basically just given up on playing mobile games or even looking in the play store for them...

Note: there are wonderful exceptions that are absolutely amazing. The quell series and the room 1&2 come to mind.

[Articuno76]

Erm, are we talking market share or actual sales numbers? Because last I checked these consoles were selling the fastest they'd ever had in recorded console sales history. Hardly cause of concern!

The mobile market is booming. Good for it.

[rezzah]

Once consoles cease to exist then I will stop gaming, unless they manage to use mobile as a method to replace consoles (transfer image to screen and use a separate controller).

Basically making home consoles mobile.