Could AAA Games Come to Mobile in the Future?
GAMEFINITY.ID, Jakarta – In recent months, the mobile market has been attended by several well-known video game franchises. Call it like Apex Legends Mobile which is currently in the beta test stage. On the other hand, a JRPG franchise such as Ni No Kuni has also begun to enliven the mobile market. This is certainly a positive signal that now the mobile gaming industry has begun to be noticed by big companies.
The higher the market prospects and the development of technology, of course, the rating standards of players also increase. Many players are getting tired of the current standards of the mobile gaming industry, so they are starting to expect the latest innovations from creative industry companies to color the mobile market more. One of their big hopes is the emergence of AAA class games to be present on their platform. However, is it possible for this to happen? To find out the answer, let’s read this article further.
Warning : This paper is based on the author’s point of view and is purely an opinion that can still be developed and refuted.
This article was triggered by the habit of the author who likes to discuss in the video game community, one of which is the mobile platform community. Many of them complain about the quality of mobile video games that are getting worse from time to time. From the heyday of Gameloft, to the present, namely Tencent.
Now, they think that companies are more concerned with profitable simple video games (less development costs) than spending a lot of money on developing quality games. I have come across this complaint many times. Therefore, the author hopes that this paper is able to open a common mind to view this problem with a wider and open perspective.
Before reviewing further, it would be nice if we understand the definition of AAA first. AAA games can be considered as a classification that is devoted to a video game with a high development budget. Usually AAA games are produced by companies such as Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Rockstar Games, and other giants of the gaming industry.
AAA games usually spend a budget on a scale of 50 million USD to hundreds of millions of USD. For example, The Witcher 3, which was released by CD Projekt Red, is rumored to have consumed a budget of US$81 in three and a half years. This certainly shows how difficult it is to make video games with AAA standards.
So the question arises, is it possible for mobile developers to make games with these standards? Before moving on to a deeper topic, let’s take a look at the situation on the ground first…
Based on what I observed, today’s mobile market tends to recycle other products more often and polish it with a new layer to make it look more attractive and unique. But in fact, the feel that I get is not much different when I try to compete with these products. This of course makes me bored and not interested in exploring deeper.
Let’s just say for Battle Royale which has become a trend in the gaming industry on the mobile platform. The companies continue to market their games with this genre, then make slight changes to give the impression, “similar but not the same”. An example is the Netease company which has published a battle royale genre video game for the umpteenth time. They offer the same gameplay, but have a different polish. Players just choose which polish is more harmonious with their wishes.
On the other hand, the Korean and Chinese MMORPG industries are constantly making similar products. Basically, their games seem general, ordinary, and tend to be boring. However, they are still able to attract consumers through a variety of attractive cosmetics and graphics.
Besides all the things that I have described above, there is one important thing that I feel must be mentioned as a hallmark of the mobile industry. Yup, especially apart from a system filled with micro-transactions. Mobile players prefer free video games over paid ones. So one of the company’s strategies to survive is to add interesting content in the game as micro-transactions that can be purchased by players.
Now almost everyone holds a smartphone, both from the old and young generations. With such circumstances, it is easy for someone to get or play games as long as he has an adequate smartphone. They now do not have to have a PC or console to enjoy video games.
My observations show that many mobile game players prefer simple gameplay like MOBA, Battle Royale, and the like. The reason is, the player will be easier to adapt to master the game he is playing. Besides this, not all mobile players want to spend their money to buy additional controllers, so the role of virtual controllers is very crucial for them. They prefer a simple virtual controller on their screen.
Another thing I observed was their different financial condition. They can save more money than having to buy a PC or console device. Many games on HP can be enjoyed for free. On the other hand, premium games in the mobile market are relatively cheaper than other platforms. This certainly forms the mindset of players to prefer to save and spend money for other purposes.
But make no mistake, there are also many mobile players who are willing to spend a lot of money to top-up in free games for cosmetics and competition. They will be easier to attract through the business model. offer micro-transactions instead of full payments to enjoy their gaming experience. You could say, “slowly but surely it will benefit the company”.
Many mobile players are tempted by gacha that depends on fate. The more they lose, the more the impulse of lust to get the results they want. Let’s say you are given a special offer to get an exclusive character for a certain period. But the condition is, you have to pay and depend on luck and fate. If fate is not on your side, of course you will feel disadvantaged. But it can actually make you addicted until you really get what you want.
In the company’s business perspective, profit is very important to them. They need money to stay afloat and fund their employees. So they really make sure that before they develop and market a product, the product is desired by the market and is able to benefit the company in the long run.
Broadly speaking, mobile companies follow the wishes of most players in the market. They must fully understand the characteristics of the market they are in. Thus, there will be a reciprocal relationship that is mutually beneficial for both companies and consumers.
It is very possible. Companies may spend more money to develop higher quality video games. But unfortunately, what is developed is not necessarily in accordance with the culture inherent in mobile game players.
With higher development costs, of course, faster feedback and bigger improvements are needed. Selling products at high prices is one of the things that most mobile game players avoid. Let’s just say a game is priced at 500 thousand rupiah. Many mobile game players will certainly consider it too expensive, even though this price has become the standard price or even cheap for sales of “high development costs” video games when marketed on different platforms.
What’s more, there is now a cloud gaming service available that lets you play Triple-A games only with a stable and fast internet capital. Of course, this way is safer and saves developer costs than having to make ports or new products at high costs that may not necessarily sell well in the market.
It’s possible, big developers and publishers can make remastered versions of their old products on the mobile platform. In addition to saving more on development costs, this method has proven to be able to attract consumers as has been done by Square Enix.
You should lower your expectations of the presence of AAA games in the mobile market. But of course this does not make the mobile market a segment that can be underestimated. They have their own values that are different from other platforms.
So, what kind of game do you think deserves to be present on the mobile platform? Let me know!
Video game player and RPG enthusiast.
Post a Comment for "Could AAA Games Come to Mobile in the Future?"