There is conflict in the gaming world these days. The more time passes, more and more people start playing games on their smartphones.
By 2021, the mobile game market will already account for almost 50% of total video game revenue. Almost 50% of every penny spent in the gaming world is on a mobile game. When including tablets as well, the number exceeds 50%.
This makes anyone think: “wow, E3 2021 must have been full mobile”.
It was quite the opposite.
Mobile, the “made duckling” of gaming events?
It's been a while since mobile games have caused a stir at any gaming event.
Just remember the repercussion of the fateful Blizzcon in which Diablo Immortal was announced.
The confusion and aversion to the title, on the part of the fans, was so great, that Blizzard even seems to have postponed the game indefinitely (although we know that it comes out this year).
The lesson seems to have been learned.
Developers have learned not only not to advertise their mobile games at events, but to hide any mention of the word mobile.
That's what Microsoft did with xCloud.
About 30 games have been announced for Game Pass and xCloud, but the publisher has made a point of not emphasizing that they can be played on mobile. xCloud was mentioned as a small footnote.
Square Enix one of the few to show mobile games at E3
One of the only producers to show mobile games at the event was Square Enix.
The producer showed the already revealed Final Fantasy VII First Soldier, a Battle Royale that is already in beta test and that we have already tested it. If you haven't played the game yet, you can test it through this link.
We also had the “revelation”, which we have already posted here, that Nier Reincarnation will arrive in the west in 2021.
But the novelty would come with the announcement of the “pixel-remasters” of Final Fantasy 1 or 6.
Recently, Square Enix renamed Final Fantasy III and IV on Google Play and App Store as “3D remake”.
And that's it, but nothing has been announced for mobile.
Pixel Remaster will definitely be based on work that Square, and I think 90% of 2D JRPG developers are currently making, which are 2.5D games (3D with 2D gameplay) with a gorgeous pixel shading and lighting footprint.
See an example to illustrate this would be the remake of Dragon Quest III made by Square itself.
How long will the "rage" against mobile?
I even understand that many console and PC gamers are uncomfortable with mobile games being featured at major events.
Even more so when much of what is presented is always games that seek to profit easily from the immense ocean of money and in-app purchases that exist in mobile games. You can be sure, it's more the fault of the producers' "bad touch" than the developers and the public that plays on mobile.
It's a cultural issue. In the West, there is this resistance to mobile games. However, in countries like China and Japan, this resistance is much lower. It's no wonder that developers in these regions have done better at converting gamers' yearnings for games into increasingly immersive games.
“E3 Mobile” already exists, but not in the United States… Events like NetEase Connect 2021, Spark More (Tencent), LPG 2021 (Line Games) and many others that are held in China and South Korea.
With information from: GameIndustry.
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