Will the mobile/tablet gaming bubble burst?

[Segatarious1]

You may not have even noticed, but not long ago Facebook gaming was slated to be the next big thing in gaming, many game makers jumped in , but when they tried to monetize their games, the buyers shrugged, the market collapsed. Zynga was the face of this stunning collapse  :

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-24-ea-finds-no-joy-in-zyngas-collapse-reckons-social-gaming-was-overhyped

"I think it just got a little overhyped. And now the demise is being overhyped the opposite way. I still think there's a strong place for social gaming. I think a lot of social gaming is moving mobile. We feel well positioned to take advantage of that. And people shouldn't read too much into whatever is going on with Zynga." - Peter Moore  EA Exec

But how stable will mobile gaming prove to be? How much will people pay? How many will buy one or two apps, get bored, and never click and pay again? How many people download the 'free' game, look at the ridiculous EA dlc options, and laugh?

EA is going all out to strong arm the market, but EA has been fading for some time now. They pay out big time for licenses to some of their most popular games do not forget, the EA football monopoly is more of a boon for the NFL and Players Association than EA.....the NFL has nothing to lose in that deal.....



Look at that, the great gaming giant EA, with 966 Apps on iOS....amazing. Gameloft, which has always been a low rent, low effort fad game maker, next with 261.....it is no wonder EA is having another round of layoffs (EA Mobile Montreal is now done)- how much crap can you throw at the wall and still hope to get a return on investment? I should track their top revenue producing games, but this is flat out desperation.

What kind of future does EA have? If the next XBOX struggles, do they have a back up plan? Should be another fun year of gaming to watch.

[Blueguy1]

Hmm.......this style of writing seems awfully familiar....quoting websites, mentioning EA....I could've sworn I've seen this somewhere before...

NOPE! Doesn't ring a bell at all if you ask me!

[Pacman0001]

The mobile market may be in for a crash, but what of that?  Most new markets experience a period of explosive growth followed by a crash with only the strongest companies surviving.  The internet market had one in the early 2000's. The home computer and video game markets had one in the 80's.  The automotive industry had one too, way back in the early 20th century.  This is merely what happens before a market matures. 

[Greisha1]

Netscape is the way to get online. Or is it AOL?

I'm guessing the mobile/tablet market will stay around as long as there are mobile phones and tablets. Zynga (and most Facebooky game makers) basically had a crappy business model. 

Also, kinda funny how you brought Xbox into the discussion. What are we talking about?

[Rev1]

I would be quite happy if EA lost a bit of its power in the market but I really don't think that will happen anytime soon. They are really good at finding ways to squeeze money out of people that other companies quickly adopt, after EA proves they work.

[Segatarious1]

[QUOTE=Pacman000]The mobile market may be in for a crash, but what of that?  Most new markets experience a period of explosive growth followed by a crash with only the strongest companies surviving.  The internet market had one in the early 2000's. The home computer and video game markets had one in the 80's.  The automotive industry had one too, way back in the early 20th century.  This is merely what happens before a market matures. [/QUOTE]

That is an interesting idea - a 'market correction' could drive out and 'punish' the EA's of the mobile world, perhaps reward fair and transparent pricing and make greater the chance of the market rewarding quality software.

Because none of those qualities are on iOS today, and that makes for poor software which makes for poor experiences.

[Sut1]

As one of the few people who admits to liking iOS games despite the humongous amount of sales they are producing. I do agree that there will eventually be a 'market correction' as mentioned earlier. I do however believe phone/tablet gaming is here to stay. But is it any different to watching films and TV program's on your mobile/tablet ? Those industries seem to be bracing the phone/tablet wave whereas some in the gaming sector seem to be kicking against it, don't understand the issues iOS and Android are viable gaming platforms, I've had just as much fun playing GTA 3 and Vay on my iphone as I did on the original hardware and new games designed for the platform like Infinity Blade and Angry Birds are as good as anything on 'true' gaming platforms.

[darkrage61]

No market is too big to fail, so I believe mobile gaming will have a crash of sorts one of these days.  Personally I don't enjoy playing games on a phone, it's just too awkward for me, phones just do not make for good controllers IMO.

[Algus1]

I really enjoy gaming on my tablet and I suspect that as long as tablets remain popular there will be game support for them.  I'm less interested in gaming on my phone but I do like the fact that anything I pick up for my tablet can potentially run on my phone.  I own a bluetooth gamepad for my tablet and use it for most of my emulation these days.   Although there are some simple phone games I really enjoy (like Temple Run).  Zen Pinball HD is my pinball game of choice right now as well, though I'd rather have paid a few bucks out of the box and gotten several boards then been stuck with a single table and have to buy each other table.   

What I am not a big fan of are big microtransaction games.  I'd be more than happy if those blow up and disappear.   

[Astrosmasher1]

it is funny for all my games I do not have any on my mobile
I have two on my tablet, fruit ninja... fun for five minutes
and some game where you jump over stuff neither of which I have paid for nor will...

the jumping game keeps saying get golden coins to unlock the next level but ... it is not that great....