Mobile Phone Games
The Citizen Soapbox is an area where we throw out topics to the users of Citizen Game. When we record the podcast on Sunday night we take the previous week’s Soapbox answers and use them in our own discussions. We think it’s a great way of involving you guys in our stupid arguments!
The Setup:
Nokia have finally pulled the plug on sidetalkin’ with the news that their dropping their gaming, mobile phone; N-Gage. It does beg the question, what ever happened to mobile gaming? In the early 2000’s, gaming mobile phones were heralded as the future, with millions of pounds pumped into the research and developed of several failed platforms. In reality, the present day mobile gaming industry is dominated by Nintendo and Sony’s handheld consoles, and Apples iPhone, arguably more of a pocket-PC than a telecommunications device. So, did anybody ever really buy mobile games, or was it an industry built on invisable foundations?
The Question:
Have you ever bought a mobile game, for a standard (non-iPhone) mobile phone?
If you did, then what was it, and was it any good?
Podcaster Dale brought his iPhone to Leipzig Games Convention. He should have left it there
Snake FTW. No…wait. Snake 2 FTW. Yeah.
I was just thinking about this today as I sat for two hours waiting for my flight. I don’t have an iPhone, primarily because I really dislike apple products, so my mobile gaming platform is essentially a standard mobile phone.
So, as I endured an extruciating hangover at the Aer Lingus gate, I thought I’d give the Tetris demo that came with my phone a lash (if only to avoid the deploring gaze of the man sat opposite me). Within an hour I’d bought the full game and was setting high score after high score, cursing the fact that I’d have to turn my phone off during the flight.
This is the niche that mobile phone gaming should have never have have deviated from. It’s never going to be able to realistically compete with dedicated mobile gaming platforms such as the DS and PSP. Mobile phone gaming is, by definition, a secondary function and should align itself as such.
People don’t set out to play mobile games, they are compelled to do so by boredom. Unsophistication is key. When I crack out my phone I want the game’s simplicity to match that of the limited controls and display. I want to play Snake, Minesweeper, Tetris. Bitesize games for bitesize gaming sessions.
You know another one?
I bought the mobile version of an old Amiga game Rick Dangerous once. The controls were totally busted so if you help down a button it wouldnt work after the previous animation. Made the boulder-dodging sections a bloody nightmare. Once bitten, twice shy. I never bought another mobile phone game.
It seems that every ginger in the world has an N-Gage.