Is Mobile Gaming as Good as Playing on a PC or Console?

Is Mobile Gaming as Good as Playing on a PC or Console?

The gaming landscape in 2023 is better than it has ever been. The industry has come a long way over the years, evolving into the diverse arena that it is today. Just a couple of decades ago, things were very different. You only had a couple of different platforms you could play on and all of them required you to buy pricey titles to enjoy content. 

Playing on the go was a difficult affair, too. If you used your mobile phone, you’d be limited to a tiny, usually monochrome, screen and had to press the number buttons to control what was happening. Alternatively, if you wanted a console-quality video game, you needed to buy a dedicated portable console which would set you back several hundred pounds. 

Today, however, things are very different. You have a pocket-sized computer that you carry with you each day that has more power than the legendary PlayStation 2 console and can run games which you'd ordinarily find on a PC or contemporary console. 

Improved battery life, high-speed 5G internet connections, vibrant displays, and touchscreen controls all help to make the mobile gaming experience much better today than it has ever been. 


Of course, there are some trade-offs for playing on the go versus on a more traditional platform. But does this degrade the overall experience?


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Graphics

The 4K graphics with ray-tracing lighting effects are simply not achievable on mobile devices and it is likely that portability will always come at the cost of a relative degradation in graphics when you’re playing the most recent AAA titles. This is because it takes time for hardware companies to create smaller versions of the latest technologies. So, what we see in the PlayStation 5 today could take another five or 10 years to appear in a smartphone

However, there are plenty of games where graphics are not going to be affected. For example, platformer games like Mario are just as good on mobile devices as they are on Nintendo’s Switch console. 


Similarly, the graphics of card games like poker are not affected on mobile devices. Many of the leading platforms like PokerStars offer mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices that contain the same features and graphics as their desktop software.


Therefore, at least in regards to graphics, the answer to the question of whether playing on mobile is as good as playing on a PC or console depends on the types of games that you want to play. 


Variety

Mobile gamers have, by far, the most variety when it comes to the games that they can play, at least without resorting to using emulators to enjoy titles from 40 years ago. Both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store have over a million different titles in them, with even more available to play through your web browser. 

In contrast, owners of the PlayStation 5 have only a few hundred different native titles that they can enjoy. Therefore, in this case, mobile gaming is better, unless there are specific titles you want to play that are only available on other platforms.


Features and Quality

The features of mobile games have evolved dramatically over the last decade. In many instances, mobile games are comparable in size, quality, and number of features to their console and computer counterparts. 

For example, players of Fortnite can find the same game on iOS as they can on the Xbox Series X. They can even move between devices to play with the same maps and features. Fortnite is also a leader in providing cross-platform multiplayer support, allowing players of the mobile game to compete against their friends, regardless of whether they’re on another smartphone, a tablet, an Xbox, or a computer. 


Other games, such as the mobile versions of the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, are also comparable on mobile as they are on platforms like Steam and the Rockstar Games Launcher. 


This is, of course, dependent on the game you’re playing but the general trend is for the gap between platforms to close up, creating a much more equal playing field. 

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