Mobile games continues to have a huge presence in the industry, but it seems AAA developers still haven’t realized what this fanbase wants. Games like Resident Evil 4 remake and Death Stranding have bombed on iPhone iOS, showing that mobile players don’t want “real” games on their phones.
A report from Mobilegamer.biz reveals that these “real games” have not done well on these high-end Apple devices, selling rather poorly. While these titles do have “free” download options, players need to unlock them by paying $49.99, which is too much for this consumer base.
Even though games like the Resident Evil 4 remake and Death Stranding are critically acclaimed, they aren’t built for mobile. Those who play mobile games on their cellphones want simple titles that can kill time, like Squad Busters or Zenless Zone Zero. Sure, these games can last a bit long, but their missions are bite-sized and the stories don’t matter that much.
It’s a similar mistake publishers made when iPhones were starting to get big with games like Temple Run and Cut the Rope. Publishers thought that gaming was moving to phones and many of them tried to bring their titles to these devices. Unfortunately, they did so without realizing the appeal of mobile gaming, which is why weird outliers like Street Fighter 4 on mobile are still around.
Simpler mobile games have done well, with the Sonic and Sonic 2 ports from Christian Whitehead doing good. In fact, SEGA has released a number of their simpler Genesis games for free on mobile, with payment only needed to get rid of ads. Hopefully, these publishers realize this soon, since no one wants to play Death Stranding for 50+ hours on their phone, even with controller accessories.
Anyone who wants to play Resident Evil 4 remake or Assassin’s Creed Mirage can do so on a current-gen system like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. Mobile game fans who want to play these titles on a handheld can do so through Valve’s Steam Deck or other PC handhelds.