A mobile game is actually a video game, which is usually played on a mobile device. The term also applies to any games that are played via any other portable device, for instance, with an iPhone, iPod Touch, Nintendo Wii, portable media player or even graphing calculator. The latter examples just happen to be the most common when talking about this device.
However, even when comparing video games versus mobile games, it should also be noted that they play on different platforms. Video games for smart phones operate using the iOS and Android operating systems. Mobile games based on other platforms operate using different devices like Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, etc. So the comparison is not absolute as to which one of these can be considered as a true competitor to the iPhone and the iPad.
However, this doesn’t mean that mobile games can’t have an effect on the gaming industry at large. As more people are now relying on their mobile phones to access the Internet, they are doing so at a much faster rate than those who have not. This means that there will be a greater opportunity for companies to cash in on this market and earn more from in-app purchases, or as some refer to it, “pay per play.” In fact, this has already started to happen through several companies who offer gaming opportunities for real money.
One of the advantages of the premium model is that it provides a cheaper way to access gaming content. Unlike with the popular free-to-play model, many mobile games offered for premium are completely free of charge. Thus, not only do users get a lot of entertainment value for their money, they can also save quite a bit since most apps that use premium pricing models don’t cost any more than their counterparts with other payment models.
The second option that many companies are using with premium mobile games is pay per play. This means that a company or website that offers mobile games that require a certain amount of real money can also ask users to make a monthly subscription for access. Users then can choose to buy a certain number of virtual units or points that can be used on their in-game purchases. Each time they make a purchase, the corresponding unit or point is refunded to them. As a result, they don’t pay any initial charges and therefore gain more from the premium mobile games than they would if they had chosen to play for free.
Of course, not all mobile games these days are available for download via infrared connection. Many games today still require players to be connected via a computer in order to enjoy them. However, most of them now come freematically downloaded via smartphones and tablet computers. By using these apps, mobile operators are able to keep their costs as low as possible while still promoting new in-app purchases and providing a variety of entertainment options for their customers.
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