Man, I am sick and tired of hearing this nonsensical argument that John Doe prefers mobile games to official handheld console games because they are cheaper. You know what I’m talking about; the guy or gal on Twitter, message boards, Facebook or comment sections yelling about how the iPhone or Android Marketplaces are so much better for games because the games cost so much less.
I hate that argument. It’s just… wrong.
For the sake of clarity: Mobile Games are iPhone and Android games; Handheld Games are Nintendo DS and Sony PSP games.
Look, hear me out here. I get that there is this nice affordable charm to gaming on your phone (or MP3 player). I, too, love booting up the App Store and finding a great $.99 ditty to waste some time on. I may get days and days of mileage out of the game, or I may get a few hours. I came in, I dropped a buck and then I walked away happy.
But you’ll never, ever see me spouting off some madness about how much better gaming on mobile devices is than proper handhelds because of the software prices. DS and PSP games are, typically, far and away larger, better and more pleasing titles than you’ll find on your phones.
You might be prepping your argument cannon with something like this: “Most games on the DS and PSP suck…”
Sure, the libraries may be stacked in favor of less than mediocre titles like Imagine: Poniez, or whatever. But so are the App Store and Android Marketplace. In fact, the quality control in those locations is so ludicrous that you’re likely to find some of the worst games being made today on your phones.
Maybe an analogy will help prove my point. What people are saying when they compare the prices and quality of handheld games and phone games is absurd. It’s like saying, “Forget gourmet restaurants, McDonald’s sells burgers for a dollar!”
That’s ridiculous! Yes, you’re still going to eat at McDonald’s, but you’d never give up incredible food simply because there are cheaper options in front of you.
Show me a game like this on your iPhone.
If you’re at a point in your life when you can only afford the cheaper titles on phone marketplaces, that’s completely understandable. But you simply can’t go running into Internet communities yelling about how much better phone gaming is because of the price.
The two are just different. They are uniquely independent. Just like Wendy’s and that 75 year old Italian restaurant down the street. Two entirely different restaurants that can only be linked in, really, one area: they both serve food.
Mobile games and handheld games can be linked by the fact that they both provide interactive entertainment. Beyond that, the two should never even be compared.
