Do you consider Moble games, "real games"?

Time wasters and entertainment are not the same thing. People that think they are ((like some of you have said)) need way less time on your hands, or way more time so you can actually play something good.

@JZ: You are fully within your right to not like mobile games but the things you are saying are crazy. It is crazy person talk. You can't say mobile games aren't games because of some arbitrary designation of 'entertainment' that you've come up with.

@Ben_H: Yes I know it was on mobile first but it is also on PC now (and has been for sometime). I understand the appeal of "good" mobile games but most of the time they still have tons of microtransactions (even after paying full price), terrible touch controls and they just feel like micro games that ultimately hold no real meat to the experience.

Well sorry we don't share the same opinion ios defense force man. I don't need time wasters and if money is the big problem get a job. When you have a job you can buy full priced games, you barely have intentions of playing. It's pretty awesome. Sorry I crave entertainment or something engaging rather than just time to move forward.

As of right now? No. Unless we start counting flash/browser based games as "real games," then no.

However, they definitely have the potential to be.

Why would'nt they be? They arent as fleshed out as compared to console games, but games are games.just like, say, Pong. Its a simple game, but that doesnt make it any less of a game.

@JZ: Yowza sheath those claws kitten.

They're games, but very few of them are good games.

@Ben_H said:

@frankfartmouth said:

They're as real as all the shovelware for the Wii. But since they're made to be played on a phone while sitting on a toilet in an airport, they really are missing a lot of the components normally associated with a full game.

What components are in this mythical full game?

I think most gamers would agree that iOS games and the such feel like they're missing something. You could say story, length, complexity, depth of gameplay, and all those things would be true, but you could find an exception for all of them, e.g., this game has no story but it's still fun, etc. It's hard to quantify, for sure, but as yet, I haven't played a mobile game that encourages the same level of interactivity as other games developed for more traditional platforms. Angry Birds, for instance, is very boring to me because there's really no challenge involved at all, no real skill either. It's the video equivalent of shooting rubber bands, which is fine when you're bored in class, but not so much when you have something better to do. The gameplay is way too simple and monotonous to entertain beyond very short bursts of time when there's absolutely nothing else to do, which seems to be the main purpose for their existence.

Some are better than others, it's certainly not totally cut and dry, but for the most part, mobile games are pretty different, even from regular handheld games.

Well sorry we don't share the same opinion ios defense force man. I don't need time wasters and if money is the big problem get a job. When you have a job you can buy full priced games, you barely have intentions of playing. It's pretty awesome. Sorry I crave entertainment or something engaging rather than just time to move forward.

You know you two have yet to make a pro to my con yet? You have not yet said a good thing about ios games. You've just bitched at me for not liking ios games.

@crusader8463 said:

I don't consider them to be games worth spending time with so no. There are a few exceptions, but most of them have paper thin depth to the gameplay. The biggest reason I dislike them is because I can't see them as anything more then the free flash game world most of these come from. Just because they are on phones they now have a price tag and micro transactions. It's silly to me. I never cared for free flash games before, so why should I now that they cost money and are being made to nickle and dime people?

I don't get this thought...so Tetris isn't a real game? Or Pong? Most mobile games have way more depth than what we called "games" in the 70's and 80's. And "arcades" were the first micro-transactions...you had to pay for LIVES! Imagine that?

I've never once payed for a micro-transaction and have played tons of mobile games. I mean, c'mon, what's more of a "game" Infinity Blade or Root Beer Tapper?

They're real games.

You know you two have yet to make a pro to my con yet? You have not yet said a good thing about ios games. You've just bitched at me for not liking ios games.

Mobile games seem largely intended to waste time. Or, at best, to pass the time. Real games? You make time to play that shit.

Of course they're real games. They're not games i would want to play, but neither is farmville but that's still a game.

@JZ: Haven't been bitching at you at all dude, no need to get all defensive. The best games for the platform take advantage of the strengths of the platform, yeah there's a lot of crappy freemium games, garbage facebook game ripoffs, touch control games that don't work. There's also great games like Sword & Sworcery, Hero Academy, Punch Quest, Super Hexagon, all games that work great on the platform and are great experiences. Three of those games were ported to the PC because they hold up as great experiences. Something like Hero Quest has tons of depth and strategy, a thriving community and had a ton of developer support, the devs by the way are ex Ensemble guys, the same dudes what made Age of Empires. Add to that ports of "real" games like Walking Dead, Final Fantasy Tactics etc and you can't tell me there's nothing worthwhile on the platform. There's your pros.

@Ben_H hey read the thread title again, my friend. Do YOU consider mobile games real games? The thread is not "do you think the world should consider mobile games real games? When you ask my opinon, don't be pissed when you get it. Also It's videogames, so don't say I'm some jackass troll. it's not a girlfriend asking if they look fat. Of course your not going to say "yeah honey super fat."

yeah they are real games. touch input sucks bad for most types of games though. so real games yes, but usually crippled by the platform.

@Ben_H hey read the thread title again, my friend. Do YOU consider mobile games real games? The thread is not "do you think the world should consider mobile games real games? When you ask my opinon, don't be pissed when you get it. Also It's videogames, so don't say I'm some jackass troll. it's not a girlfriend asking if they look fat. Of course your not going to say "yeah honey super fat."

Well they are games and they exist...

so yeah those are real games man.

It depends. I have Baldur's Gate, GTA Vice City, several awesome roguelikes (including nethack), GTA III, Fargoal, and Wesnoth, and Super Hexagon on my iPad. On the other hand, I also have Letterpress, Spell Tower and other more trivial games on it.

There's real gaming to be had on mobile platforms. Hopefully there will be even more in the future. More in-depth gaming. More long and deep games. Lots of ports of old retro RPGs and such, too. But there's also a lot of trivial stuff. Essentially flash games and little Yahoo! style multiplayer games. So, yes, of course mobile games are "real games". Just not all of them. And they're not a substitute for other gaming. They're just an addition to it. And not all of them are "real games", of course. A lot of them are just coin-suckers that have little gaming to them (Tiny Towers and Middle Manager of Justice, for example). But there's lots of garbage on other platforms, too. That there's a lot of crap doesn't change that there's a lot of good stuff, too, though. And it doesn't change the potential of the platform (which I think is far greater than how it is currently being exploited).

It's unfortunate about all of the in-app purchases and DLC and nickle and dime bullshit, though. It really puts me off of games like Kingdom Rush. Instead of sucking coins out of me as the game goes, I'd rather they just charge me $3 or $5 and let me have the experience of an actual regular game.

Yeah sure, why not? What would they be otherwise, imaginary games?

Also, all games are time wasters. Don't fool yourself.

@Ben_H said:

@JZ said:

@Ben_H hey read the thread title again, my friend. Do YOU consider mobile games real games? The thread is not "do you think the world should consider mobile games real games? When you ask my opinon, don't be pissed when you get it. Also It's videogames, so don't say I'm some jackass troll. it's not a girlfriend asking if they look fat. Of course your not going to say "yeah honey super fat."

I didn't say anything to insult you, just ask why you thought like you did. You came in here and made rather outlandish claim so a few people asked you why and you flipped out on them. Edit: Ok yeah I did, but the angry PMs you sent made up for it. hehehe

lol that sucks.

You know you're on the losing end of an argument when you feel the need to send hate pm's.

Also nobody in here has yet to explain their bullshit "real" game term. Just admit that you don't like mobile games and are bothered even more that they are being covered on a video game website.

God.

/walks out.

Yes I do. I would not, however, classify someone who plays Angry Birds as a "gamer," per se.

They are absolutely real games, but playing them to death does NOT somehow turn he or she into an enthusiast gamer who discusses games with others on a daily basis. They are simpler, easier games that are more about putting time in than having any specific strategy or skill, but they are definitely games.

It's unfortunate about all of the in-app purchases and DLC and nickle and dime bullshit, though. It really puts me off of games like Kingdom Rush. Instead of sucking coins out of me as the game goes, I'd rather they just charge me $3 or $5 and let me have the experience of an actual regular game.

Only Halo and Madden on the 360 are "real games"; Wii U is for 2 year olds; PS3 has no games; Handhelds are dead; PCs are for spreadsheets; etc...

If it's a game on a console that can't play Crysis, then it ain't a real game.

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

They're games. I personally find most mobile games to be crap. There are a few - very few - that I enjoy that are mobile-only.

@Ben_H said:

@Chaoskiller2000 said:

No, they just don't have the same quality as console or pc games. Plus the constant ads or microtransactions to win just lessen the experience.

So is Big Rigs superior to Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery?

Really depends on who you ask. I've never played Big Rigs, and I think Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery is overrated.

techniquely they are :( as much as I hate them

They are games, So yeah they're "real" games.

They are just games I generally couldn't car less about.

Sure they are. Just like flash games are also real games.

It's not a matter of them being "real". It's a matter of most of them being shitty, shallow experiences. This "real" issue is totally irrelevant.

Yes I do consider them as casual games. Most of the time I just play mobile games if I'm waiting for my girlfriend or waiting in a long line just to kill boredom.

Of course they are. If you don't consider them "real games", I have to asumme you don't consider the vast majority of the Game Boy or NES libraries to be games, right? Kingdom Rush is not a game, but Balloon Fight is?

@aquamarin said:

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

... why not?

Nah, it was on the news that the amount of girl gamers had overtook the amount of boy gamers. It then started talking about phone games and I was like "oh right" and continued with my day.

I think this is the same as asking "Is a novel a real book", or is a a "short movie a real movie". Technically the answer is yes, but if you came in expecting a Hollywood Blockbuster and got a 10 minute short movie, you'd feel skimped. The people who are taking the word "real" literally in this question are, likely, being deliberately obtuse. They are both games, but there is a difference.

As opposed to what, fake games? Faux games? Tofu games?

@JoeyRavn said:

Of course they are. If you don't consider them "real games", I have to asumme you don't consider the vast majority of the Game Boy or NES libraries to be games, right? Kingdom Rush is not a game, but Balloon Fight is?

@aquamarin said:

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

... why not?

Because games on smartphones are small distractions meant to waste a few minutes, and you can do so anywhere. "Real" games require hunkering down for hours in a living and/or bedroom and giving yourself fully to a game.

Not sure what real games means but mobile games are games.

@Anund said:

I think this is the same as asking "Is a novel a real book", or is a a "short movie a real movie". Technically the answer is yes, but if you came in expecting a Hollywood Blockbuster and got a 10 minute short movie, you'd feel skimped. The people who are taking the word "real" literally in this question are, likely, being deliberately obtuse. They are both games, but there is a difference.

You can't generalize when you have games like The Walking Dead, Bastion, GTA III or Vice City coming out in mobile devices, and games like 10000000 or Angry Birds being released on PC and consoles. I agree that all of those are games, but not so much on this basic "difference" you speak of. Isn't there a difference between Commodore 64 games and modern PC games? Which one will you use as your standard? The quality of the game is largely platform agnostic, and if you feel somehow cheated by it, maybe it is you who should temper your expectations first.

@aquamarin said:

@JoeyRavn said:

Of course they are. If you don't consider them "real games", I have to asumme you don't consider the vast majority of the Game Boy or NES libraries to be games, right? Kingdom Rush is not a game, but Balloon Fight is?

@aquamarin said:

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

... why not?

Because games on smartphones are small distractions meant to waste a few minutes, and you can do so anywhere. "Real" games require hunkering down for hours in a living and/or bedroom and giving yourself fully to a game.

Again. So, most NES and pre-NES games aren't really games? Are you saying that Pitfall is not a game? That Tetris is not a game?

And, as far as I can see, Brad is really enjoying his time with Kingdom Rush. Is he not invested in the game? Has he not spend many hours playing on his phone (and tablet)?

I consider all games as games so in my opinion mobile games are games, games.

@JoeyRavn said:

@Anund said:

I think this is the same as asking "Is a novel a real book", or is a a "short movie a real movie". Technically the answer is yes, but if you came in expecting a Hollywood Blockbuster and got a 10 minute short movie, you'd feel skimped. The people who are taking the word "real" literally in this question are, likely, being deliberately obtuse. They are both games, but there is a difference.

You can't generalize when you have games like The Walking Dead, Bastion, GTA III or Vice City coming out in mobile devices, and games like 10000000 or Angry Birds being released on PC and consoles. I agree that all of those are games, but not so much on this basic "difference" you speak of. Isn't there a difference between Commodore 64 games and modern PC games? Which one will you use as your standard? The quality of the game is largely platform agnostic, and if you feel somehow cheated by it, maybe it is you who should temper your expectations first.

Those are all examples of games developed for consoles and/or PC and ported to a mobile platform (where the experience will be hampered by poor controls) or mobile games being ported to the PC. Porting a mobile game to the PC doesn't magically transform a game from a mobile game to something more, much like how putting a novel in a hardcover book doesn't tarnsform it into a full book. However, porting a mobile game in the other direction normally makes the game a lot worse simply because of the platform limitations. You're not going to tell me you would rather play Vice City on your iPad using the touchscreen than on your console.

@aquamarin said:

@JoeyRavn said:

Of course they are. If you don't consider them "real games", I have to asumme you don't consider the vast majority of the Game Boy or NES libraries to be games, right? Kingdom Rush is not a game, but Balloon Fight is?

@aquamarin said:

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

... why not?

Because games on smartphones are small distractions meant to waste a few minutes, and you can do so anywhere. "Real" games require hunkering down for hours in a living and/or bedroom and giving yourself fully to a game.

I guess you have never been to Arcade? Or games in there are not real games? Its probably the worst definition of games ever. So real gamers are the hikikomori type that never leave the bedroom and see no outside world because they spend whole day immersing and playing games? I can play one smartphone game as long as I play Call of Duty or Need for Speed on console/pc. Does that mean that short console games are not real games?

@aquamarin said:

@JoeyRavn said:

Of course they are. If you don't consider them "real games", I have to asumme you don't consider the vast majority of the Game Boy or NES libraries to be games, right? Kingdom Rush is not a game, but Balloon Fight is?

@aquamarin said:

Okay, maybe you could lose yourself in an ipad game like Magic 2013 or something like that, I don't believe you could lose yourself in a game on a smartphone, just not happening.

... why not?

Because games on smartphones are small distractions meant to waste a few minutes, and you can do so anywhere. "Real" games require hunkering down for hours in a living and/or bedroom and giving yourself fully to a game.

That's a ridiculous statement. With that logic, I guess Pac-Man isn't a real game. Or Tetis. Or Galaga. Or any other arcade game.

I don't play a lot but they are like mini games to me and that's fine.

Still, I like to play games on a big screen. That's why I don't really play handhelds in general.

It's harder for me to play for long periods on a tiny screen as I've gotten older.

Well 35 years ago all we had was Pong and that was a game. People forget that games started out much more simple than today. People considered Atari games real and iPhone games are much more complicated than many of them. Having a massive budget doesn't make a game any better. I enjoy iPhone games and I enjoy console games. They are both games, just one is a lot more complex than the other. There really is no need to be elitist about it. Many of the people we today look up to as some of the greatest designers got their start making games much less complicated than Peggle or Angry Birds. Point is, unless you consider any pre-Playstation game not a game then iPhone games are games as many of them are just as complicated as something you'd find for $50 20 years ago. We enjoyed those games as kids (well some of us did) so there is no reason we can't enjoy them now.

Yes, they are still games. This reminds me of another thread where this guy was saying that 720p isn't HD anymore.