At one time not long ago, the argument between mobile and desktop gaming would have been a short and decisive one – in favor of the latter.
But as technology has evolved, that gap has become far smaller, and sentiment may have swayed in the other direction.
In this guide, we’ll look at mobile and desktop gaming in more detail, all with the intention of determining which medium of playing computer games is best.
About mobile gaming
Mobile gaming – or video games played on mobile phones – has taken the world by storm. With the number of people possessing mobile phones with decent computing power increasing, the popularity of these games has skyrocketed.
In 2021 alone, it was estimated that 2.6 billion people played a mobile game of one sort or another.
The range of mobile gaming stretches from the likes of Pokémon Go to the world of betting. At Pulsz, for example, you can play a range of games, such as poker and slot machines. It’s also possible for players to play these games with their own style of currency, known as sweeps coins. This online casino offers free coins to use from time to time, so it’s worth keeping an eye on them.
With mobile devices becoming more powerful, it opened the door for games developers to produce bigger, better and more aesthetically pleasing games.
Gone are the days of Snake, with its pixelated body. Players can now dive into Call of Duty, PUBG and League of Legends.
And they can play all of these games pretty much anywhere they like on most mobile devices, making them incredibly accessible. That’s perhaps the biggest draw of mobile gaming – the freedom from physical restrictions that it offers.
If you’re traveling long distances, for example, you can pull out your phone and play away the hours spent waiting for delayed planes and trains.
Players can also jump into games more quickly. They simply have to take out their phone and tap the screen, and within a few seconds, they’ll be into a game.
When it comes to desktop gaming, you have to boot up the computer and wait for it all to load up. It feels like more of an operation compared to mobile games.
About desktop gaming
Desktop gaming is one of the oldest forms of playing computer games, and it remains one of the most popular means of playing games, though less so than consoles.
For many years, consoles and mobiles lagged behind in computing power. Desktop computers always had, and still do have, the ability to perform at the very peak limits of quality.
But the technology is expensive to keep up with, and consoles and mobile devices have caught up. With their much more reasonable price, too, they are a threat to the popularity of desktop gaming.
Yet desktop computers persist as one of the top ways of playing games. One of the biggest reasons is the broad range of games that are playable, including virtual reality (VR) games. Players can connect devices such as the Oculus Rift and play VR games with ease, though a high-performing desktop computer is necessary.
Desktop gaming is also much-loved for its modded versions of popular games. Enthusiastic players have more freedom to modify the games they love, to improve them or to introduce new and unique twists.
The Elder Scrolls game Skyrim is one title that has managed to remain fresh and original for over a
decade, mostly because of the mods that players can download and install.
However, complaints are often made about the controls for desktop gaming. Some players find the shift from console controllers to keyboard and mouse difficult.
On the other side of the coin, PC gamers argue that the mouse and keyboard offer superior aim for first-person shooters, as well as the ability to use a number of hotkeys.
With that said, many desktop games allow for the likes of Xbox controllers to be used to play them, bridging the gap for those who loathe using a keyboard.
Mobile vs. desktop gaming – which will win?
As the power of mobile devices continues to grow, the popularity of games played on them will undoubtedly increase.
In 2021, the total number of mobile gamers was estimated at 2.6 billion. Compare that with PC gamers and we see a big difference – in 2020, there were an estimated 1.75 billion desktop players, a difference of almost one billion people. On this basis alone, mobile well may be the best of the two.
