According to data from Uswitch, the most popular gaming format in the UK is, by some distance, the mobile phone. Older, more established formats, like the venerable Personal Computer, still command vast user bases, however.
So, is this just a question of personal preference and convenience? Which of these formats provides the superior experience, and which factors are worth considering when you choose between them? Let’s take a look at a few worthwhile things to think about.
Power vs Portability
The first and most obvious thing to consider is portability. A mobile phone can be taken with you, wherever you go.
What a desktop PC lacks in portability, it tends to compensate for with raw power. The most powerful modern components and rendering technology tend to reside in modern graphics cards. Combine with a reasonably-sized IPS or OLED display, and you have a recipe for unrivalled fidelity.
Accessibility and Convenience
With portability comes convenience. If you want to play a game on the tube, or in a doctor’s waiting room, then a mobile phone might allow you to do so. Mobile phones are also familiar and convenient. You won’t need to mess around with graphics card drivers, or with endless configuration options. The learning curve is virtually non-existent, especially if you’re already deeply familiar with your phone.
Game Variety and Genre Dominance
The nature of these formats tends to shape the games available for them. The large display and responsive controls of a PC tend to make it a great choice for esports titles, and for cinematic RPGs and menu-driven management simulations.
The small screen and intuitive touch controls of a mobile phone, on the other hand, make it a better match for puzzlers, arcade games, and online slots. That isn’t to say that other options aren’t available for these formats, however.
In some cases, there are titles that thrive on both systems. The success of the deep playing-card-based roguelike, Balatro, shows that you don’t have to stick to any one system to thrive.
User Experience and Interface Design
PC gaming tends to furnish us with a much greater breadth of options. You’ll be able to tweak settings until the game is perfectly suited to your tastes – and the rendering power of your hardware. In some cases, you’ll even be able to install (or even create) third-party ‘mods’ that change the experience radically.
If you’re looking to invest long hours into a game, and you’d like the experience to be as deep and immersive as possible, then a PC gaming setup with a multi-monitor setup and a high-end mouse and keyboard might be the way to do it. For casual gaming, of course, it’s better to stick to the mobile phone!