Mobile Gaming History

How did Mobile Gaming Begin?Mobile Gaming History launched in 1979 with Mattel ‘Electronics Auto Race’. A crude setup that ran on LEDs to show the driver's position. It wasn't until the nineties that mobile gaming began to take hold of the gaming community. With the launch of Sega’s ‘‘Game Gear’ and Nintendo’s ‘Game Boy’, mobile gaming gained traction until it peaked in the late Nineties.Mobile Gaming on Mobile PhonesIn 1998 the mobile gaming landscape changed forever with the introduction of the Nokia 3310 mobile phone. This was the first phone to feature an onboard game. The game was called ‘Snake' and was played on the black and white screen of the phone.With very basic graphics and sound, 'Snake' still managed to become a popular game that millions of users played whenever they needed to kill some time. With the advent of the iPhone, online mobile gaming was about to change forever.Social Networks & The Rise of the SmartphoneWhen Facebook launched in 2005, no one quite realized the impact that the social network would have on the world. Today, with over a billion regular users, Facebook has connected the world in a way that would never have been thought possible in 1976 when Mattel released ‘Electronics Auto Race’.As the network grew, developers began to launch games that interfaced with the user's social experience. Games like ‘Candy Crush Saga’ and ‘FarmVille’ became loved by millions as a way to pass the boring hours at work, or on their morning commute.With millions now playing games online, the introduction of the smartphone finally bridged the gap between internet based games and mobile technology. With the iPhone, a user now had the processing power of a high-powered laptop, coupled with a full-color screen and vast amounts of memory, all in the palm of your hand.Competitors such as Samsung saw the opportunity in front of them and quickly began to develop technology to match the success of the Apple products. This began a healthy competition that accelerated the development of mobile technology and led to the launch of the ‘Apple iStore’ and the ‘Google Play Store’.The Introduction of the App StoreThese platforms gave the developers direct access to a market that was thirsting for mobile technology and as the developers progressed, the world of mobile gaming exploded. Games such as ‘Angry Birds’ became household names and even adults were jumping into the mobile gaming revolution, with the app stores receiving millions of downloads every day.Into the FutureThe innovation in mobile device technology, with smartphones and mobile devices, has changed the landscape of mobile gaming forever. The quality of games on offer keeps improving and is not showing any signs of slowing down.The history of mobile gaming has undergone a whirlwind transformation over the last decade and will continue its march into the future of technology.