E3's Big Announcements and What it Means for the Future of Mobile

E3 is the biggest show in gaming, period. It’s where the big players come out to boast their latest and greatest and tease what’s to come. Consoles are announced, new heroes are born, and fan favorites resurrected. And this year, mobile rightfully got a piece of the spotlight with announcements from EA, Starbreeze, Bethesda, and Telltale- solidifying mobile’s place as a serious mid-core gaming platform.

Mobile Announcements

Bethesda

-Fallout Shelter

-Fallout Pip Boy ArmBand and App

-Elder Scrolls Legends

Bethesda stole the mobile show in my books. They were able to take the momentum behind the highly anticipated FallOut 4 release to announce the release of a spin-off mobile game Fallout Shelter- that was ready for download immediately. What is so genius about this idea is that Bethesda understands that mobile is a platform of its own, with unique features and a separate audience. Rather than attempting to take their console model to the app store, Fallout Shelter acts as an extension of fun for fans that allows them to experience the realm in a very different way.

What’s even better is you can tell the developers’ main goal was to make a game that was well designed, and fun, rather than a money hog. The graphics are amazing, the mechanics simple to understands, and it follows basic F2P monetization mechanics. Hints of nostalgia, not only from the Fallout world, but from SIMS, XCOM, and FTL, make it incredibly addicting.  Seriously, this game is the reason this post is so late. Bonus- Bethesda is successfully transitioning its core audience to the acceptance of mobile.

They didn’t stop there though. In the best marriage of mobile and console this far, Bethesda announced the release of a wristband that turns your phone into a real Pip-Boy, with its own retro Red Menace and Atomic Command games to be played. This is something that fans of Fallout have wanted since the debut of the game. While it may only appeal to hyper fans with large pocketbooks, it also demonstrates the harmony between mobile and console for fully integrated second screen experience.

For a final mobile announcement, Elder Scrolls Legends, a competitive card game will come out on iOS later this year. While the details remain vague this is another example of a traditional console blockbuster transitioning to mobile.

EA

-Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes

-Minions Paradise

-FIFA Mobile

Everyone knew Star Wars would have a big release this year. What comes as a bit of a surprise was EA’s announcement of a Star Wars mobile game. Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes is to be a mobile collectible card-based RPG. The game includes the prequel and original trilogies, featuring characters from all six films. Players will be able to collect ships, items, and characters, to build up their decks in an attempt to have the strongest hand in all the galaxy.

Minions get me every time. I’ve gotten more entertainment from the Minions movie trailer than some of the latest blockbusters. Which is probably why EA decided to capitalize on these adorable yellow creatures with the announcement of Minions Paradise- a casual, kid-friendly builder app. What is noteworthy about this announcement is the light and fun tone, never before seen at E3 and the amount of hype it’s producing.

Sports were not to be left behind with the announcement of FIFA Mobile. EA Sports has dubbed it the “Next Generation of FIFA-  with stunning new, console quality, gameplay that fully harnesses the power of the latest mobile devices”. Like Bethesda, it seems that EA is catering to mobile demands with sports installments that have periodic updates rather than seasonal releases which they demonstrated with the announcement of their update to Madden Mobile.

Starbreeze

-Payday

Starbreeze is bringing their PC heist game Payday to mobile. They were a bit stingy on the details, but with a 1.4M investment and a partnership with Cmune, you can be sure they are looking for some serious downloads.  Payday has 9 million players on PC so we can assume that Starbreeze is hoping for a quick transition from its core gamers. There is speculation as to whether or not the app will be a hit, as first person shooters have had little success on mobile but Bo Andersson Klint, CEO of Starbreeze AB, seems confident saying:

"We're used to seeing PAYDAY in a cooperative setting and are really excited to explore how PAYDAY can evolve onto new platforms and see what we can do with competitive gameplay on mobile.”

Telltale

-The Walking Dead Michonne (Mini Series)

This one is less of a release for mobile and more of a mass release for all platforms, but at least mobile was included on the roster. The game is to follow Michonne, a character popular in both the comics and tv series so it's obvious Telltale is really shooting to appeal to the masses with this one.

Square Enix

-Final Fantasy VII

-Final Fantasy Portal App

-Kingdom Hearts: Unchained χ (interact with Disney Characters)

-Lara Croft GO (turn based puzzle)

The announcement of Final Fantasy VII coming to iOS later this summer isn’t a huge shock, as all of the previous installments have already been adapted to mobile. This does, however, mark the first Final Fantasy port coming from a Playstation game, which was most likely made possible due to the increase in game size allowed in the app store. The games really are getting bigger and better. Another addition to the Final Fantasy family is a portable app coming to Android and iOS that allows users to collect points for watching videos and news which can be exchanged for in-game currency.

Kingdom of Hearts Unchained will come to North America as well (the game was previously announced for Japan only). Players will get to explore Disney realms of the likes of Hercules, Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White as they defeat the Heartless in turn- based battles.  Elements of customization and multiplayer features will also be included in the title.

Lara Croft GO is to deliver the “essence of adventure” to your fingertips through a turn-based puzzler. Players will be tasked with exploring ruins of an ancient civilization, to uncover the secrets associated with the myth of the Queen of Venom.

Nintendo, which is currently transitioning to mobile with its partnership with DeNa remained quiet on the subject, but another worthy installment to mention is DotEmu’s iOS release of Titan Quest. 

The Future of Mobile?

So what does this all mean for the future of mobile? Well certainly more eyeballs and more money being pumped into the app stores. More importantly however, is mobile is finally receiving respect as a series console for midcore games.

E3 is not the first time we are seeing this shift, this year has been full of big mobile acquisitions and partnerships (most recently Razer’s acquisition of Ouya). Mobile giant King is even making the transition from casual to midcore with the acquisition of Z2Live from which they have two releases in the works with Blizzard Hearthstone and Hero’s of Witchcraft. Pocket Gems is in a similar position with 3D RPG War Dragons, which CTO and product lead Harlan Crystal describes as “the beginning of an entirely new chapter for Pocket Gems marked by deeper, richer games that will appeal to a new audience.”

What is certain is the landscape is changing in a big way. Something noteworthy is that many of the big announcements are for iOS only. It will be interesting to see in Android is soon to follow or if this new audience of gamers will create more distinction between platforms.

What does this Mean for Indies?

While the entrance of the biggest studios in gaming entering the app stores it may seem dire for indie studios, but I think it is just the opposite. With more and more serious gamers entering the space, there will be some series opportunity for success in niche markets. The AAA’s take their time with releases, and players will get bored in the meantime.

Additionally, these studios understand that mobile is a new beast and look to mobile focused studios for their expertise. Nintendo with DeNa, Bethesda, Starbreeze and Cmune these are some big partnerships. It can be argued that Playstation won the last console wars due to their indie focus, so hopefully we will see that shift over to mobile as well.

If one thing can be certain about the future of mobile, it's that gaming is about to get better, in every respect, meaning quality should be the top priority on everyone’s mind!