Ben-DutkaSurveys are a shifty bunch. They pop up all over the place on the Internet and they're always open to interpretation.
Take the latest survey from mobile gaming company MocoSpace, for example. The sampling isn't an issue; over 15,000 were polled.
And of that 15,000, 46% said they spend more time playing games on mobile devices, while only 26% said they spend more time with consoles (23% cited PCs). Now, before we play the logic game, we do find one particular statistic concerning: 47% of people say they're playing these games at home, where they don't need "mobile gaming" and where they might presumably have opportunities for vastly deeper experiences on consoles or PC.
Said MocoSpace CEO Justin Siegel:
"The fact that people are gaming on their mobile phones at home, often sitting a few feet away from their controller, shows that mobile is capable of grabbing and holding their interest. This data makes it clear that mobile is a viable alternative to console and PC gaming."
That's actually a little frightening. But put that aside for a moment and let's focus on the polled participants. Does anyone else notice or care that this poll was conducted at a mobile gaming website ? And that those 15,000 are obviously into mobile gaming? Why do I get the feeling that if I ran the exact same poll here at PSXE, or if any REAL gaming site like GameSpot ran the same poll, the results would be very different…?
This is the problem with such surveys. While there's no doubt that mobile interactive entertainment is on the rise, the hardcore gamers have absolutely no intention of shifting their focus to a 4-inch screen, nor do they have any intention of leaving Skyrim behind. There seems to be this belief that all gamers are the same; hence, "gamers" being polled at MocoSpace are in the exact same group.
But based on what we've seen in the past, that really isn't true. How do you view the situation?
Way to bend the curve in your favor Mr. Justin Siegel.
As for me, I only play my iPhone games when I take a smoke break from playing REAL games on the PS3 or PC.
Last edited by anjpikapp3 on 1/6/2012 1:04:35 PM
Or when match making!! :p
Smoke break at work is the only time I play mobile games on my Droid. If a controller is near I'm grabbing it..
i never had a problem with match making. usually i just start the matchmaking then a couple of seconds its already found a room and ready to start.
I can't even get into it on a smoke break.
OR when on the toilet…… I find mobile gaming much more….. Fun at those very few moments for some reason.
I've seen a survey that an estimated 86% of the population are gamers. This counts people like my mother, however, who's only "video game" she plays, is Facebook's version of "Family Feud". A game you can only play once for 3 minutes every 12 hours.
Because no one actually cares enough to run a proper survey, they are all bologna.
But an additional fact, Ben. Keep in mind, 46% play more mobile games. 47% of that 46% do so at home. That means, approximately 22% of the 1500 play mobile at home.
What bothers me is that there is nothing more to give that meaning. How many of that 22% actually have a home console or a PC that is capable of high end gaming?
For example: My brother in law loves playing my PS3 when over, but he doesn't have a gaming rig or console. He has an iPhone, however, and plays mobile games from home all the time.
Lastly, as you mentioned in your article, when you consider that 22% of the 1500 prefer mobile when at home, and then wonder to ourselves out loud how many of them even have a current gaming rig at home…. are we surprised the, what is likely, relatively small percentage of voters at a MOBILE GAMING website said what they did?
In fact… why isn't that stat much larger at a mobile gaming dedicated site?
This "study", when broken down, isn't complete. And as a result, it isn't alarming at all.
Well, this is about to be me seeing as my ps3 just got the YLOD……
I'm sad.
Me too! My poor original 60gig! :/
This is a common ploy used by nearly every source that runs a survey. In order to convey a point that the company wants to advocate (i.e, stating that mobile games are more popular and therefore more fun than other forms of gaming), these websites conduct surveys that will obviously produce a skewed result, in order to reaffirm its stand.
On the subject of mobile gaming, I find myself liking it very much. A majority of these are casual, social games, but there are a few hardcore gems and ingenious games on say, apple's app store. While I believe that this new trend of creating games that please the masses doesn't necessarily bode well for the hardcore crowd, once you play certain games, it's hard to not understand why mobile gaming has dominated over the course of the past few years.
No doubt I will continue playing with my consoles (nothing as of right now can beat that experience), but we have to acknowledge the negative (and positive) impacts that mobile gaming has brought to the industry.
They wanted a poll, they got a poll.
Ben, this should be next weeks PSXE survey. Lets see just how different the results are.
i agree i was just about to post that but looked to see if anyone else did. i would really like it if psxe would run this poll themselves and then publish the info back to these clowns.
I am curious about PSXers take on mobile. The PSX community are a dedicated bunch that are aware of a consoles ability but the masses do not. It is a completely different experience.
We have done similar polls before, but I might.
Yeah, it's a joke. And exactly who were the 15,000 polled? The 15,000 self selected ones who responded to their own websites poll? I don't see anything about a random sample. It's garbage and should'nt be thought of as anything more than that.
As for mobile gaming. It's not really the same competition. It's like comparing simple 23min cartoons to 3hour movies. Same medium, entirely different format.
I don't doubt there'll be more growth for great mobile games that even console gamers will like a lot. When I read Infinity Blade 2 drew in over $30million in revenue that tells me it will only make their efforts that much more commited to expanding that IP. What started as a small scale project will grow as devs feel more confident on the returns for their investment. The phone/tablet market is still in it's budding stages. I think with enough time, we may see convergence between markets that may please most everyone.
I agree. We are not even close to what is in store for the Gaming Industry. Technology is on a fine cusp right now. I think the future will be nothing like what people think. In five years Mobile or Console will no longer be an argument.
ugh i hate that. When people play an app on their iphone or android to pass the time and suddenly they're a "hard-core gamer". People who solely play mobile games should not be considered gamers. I will ignore this survey and any others that try to convince me that mobile gaming will be that death of consoles or PCs. Ridiculous.
Playing GAMES is Human Nature. Even animals play Games. But the title "HARD CORE GAMER" should not be associated with with someone who plays an app for a few minutes here and there.
hey ben, maybe you should show them how its done. poll your community about how many people plays ps3 games here.
Hey , I just did my own poll of one & guess what????
After checking, & then re-checking my results over & over again…..
I learned that I will never buy a cell phone & I will never give up my console gaming.
Best damned poll I ever participated in!!!!!
Last edited by BikerSaint on 1/6/2012 4:27:41 PM
Add me to that poll, Biker.
100% of those polled never play mobile games and don't even own a cell phone.
A poll of this kind should be conducted by an UNBIASED entity. Of course a "MOBILE" website will skew in mobiles favor. Also, the right questions need to be asked in order to obtain an accurate result.
1.A- Do your prefer Mobile or Console? 1.B- Do you own or have you experienced both Mobile and Console gaming?
Without question 1.B the Poll is is elementary at best.
The gaming industry needs to be recognized properly and also stick together. Mobile or console, it is still the same category. GAMING!
Interesting but not surprising. On the go gaming is definitively mobile based, therefore DS, PSP, VITA gamers are distinctly different in the way they consume their gaming.
Only threat is if phones end up becoming like a VITA with the necessary snap on controls in order to enhance that gaming experience. Raw power and battery life will also be an inhibiting factor, therefore we may yet see consoles like the VITA soar in popularity nonetheless…
Time will tell…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
battery lifes not a problem, in fact my 4 lasts longer then my vita!
and thats with multiple applications running in the background, and 3G and WIFI on. oh and my headsets plugged in.
Aaaaah the amount of morning bollocks relief that my iphone has provided. Long live free streaming in the mobile world
not only among mobile gamers!
i was amazed when epic announced today infinity blade has netted them over 30M in 1 year!
mind you the game released at 8 bucks, and had quite a few sales dropping it to 5 i ended up picking it up for 3 bucks about 7 months ago.
in some areas mobile games are turning out a bigger profit then console games!
I do love my Bejeweled & Peggle games, but only on my PC, not any phone.
i don't play games on my blackberry it just drains the battery plus if i want to play games on a handheld i have my 3DS and Ipod touch. Angry birds is my fav and i love bejeweled they are fun to clear time if i'm waiting at the drs or something like that.