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Apparently "gaming phones" are a thing now..

gaijinkaiju

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Monoochrom

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But why though? I mean, I've long felt that Phones are underestimated as Gaming Devices entirely for reasons unrelated to the phones.

But all the other Issues that are still there? It's still just a singular Phone, no point in doing any extra programming work to optimize or streamline a Game for a singular Phone. Also, it doesn't make a while lot of sense to release anything on Phone Marketplaces that isn't created with fairly simplistic assets and Design sensibilities (mostly just getting the most out of a thing in the game). People have learnt at this point that Phone Games are to be free, at least up front. When they aren't that's going to be a huge barrier at this point. So, what exactly is the point of a "Gaming Phone"? How will it make the experience of the available games any better? What actually makes this something that should exist?
 

Battousai

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Now? Has everyone forgotten about the Nokia N-gage already? A gaming phone is not a new thing, but its proven to be not viable as a a gaming device since smartphones lack the processing power to run games properly along with every single other feature that phones already have these days. Its simply too much. Mobile games are fine, they are specifically made to be played on phones, they are simple in general and do not take too much space. However using a smartphone to run downgraded versions of current games seems counterproductive.

The other option for gaming on phones these days is streaming, and it works properly on some of the best phones on the current market since the stuff is relatively new. Basically you run the game from a console or PC and stream the game straight to the phone via wifi, and play it with a controller synced to the phone. One of those who offers this service is Valve with Steam Link have a look

 

Ogoid

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Now? Has everyone forgotten about the Nokia N-gage already? A gaming phone is not a new thing, but its proven to be not viable as a a gaming device since smartphones lack the processing power to run games properly along with every single other feature that phones already have these days. Its simply too much. Mobile games are fine, they are specifically made to be played on phones, they are simple in general and do not take too much space. However using a smartphone to run downgraded versions of current games seems counterproductive.
My thoughts exactly.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I don't think the whole "phones as gaming platforms" idea is any more sound now than it was back in 2003.
 

Arnox

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I'll stop laughing when they actually get smart and put physical controls on the phone.
 

Arnox

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You never said it had to be a new phone


Seriously though. When that phone came around, the hardware was not good enough and the software support was not up to par either. But nowadays, the time to make a gaming phone with physical controls is perfect on both counts.
 

gaijinkaiju

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I'm trying to convince myself that that's just an unreleased PS Vita model, but its not working.
Given that its about the same size as a vita, I can't imagine it being a fun experience to use as a phone
 

Battousai

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Looks like a really nice portable console, but as a phone it seems a bit big and unwieldy. Texting might be fine on this but a phone call might be uncomfortable.
 
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