Many believe that videogames are only for men. After all, the classic Hollywood stereotype of the gamer is a socially awkward teenage guy, right? No one but teenage guys and grown-up teenage guys could possibly enjoy a game! Well, as it turns out, 52% of gamers are women. This isn’t an exact number, of course – it tends to fluctuate between studies, but generally, the rule of thumb is that the split of males and females in gaming is roughly 50/50. But whenever a study like that is published somewhere on a gaming site, one of the first comments is always “Well, this study isn’t accurate because most women only play mobile games, and they don’t count!” And I’m just like “Really? Are you serious right now, or just spewing stuff which you’ve been told by someone years ago?” I mean, sure, back before Android and iOS were really a thing mobile games were pretty bad, for the most part. The term “shovelware” comes to mind, where 99% of all games you could get on mobile were licensed pieces of garbage. While I have fond memories of a couple of games (man, am I the only one who remembers “Deep 3D”? That game was AMAZING), most were very disappointing.
However, in the few years since then, when we transitioned to touch screens and curated marketplaces, mobile gaming has changed a ton. We no longer just have good mobile games – we have great mobile games! I sincerely advise anyone doubting the legitimacy of the mobile marketplace to browse for a bit and find a few games for their mobile device. Whether they’re paid or free to play, you’ve got tons of awesome stuff to choose from! Games like “Monument Valley” or “The Room” (not to be confused with the worst movie of all time) are some of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played! And for the last few months (starting from about October of last year) I’ve been heavily addicted to an action-RPG titled “Marvel: Future Fight”, which is basically like a sequel to the old “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” games where you make a team of Marvel characters and then go on levels and kick ass with your customized character.
And let’s not forget that both iOS and Android have plenty of remakes of classic PC and console titles. If you’ve wanted to replay “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”, also known as the single best “Star Wars” game ever made, the iPad version is the way to go. Old point and click adventures, such as “Syberia”, are plentiful on the app store, and you can even download the massively popular card game “Hearthstone” on any mobile device and play it there. No matter what genre of games you’re interested in, I can guarantee you that mobile gaming has something for you. Hell, even if you don’t like videogames at all and instead prefer to play casino games (slots, online roulette, that kind of thing), mobile has got you covered! The mobile landscape has changed a lot in the last couple of years, so I’d advise anyone who claims that mobile games aren’t really worthy of their title do some research. I guarantee you you’ll discover something you enjoy sooner or later!