Why sports make good games on mobile devices

Sports games are some of the most popular titles in the world for playing on consoles and desktop PCs. FIFA, Madden, Football Manager, and NBA2K are among just a few of the games that have thrived on consoles and PCs, turning EA Sports into a multi-billion dollar company after selling millions of copies of their successful titles every year.

Adapting Games

Examples of those that have managed to make a successful transition include casino and bingo apps that offer themes on their slots and bingo platforms, capturing the essence of the sport or television. There are a number of themes that have been turned into slot games because the technology is so easily adaptable, making little tweaks here and there to the overall game.

There are themes adapted for football, cricket, horse racing, boxing, and even TV shows such as Downtown Abbey. The slot and bingo games get to showcase all the elements that you find from these sports and TV shows using the features of the game to provide a competitive buzz.

Football Manager has been equally successful on PC, selling millions upon millions of copies across Europe and the rest of the world with its release every year in time for the new football season. The developers of these games have enjoyed success not only because of the popularity of the sports involved, but their development skills to innovate and adapt different elements of the game to offer a new experience with each title.

Developers not only have to concern themselves with adding new features to every game, they now have to consider the functionality of their games across different platforms. The popularity of leading titles has led to the demand for diversity across multiple devices, including smartphones. This can lead to issues for even the best developers due to the difference in size and compatibility available on mobile devices without compromising the efficiency of other functions.

The Challenge

Football Manager has managed to maintain the majority of its look and feel on mobile, but there have been challenges for console games such as FIFA, Madden, and NBA2K due to the sophistication of their graphics. It highlights the challenges that sports games face adapting to mobile and creating sports games or sports-themed games that people want to play online.

It is a challenge across the gaming and even iGaming industry to create products that people want to use and that have the air of familiarity of their favorite games and titles without comprising the quality of the product.

It’s down to the skills of developers and creative minds that they’ve been able to adapt sports and entertainment shows to mobile devices in a similar way to Football Manager. There’s no need for complex graphics. So, it uses similar tactics to take only what they need out of the sport or the game to make a product that is both entertaining, but also compatible with the needs of gamers on the go, or who are using it as a second screen while sitting on the couch.

It’s not easy to alter games for mobile platforms, but the elements of a number of sports allow the look and feel of playing a sports game without draining the battery or the speed of your device.

Cover Credits: iStock