From PC to smartphone: how competitive games have conquered mobile phones

The evolution of smartphone games

The smartphone gaming market has changed a lot in recent years. What used to be four simple mini-games to pass the time while waiting for the bus, today has become a very broad platform that moves enormous figures within the sector. Just look at how mobile phone manufacturers keep releasing terminals designed specifically for gaming, with better processors, advanced graphics technologies such as ray tracing, high-Hz screens and more advanced cooling systems. All this advancement in hardware has allowed something that recently seemed unthinkable: bringing complete competitive games directly from PC or console to a touch screen, bringing together millions of people playing at the same time.

One of the best examples of this is in PUBG Mobilea game where we have a “battle royale” style game with a hundred people on a gigantic map and that has been adapted to the touch controls of mobile phones. The key to its success is, basically, that anyone can enter to play for free and compete on equal terms, while income is based on customizing characters, weapons or vehicles using their own currency “UC” or Unknown Cash. For those who do not want to put their credit card information in their mobile phone, or simply to give a gift to a friend so they can get the season pass, buying a PUBG Mobile gift card is one of the most convenient and simple solutions there is. Of course, it is important to pay close attention to the region of the product: it has to be for the global version and not for specific editions such as Korea or other Asian areas, because otherwise we will not be able to activate it in our account in Spain.

Bring the PC experience to a touch screen while keeping it fun

To adapt a battle royale game like this to a phone, some aspects must be taken into account. In these types of titles, precision and latency are key, since you won’t last long if you take too long to aim or if the game jerks in the middle of the game.

To do this, the game makes use of a fully configurable interface where we can place and change the size of practically any button on the screen, adapting without problems whether you play with two fingers or prefer more advanced configurations with four fingers. It is something that both PUBG Mobile and other competitive games for smartphones take into account.

In fact, the game also uses the smartphone’s internal sensors, especially the gyroscope, a way to take advantage of the specific elements of mobile phones to improve control. You can take advantage of this sensor to move the mobile phone slightly with your hands while shooting to compensate for the recoil of the weapons, or to quickly correct the aim. In addition, the game is quite optimized, even to run at more than 90 FPS on powerful mobile phones from a few years ago, so that the experience is similar to that of a game on a PC with a mouse and keyboard.

A free model with micropayments that do not influence gameplay

For a long time, games for mobile devices had a pretty bad reputation due to abusive mechanics. There were quite a few titles that were advertised as free, but they hid insurmountable pay walls or advantages in the games for those who checked out (the famous “pay to win”), meaning that they could not be taken seriously as competitive or eSports titles.

In current multiplayer games, at least those that have been successful as competitive titles, that system has been downloaded, and PUBG Mobile It is a clear example of how they achieve income without harming the player. When you jump off the plane at the start of the round, you fall into exactly the same conditions as the other 99 participants: without equipment, without added advantages and depending only on your aim and strategy to win.

Paying real money does not make your character do more damage or resist gunfire better, since the entire purchase catalog focuses exclusively on cosmetic elements such as costumes, vehicle skins, parachutes or weapon finishes. By not interfering at all with the balance of the game, a fair competitive game is created where everyone competes face to face, and the financial expenditure only indicates who wanted to customize their character more or less to stand out visually, but without competitive advantages.

The convenience of making purchases with digital balance

The growth of microtransactions within games has also led to changes in how payments are managed in games and control needs for the little ones. Although the stores integrated into phones allow direct payments with a bank card, more and more people prefer to use gift cards from websites like Eneba.

This option offers advantages such as maintaining strict control of what we spend on it, something especially useful in homes where the players are the youngest in the house. On the other hand, it also avoids having to save bank details in the game to avoid accidental purchases. In addition, it also allows you to make gifts to friends or fellow players in a simple way, allowing you to send balance directly using a code that is easily redeemed.

In short, competitive games on smartphones have reached a level that has nothing to envy of those on PC. With careful controls, a fun gaming experience and a good combination of microtransactions to earn income without influencing the playability or “fair play” of the games.