Playing mobile games on your PC may seem antithetical to the purpose of both. However, Google Play is gambling on the idea that there’s a significant audience who want the ability to take something from their phone and play it on their computer screen. Earlier this year the developers rolled out Google Play on PC for Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and other countries in Asia and Oceania, and now it’s been rolled out further, to countries in the Americas including Mexico and the United States.
According to Android developers Google Play on PC is already receiving positive feedback on its introduction. “Our broader goal continues to be meeting players where they are and giving them access to their games on as many devices as possible. Players participating in the beta have expressed excitement at being able to seamlessly play their favourite games across their phones, tablets, Chromebooks, and PCs.”
Play your way
“But why?” you may be asking. After all, isn’t the point of mobile to play on the go? In the (distant) past, mobile games were looked down upon as being inferior to both console and PC games, stereotyped as simple puzzle games or wallet-draining microtransaction machines. However, for a significant portion of the global population mobile is the main way they engage with games,so as AAA developers look to bring their franchises to more devices, and as games like League of Legends, Call of Duty, Fortnite and more all see significant success and engagement via mobile, it makes sense to want to bring that experience to PC.
It may seem counterintuitive to bring something built for a smaller, less powerful device to a larger one, however not everyone can afford to buy a PC built for gaming. For many the PC is an office device, and doesn’t have the horsepower to run even the most basic of modern games,but if you want to spend less time straining your eyes staring at your phone,, the ability to take a game and play it in a more comfortable way is no doubt appealing.
This could also be seen as a significant move towards the single screen singularity for mobile games, allowing players to engage with their favourite games via any screen on any device,whether that be PC, mobile, television or elsewhere. Mobile is the strongest platform in the gaming industry in terms of revenue, so it’s no surprise that Google Play wants to expand their reach.
