By Aakriti Rana and Nimush Dubey
Many phone brands are dipping their toes in the gaming pool these days, claiming that smartphones are made and designed specifically for gaming. But despite all the bells and whistles, these so called gaming phones have failed to make a significant mark on the gaming landscape.
The problem is that no matter how far brands push gaming, it’s the only ‘one’ thing a smartphone can do. They exist beyond gaming, which is why they come with features and specifications that take the attention away from gaming – like the high school kid who wants to participate in every extracurricular activity, get good grades and be popular. but fails on everything.
But it always happens in school that a child picks one area, focuses on it and lets that one area bring fame and glory to all of them. A bit like Nintendo Switch.
While gaming may seem like an impossible equation for a gaming smartphone, the Nintendo Switch seems to have solved it pretty easily. Portable gaming consoles do just that, and have been selling like hot cakes since 2017. Its existence proves that there is a huge market for those who want a handheld gaming experience – the Switch has sold over 100 million units to date.
Which is why we think gaming phones could do with taking a page or two from the Nintendo Switch book. Here are six things gaming phones can learn from the Nintendo Switch:
1. Put gaming front and center, loud and proud
It’s nice to be able to do everything well but if you claim to be a gaming phone, you have to put gaming at the fore and everything else may just follow. High resolution displays, most powerful processors money can buy, loudest speakers, great cameras and all that goes into making a great gaming phone is really great.
But the problem is that these are generally what goes into making every Android flagship phone. The only thing that often marks a gaming phone as a device targeted at gaming is its often slightly larger size, and probably heavy specs with some logos and lights. In all other respects, a gaming phone is largely a phone.
Now, consider the Nintendo Switch. You can’t mistake it for anything other than a gaming device. It’s a classic portable gaming console with controls on both sides of the touchscreen, and can’t be mistaken for anything else. It doesn’t come with a Quad HD+ display with 500Hz refresh rate, nor does it bring supersonic speeds, or an immersive sound experience. It just focuses on leaving out all the frills and delivering a great gaming experience. The Switch can also play music and movies but it’s built for gaming and that’s what it puts first.
2. Stick to one major version, don’t release new versions
The smartphone space is always changing and constantly evolving which means that features and specs become obsolete and out of date months, and sometimes even weeks, after they are launched in the market. Gaming phones are updated year after year to stay in this rat race. It may seem like what any great gamer would want: upgrading their gaming unit every time a new, better version arrives. But in reality it is quite the opposite. When you switch to a new device, it takes a while to hang. And for a hardcore gamer, it can be a laborious process, involving getting the settings right, mapping out buttons and triggers, and more.
Moreover, gaming devices and hardware are very expensive and investing in them year after year can be quite detrimental to the bank balance as well.
Nintendo, meanwhile, hasn’t really changed much about the Switch since it launched in 2017. It’s been five years, a period in which most gaming phones would have gone through at least four to five significant hardware changes. The brand has made minor changes, such as adding an AMOLED display, bringing in a Lite version, and improving battery life, but not a single change has been made to the core Switch experience. A new Nintendo Switch won’t be any faster than the old one. This does not mean that one should not make any changes. Change is good, but if you bring something new every other day, it will not be possible for people to keep up with it. Game phone makers really need to settle down with their devices.
3. Expand the Accessory Horizon
Having a Hero Core unit is great but that doesn’t mean gaming phone makers have to put a full stop to hardware creativity. They could just shift the focus. The Nintendo Switch comes with so many different attachments and accessories that really add a ton of value to the gaming experience. Controllers, sticks, steering wheels, special cameras – the gaming world is your oyster if you look at Nintendo’s foray into the Switch accessory market. Gaming phones just need to expand their accessory horizons and move beyond button controllers and cooling units. And keep them affordable too – something like the Razer Kishi that costs around Rs 10,000 isn’t really what we’re talking about.
4. Get Gaming Developers on Your Side
One of the major differences between a gaming phone and the Nintendo Switch is the broad and exclusive game portfolio. Almost all games that users can play on gaming phones can also be played on other “non-gaming” phones. A gaming phone might be able to deliver a better experience but at the end of the day, you can get and play most of these games on a mid-segment phone as well. Not so with the Nintendo Switch, which has a pretty exclusive gaming library of its own, with memorable titles like Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There is no way to play those headers except on the switch.
That’s why we think that when brands make a gaming phone, they should try to come out with game developers, if not exclusive titles, then at least exclusive, upgraded versions of existing titles for their devices. . Games that work best with their phone and not just any phone with similar hardware. There has to be a point of exclusivity to them to help them stand out from the usual major crowd. Specs can be copied, game libraries are far more difficult – just ask Sony and Microsoft.
5. Try a Different OS or App Store
This may sound extremely radical but we swear it is not. Nintendo has its own platform for the Switch and also an online store with games and apps designed to work on the console. In short, a world of its own where it is in control, and which you have to pay to be a part of.
While brands like Amazon have worked on their own version of Android and the App Store, gaming phone makers have largely stuck to the standard Android platform. This basically means that underneath all those different skins and special features, there is the same basic Android OS, usually with the same app support.
Having an OS of its own allows gaming phone makers to be more creative as well as offer specialized gaming platforms, perhaps with exclusive titles and apps. A gaming phone with its own OS and games optimized for it sounds a lot better than a phone that does everything a bit better and has more bright lights than other Android flagships.
6. Focus on the Solo Journey
it may sound philosophical But not that deep. It’s actually very simple – just keep the crowd out. We find that the buzzword today when it comes to multiplayer games. Every game these days comes with battlefields and has tournaments and team players but learn this from Nintendo: Single player games are not dead.
Forget about being dead – they sell for millions. Just ask all the 27 million people who spent the money (and Switch games ain’t cheap) to get a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fast Wi-Fi and super quick network support can all be great for multiplayer arena warriors, but there are players who value and cherish single player games. Millions of them, if the Switch is any indication.
Brands with gaming phones can spend millions to sponsor PUBG and Call of Duty tournaments, but they also need to remember that not all gaming phones need to be optimized just for multiplayer battles. You don’t need a crowd to enjoy gaming. Just now. to keep. This. Easy. And also cherish the individual player.