Gaming has never been more popular. The accessibility of the latest consoles and increasing acceptance of gaming as a hobby that is not just confined to teenagers in dark rooms has created a new golden era for the gaming industry.
Despite the popularity of your shooters and sports games, there are certain genres that have historically struggled to find a home on consoles. Let’s take a look at the genres that have never gained much purchase on the standard console.
Gambling
Online gambling has experienced a huge resurgence in the last few years. Increased connectivity, more advanced technology and a greater selection of games than ever before has increased online casino traffic exponentially.
Online casinos enable people to experience the thrill of nailing a huge jackpot wherever they happen to be. Whether you only have a few minutes or a whole afternoon, online casinos are a great way to experience hours of fun.
Yet gambling is a genre of game that has never gained much interest on console. Stringent regulations on gambling and the expectations of console gamers have long curtailed the popularity of this genre.
And casinos have been trying for more than two decades to make it work.
Puzzle games
Puzzle games, or physics-based games, require players to use the gaming environment to solve puzzles and unlock new levels. Mobile puzzle games have always been immensely popular, but they have never achieved the same popularity on consoles.
To put it simply, physics-based games require a huge level of control that control pads simply don’t offer. With touchscreens allowing players even greater control over their gaming experience, the nature of controlling your character on a console prevents players from getting the full experience.
For example, while a game like Angry Birds was a hit on smartphones, it would suffer from diminished functionality on an Xbox.
Life simulation games
The life simulation genre has been pioneered by the likes of The Sims. This PC classic has seen some popularity on older consoles, but most people who love this genre would always select the PC version.
Life simulation games are all about customization, and games consoles only have so much space. This genre relies on a constant stream of expansion packs to get the most out of them.
For example, The Sims 4 has 34 DLC expansion packs to get the full game. Every expansion pack is charged as if it were a separate game all on its own. Console gamers are not the type who would respond favourably to that prospect.
Unfortunately, it’s simply not practical on the console. People in this genre love to mod their towns, cities and characters, but consoles are simply not up to the job.
Sandbox games
Perhaps a controversial option, but sandbox games offer a diminished experience on the console for the same reason as life simulation games.
Sandbox games offer an open-world environment. At the vanilla level, games such as GTA V and the Elder Scrolls series work perfectly fine on the console. But gamers don’t get the same replayability when choosing sandbox games.
The modding communities of Elder Scrolls and GTA are huge. Even today, games that are more than 10 years old have huge followings simply because the modding community allows gamers to constantly change their worlds.
Skyrim, in particular, has sold more than 30 million copies and has just released the Skyrim Anniversary Version to mark 10 years since inception.
MMORPG games
The MMORPG player grew up with titles like Runescape, World of Warcraft and EVE Online. These games operate based on the expectation of playing with and competing with other gamers across the globe.
MMORPG games focus less on single player content and concentrate entirely on the multiplayer experience.
In the past, games consoles lacked the power to accommodate playing with hundreds of players at the same time. They have also failed to offer the same graphics and customization options MMORPG players expect.
Although the technology makes it possible to develop MMORPG games for the console, this is a genre that has been firmly associated with PC gaming.
Conclusion
Some gaming genres are simply less suited to the humble gaming console than others. Whether it’s a lack of power, control or connectivity, there are those genres that simply play better on mobile or PC.
Of course, much of the problem does come from reputation and long-held views on certain genres. While many of the above genres would work perfectly well on a console, the nature of the PC, mobile and console gamer differs. It will take a long time to change these preconceptions.
The gaming landscape is continually changing and there are no guarantees. There’s no telling where these less-popular genres will go in the years to come.
