And it’s pretty disgusting, the company don’t even use a high quality animation for advertizement, they steal it Supercell maybe kinda p2w but atleast they use a high quality animation and very nostalgic
That's like saying "Hacking someone's bank account isn't a robbery because you didn't physically take their money". Might be a moderately false equivalent, I'll admit but, basically it's excusing scummy activity because it's not physical or violently coerced. It is still harmful and predatory.
That's basically like the attempt of excusing a rigged one-armed bandit. "Oh it's not gambling, because there is no 777 main prize for the gambler!" No. It's still gambling. You're ripping them off, but it's still gambling. You promise something, you let them pay for chance...that's gambling
The actual reason is with loot boxes you still get something for your money. Legally in order for it to be gambling there has to be a chance that you get literally nothing. It was decided in the 90s when tcgs were under scrutiny for being gambling. So for lootboxes to be changed we have to change the legal view of what gambling is
I really miss when mobile games actually tried to genuinely entertain their players instead of constantly clawing for their pocket change. Angry Birds, Jetpack Joyride, etc., those were the days.
A friend of mine got me into an MMO game in 9th grade that was on the phone. For a mobile game, it honestly wasn't that bad and I still find myself playing it when the moment strikes right. Obviously now, I mainly play games like the first Division (Division 2 sucks imo because all the fashion is terrible and it felt way too easy compared to the first game)
Mobile gaming was once so hopeful and so quickly exploited and turned into a horrible thing. It's all gotten so out of hand both mobile and on consoles and I only see it getting worse because people aren't pushing back nearly enough. I'll know when it's time to retire from gaming completely when these kind of systems become the absolute norm across the board on consoles and there's simply not questioned at all. I was so happy to see the push back from battlefront 2, but it feels like they just pulled back and learned from that. They will continue to push the boundaries and see what they can get away with. And honestly when that becomes too exhausting I'll know the time has come to get back to my retro consoles and my back catalog of games, for good this time.
I think the main issue is that, even though a majority are pushing back hard, a very small minority of players are spending stupidly large sums, as described. Why design a game for a thousand ordinary people to pay a dollar for, when you can design a game for a millionaire to spend one hundred thousand for?
@@furretman3741 If they can't afford a PC, they probably aren't the whales that are promoting the industry. Some people pay exorbitantly large amounts on this stuff.
Reminded me of Black Mirror. Sooner or later these ads will be equipped with mind-reading software so that if your attention wonders somewhere for a few seconds the ad pauses itself, prompting you to watch the ad and pay attention to it.
@@r.a.6459 however that will at least require camera access and with Google pretty much denying apps and sometimes even the users of anything even remotely considered sensitive content, they can forget about doing so.
@@czerky1091 it's not that we didnt spend money on games. We just had to choose what games we wanted to buy. We had to weigh what we got out of each choice. Especially if it was single player. Thus learning what's my time and money best spent on.
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer When you grow up poor, even buying videogames becomes an investment. "Is this game worth it?", "Im wasting my money?". Even replay value becomes an important aspect of it.
Yeah, I agree. He may just be trying to emulate the N64 era and/or style, though. The movements are very jarring so I believe that if he wanted it to look smoother, he would've done it already. Maybe in the future he will change it. We don't know for sure.
On the topic of “don’t mess with a passionate gamer’s hobby”, don’t forget about the crowd reaction Blizzard got for announcing a Diablo Mobile. “Don’t you guys have phones??”
True. But for me mobile games ironically never cut it because the good ones actually use TOO MUCH ressources. I'm very skimpy on my phone and basically buy an indestructible brick every 5 years or so. "Triple A graphics!" just don't run on it. And my fingers are too fat to actually play most games. I would love for an actually good gamepad with integrated Smartphone stand to come out so I can play good games on my phone without either not being able to use it because of my fingers, or the gaming to be inconvenient because I would have to set the phone down somewhere while I use a gamepad
I worked on an early iPhone game. It was a fantasy role playing game with lots of great features and cool graphics, and we sweated each and every detail to make it the best gaming experience we could. All the while we were slaving away on it, the game that squatted for months in the number 1 spot in the app store was...Moron Test. And ultimately our game dropped into the ocean of iPhone games with barely a ripple. I'm not bitter or anything.
I'm glad I'm poor and have good impulse control so I can play the more predatory mobile games and feel satisfied with seeing them as just a silly distraction and nothing more. I still wish the market would change for the better though.
Same here,I will never buy any of that shit. I have found some games that are actually enjoyable,even games that have this sort of stuff can be fun but it depends on how they do it. We all just gotta deal with it cuz it’s definitely not gonna go away anytime soon.
You should try Genshin. It's an amazing game that doesn't have predatory mechanics. Unless you really, really have poor impulse control and the need to collect everything.
@@vipersniperpiper6093 It's similar in some ways, but very different in others. It's a giant open world game. You can go anywhere, and exploration is a big aspect of it. From what I remember of Honkai, that's more a "typical level" select type thing.
I discovered this channel recently first seeing the new video uploaded some hours ago. I thought some guy was copying saberspark but then I saw it listed by the Saberspark channel along with another. What's up with this? What did I miss. Edit: I missed the note where saberspark mentioned what this channel is supposed to be.
This hits hard. My childhood followed mobile gaming’s progression from Snake on a Nokia, to random iOS webapps, to early app development, to the age of Lite versions… and then watched as it evolved into this mess. I imagine a lot of us mid-‘90s babies are all watching Saber’s rundown the same way - we lived it, we know each step by heart, but it’s somehow sadly cathartic to hear it all so well-put. Too bad it’s too effective to change any time soon.
The extreme monetization, idle games, and lack of creativity killed mobile gaming. Phones right now are more powerful than the switch. All we need is someone triple A dev to port a modern game and take advantage of something like the razer kishi.
@@megabuster3940 I played it for a couple weeks around when it came out. It has gatcha mechanics, and I found the combat very unrewarding. It looks like a AAA game though, so it's on the right path, but didn't do it for me
I think that my playing a lot of these types of games in my youth, combined with my stubborn refusal to spend money, ended up instilling me with the virtue of patients.... heh, dodged a bullet there, I suppose
90% of mobile game players are like you and me, spend almost nothing on a game for months until we got bored and moved to other free games. It's the top 1% that pay exorbitant amount that people usually focused on
Mine is different, i grew up with console games, and seeing my coworkers play mobile games in their phones, watching the ugly graphics, shallow gameplay, and most importantly, them constantly getting bombarded by ads and microtransactions from every corner completely turn me off from those kind of games
@@manusiabumi7673 Growing up with console game or PC game is privilage tho. Not many people have the money to buy console and games each year. People in third world country don't have enough buying power. But for mobile game, there are more free option. They can play it without spending at all. If the game stop them from having fun and force them to pay, they can just jump to other free games. This is the reason mobile game is growing fast in SEA, Africa and India. Because they can't affort to pay anything, they are more resistant to monetization.
And you know what sucks, I have found games I liked that weren’t freemium and actually without ads or a ton of ads and over the years the integrate more ads or become paid to play
Some of the few I can think of off the top of my head that are good without demanding money or are minimally priced: Night Of The Full Moon, Hoplite, Chimaera Recollect, and Caves. There are a few others that are alright but they definitely nudge you to spend at least a fiver to get upgrades you'd have to grind for or to get rid of intrusive ads, engaging gameplay aside if you're patient enough. It's sad how mobile games are even more a c×cktease than the 100-in1 Games discs I grew up with on Windows 98 with the splash screens asking you for credit card info after like 3 levels. But dangit those 3 levels were fun as hell and I'd play them thousands of times, as opposed to hitting the glass cieling of progression and false sense of accomplishment mobile games give us now. Oh and the scams. So many scams.
@@hanin3128 This has really ticked me off recently. The original angry birds is no longer around and the second one only lets you have a limited number of retries before you have to wait or pay to get more. My daughter really likes the game, but isn't very good at it yet so it is a little sad to watch her happily play for like 10 minutes before having to give up because she ran out of lives.
Its sad that mobile games are overlooked when they're amazing ways to tell stories. It makes you focus less on graphics and performance and more on stylistic choices and storytelling (realism isn't the benchmark of good graphics people). I want to see more games like Monument Valley 1 and 2 (imo are the best mobile games ever which aren't a port of a PC/console games) that are simple, yet with unique visual perspective and storytelling. There's a lot of fun games on the app store still, but so many of them are bogged down by repetitiveness and microtransactions, which just make them feel like content with no substance. Games like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Battle Cats etc. are fun, but not what I would call interesting, dynamic, or groundbreaking. Its like "why should I care about this game?" Then there are games that try to have a story but just don't feel as good as their gameplay, such as the Shadow Fight series (still great games and they definitely deserve their name, but I couldn't care less about the story. I play it because the combat is really well designed not for the lackluster and boring story)
Someday I hope to release a really great mobile game, but when I do, I want to be ethical about how I monetize it! I'm leaning in the direction of using the League of Legends model, where the game itself is free, but the in-app purchases allow players to buy in-game assets that the player keeps indefinitely. And, of course, no lootboxes. At all.
Honestly, there are some amazing diamonds in the rough when it comes to mobile games. The issue is, they are usually the ones that don’t have any advertising, they’re the ones you find when you search for an app, can’t find it, and decide to try something else that came up anyway.
@@caldw615 most of the "Pixel Dungeon" games, but the best in my opinion is probably the Shattered Pixel Dungeon. It's a turn-based dungeon crawler with pretty standard selection of RPG classes. The game is still for free despite reaching its 1.0 version and the developer is constantly working on it and improving it. I haven't been playing it for a while but came back recently and it still feels satisfying. It's quite skill-based though, so it might take you some time to reach the final boss (I still haven't even seen the last floor), but nonetheless I highly recommend it.
Im sad you went only over the F2P and Pay2Win Model but not the Evolution of the Gatcha Model of Japanese Games, cause honestly that is the more interesting evolution. Cause they went from Monetizing Strength of Characters and Mechanics...to learning how to Monetize One's Affection like how a Person wants to Buy an Actual Gatchapon or Figurine, often through the use of Storytelling and World Building as an Element for the Mobile Game.
It's really a bummer seeing what mobile gaming has become. I genuinely have a soft spot and good memories of some of the amazing point and click adventure games and sim type games of the 2010s. If anyone hasn't tried them, I highly recommend the games by Biscuit Placebo. You, Me, Hell is one of my favorite games to this day, the humor, the South Park-esque paper art, just lots of heart to their games. They haven't come out with anything in a while and that really bums me out, but the market is a different place now.
i thought this was going to be more or less the same as your og channel, but i like the details you put into making it different. the earthbound border around clips, the mario 64 text font, your low poly avatar, and even the background being made of 3d models are all great touches
@@Incrediblegassygem599 not really considering that many youtubers have made videos about this in the past that goes into even more detail and nothing happened
I love this New Concept for a gaming channel, can we expect videos on Newgrounds, Stick Death and other Flash game sites that are no longer accessible online? Newgrounds defined my High School and college Years!
@@SwiftNimblefoot He's a really pompous, snobby artist, best known for creating The Bean (officially the "Cloud Gate", but only he actually calls it that) in Chicago's Millennium Park and being banned from using multiple paints by their creator because he's just that unlikable.
@@Twilekmaniac To add on to this, he’s also known for attempting to exclusively license Vantablack, a substance thought to be one of the least reflective substances known
26:26 Do *NOT,* I repeat, do *NOT* buy cards off eBay. Sites like TCGPlayer are generally better and often much cheaper and actually reflect the actual price of the card. Btw, as a person that plays a few gachas; Fire Emblem Heroes is the least offensive when it comes to the Nintendo gachas, as it's very, very possible to F2P (yes, this is an actual term used for people who don't give a cent when playing a gacha) FEH. Their Mario Kart gacha is easily the most offensive. Though, with that said, FEH does make about 7.6 times what the Mario Kart gacha makes. I feel like that's more because people actually have stuck around for FEH compared to that Mario Kart gacha. And I feel like the reason Nintendo even made a Mario Kart gacha was because Mario Kart 8 is their most selling software on the Switch. With that said, while I know this video was made and released long before the 2021 revenue charts were made public; Genshin Impact is at the top of most grossing game in its first year. At anywhere between 2.3 to 3.5 billion dollars. Fortnite in its first year only made 2.3 to 2.8 billion and it's now second on that chart. Before anyone says anything, I'm not saying gachas are good or anything, they absolutely have their problems (Looks at some of the ads for my most played gacha, that being Azur Lane's), but as it stands, they're going to be sticking around, for better or for worse.
I would argue that app stores were never about enabling the little guy by Apple or Google (not sure about Valve); they were always about being the gatekeeper to a burgeoning market they knew would explode. They didn't have to predict what kind of models would work, so long as it worked at all and they got their cut. This also means we can't look to them for help out of the gambling/lootbox hellscape the industry has currently found itself in
Wow I never thought I'd hear saber say the phrase "Love Live". I used to be way too addicted to that game, and the manipulative gacha mechanics made me spend way too many hundreds of dollars. Wish I knew more about the psychology of mobile gaming more back then.... Awesome video--the new assets look great and gave me a solid laugh. I'm so excited for the future of this new channel
One of the saddest thing is seeing unlockables be made into micro-transactions. Ruins the value of those extra cool skins and weapons when someone just buys them for $5.99. Miss when you could unlock them through actually playing the game.
mobile games have been on a downfall but mobile rhythm games such as cytus ii, arcaea, phigros, muse dash and voez are fantastic and phigros is entirely free. even older games like deemo are still getting updated. although some of them have dlc that is way too expensive, cytus ii, muse dash and phigros are 3 of my all time favourite games.
Honestly some of my favorite games have gacha mechanics. I don't really have a problem with them as long as the game is still playable and enjoyable without spending money, and if the paid content is actually worth the money spent.
Paid content is never worth the money spent unless it gives you more gameplay content, like map packs or mission pack type DLC, arguably also something like TF2s contracts that gives the player challenges to complete.
@@Miniae_Cecilia Gacha games are not worth spending money on. They tend to be designed specifically with whales in mind, requiring massive ammounts of money to get whatever specific thing it is you want. I personally play the f2p friendly Princess Connect Re:Dive, haven't spent any money and have gacha currency for days so I'm ready for all the upcoming limited characters I want. For free to play games my attitude is that I won't spend any money and if that results in a bad experience (i.e. it's p2w or something) then I stop playing.
Small important note about apps selling for $0.99 on the app store: it had less to do with it being the lowest price and more about the massively important detail that Apple would NOT take a cut from apps selling for under $1.00. Over that, and you'd have to give Apple a cut of the sales, I forget what percentage it was back then though.
Love the avatar! Looks really cool! As someone that plays games like Fire emblem Heroes, It's annoying to see clear hyperwhales appear and completely crush the pvp teams with maxed out premium characters(in a f2p standpoint).
I mean, another reason why games like League and Dota are still juggernauts is because they can be run on cheaper hardware. Not everyone lives in a first world country or shill 2500$+ for a gaming setup in order to have the software and storage space to run the newest sparliest triple A games. Dota can run on a 400$ laptop that you need to use for school and work anyway; and Genshin Impact gives us in the third world a chance to play something we imagine triple A rpgs to look like at their lower graphic settings with a phone that costs 250$.
It's especially effed that they have TH-cam Kids but still insist on treating all of us like children regardless, *while* shovelling these wildly inappropriate ads into our faces and simultaneously chastising creators like Saber for saying "hollup..."
I'm guessing you commented before watching the video lol. This isn't about the ads at all actually. But I assumed that's the direction it was going as well based off the thumbnail and what Saber's been talking about on Twitter
I am so sick of Valve not being mentioned in the discussion of loot boxes. They get off easy from their contributions to the business model because "steam good"
Yes but then, the loot boxes of valve only give skins and not affect gameplay. While in these shitty games you cant have fun without paying 5$ in every hour. And yes, as a international game deployer steam indeed good.
Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't play many online games via Steam but doesn't Steam marketplace clear them because it's a secondary market, making your purchases more like trading cards, therefore the contents of your loot boxes actually can have value and you can buy what you want from other users?
That’s because trading is possible in the platform, and you can literally earn some cash back while selling skins you acquired from loot boxes, though it also enables black markets for CSGO skins
While steam does allow for games to utilize loot boxes ( killing floor or payday or the trading cards) the thing that makes steam the proverbial adult supervising drinking teens is that steam has the market place. The loot boxes are cosmetic only usually and anything you get that isn't what you want, you can sell back to the market, to someone that actually wants it. Yes the value is rarely equal to the cost of the box, but the loot box items can be sold for money that goes into the steam wallet and can be used for purchase of games and many of those games drop free loot boxes so it's more like buying tangible trading cards than a thing that only has value to a singular game and nothing else
Love the N64-esque look you guys are using for the videos. Makes me nostalgic, I remember all the games I'd play on the 64 and the original PlayStation.
Man...I'm 20 right now, currently in college and making my own video games. It's been very rewarding putting my ideas into practice, especially since I've wanted to do this since I was little, but I can't help but feel sad seeing how video games fought so hard to be considered art, only to be turned into corporate cash-grabs like everything else these days. (God this makes me sound like a boomer lmao) I hope eventually things turn around, because it's disappointing seeing something I'm passionate about being reduced to lootboxes and shady social engineering tactics. :(
kinda wish people started making complete games for portable systems again. then again when there's barely any competition in that regard there isn't really much to say also the amount of art contributing to smartphone gacha games really saddens me, because there are legitimately good content locked behind shady practices
But the problem is people will find a way to get the game for free, especially on Android. So if you want to make games, just make it on Switch instead
@@1010otep I doubt that. Many modders can still find a way to crack the DRM. Also drm will just make the gaming experience worse. *cough cough* Denuvo *cough*
@@Windows11Official well even then its not so easy as those games are mostly online nowadays and therefore can also be verified from the server side which makes it even harder to crack those games
I remember playing infinity blade 2 (it is a trilogy) and playing it nonstop because it was simple and fun. It actually tried to be an actual game. It was an absolute grind fest, sure. but the combat loop of dodging, parrying, blocking, using magic kept me coming back. It even had hard-as-hell super bosses that I have never managed to beat TO THIS DAY. Listing these now made me realize how well made it was for it's time. So tell me, Where the f#&k did games of this caliber go?
Worse is that the 'mobile model' seems to be a thing chased by any company who thinks they can develop a locked-in platform (which is pretty much all of them by now). I haven't been a user of any platform other than Linux Mint for a long time, so I was shocked to find out that even the Windows 10 built-in games are now full of ads and bypasses for muting them. My mother wanted a mah-jong game, so I got her a Windows port of the KDE games suite that included some, which she seems to like quite a lot. They're certainly at least on par with your average mobile game, and without any ads, tracking, or micro-transactions. However, I was unable to help with the family iPad, since even though none of these mobile games seem any better than (for example) Frozen Bubble, while at the same time bombarding you with ads and selling your data to advertising networks, you can't just compile equivalent games for the OS and sideload them yourself onto a device without jailbreaking it. All monopolistic companies (successful or otherwise) must die.
Market capitalization of Apple (AAPL) Market cap: $2.310 Trillion As of January 2023 Apple has a market cap of $2.310 Trillion. This makes Apple the world's most valuable company
The best way to fight against these predatory practices is to be aware they exist, and to tell others about them. It is also important to back and support movements to implement laws that will hamstring these practices. The more legal tape we create the less they will be able to put these policies to practice. It's a long battle, but the fact it happened in a few countries already, means it's possible everywhere.
They just copy the wiki page, change some things. Throw in some flowery language and it makes an overall inferior video to something like saberspark. While he lacks production value in my opinion they are still the best videos on this site.
It’s interesting how most of the points could be traced to a mixture of platforms like Nexon and Kongregate. I used to play games on them, and pretty much every point has been done in those before the iPhone. Dungeon Fighter Online used to be distributed by Nexon, and there was a marked stamina system that needed micro transactions to mitigate along with a gacha system for temporary items. Kongregate has an entire landscape of games that are predecessors to Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans that seem to have been the test bed for so much of what has become the mobile market. Overall, this is a good timeline for the development of the mobile gaming scene. It hammered home just where and when certain events shaped what would follow.
i dig the design of the character model. it reminds me of an N64 style character model (or just any 90’s era console just starting out with 3D gameplay) which is really on brand for the channel rn
It's so nice to hear your takes on the gaming market with these videos. I'm happy to watch your inciteful takes. Also, I love the music choices, Glover and Rocket: Robot on Wheels are some underrated gems I noticed! I was an N64 kid all the way.
In the same vein, we got pay-to-win MMOs. Might be worth making a video about in terms of moving away from subscription based MMOs to free ones with transactions to allow you to get ahead of other players.
0:00 Intro 1:46 Origins Part 1 Started Off Pretty Good 9:03 Part 2 The Poison Is Injected 18:00 Part 3 The Hook Sinks Deeper 23:00 Part 4 Let's Go Whaling 36:12 Conclusion
Here are some underrated mobile games that are groundbreaking (and ad-free): 1. Radiant (Has cost;not free A combination of space invaders, asteroids, and galaga. Pixel graphics (almost), various weapons to use, and has an awesome story. Good replay value. 2. Exiled kingdoms (Has cost;not free) A diablo-style game with a good tale. Choose 4 classes and build your character's setup. Acquire companions along the way and gain the reputation of any factions each with its own feature. And stop the deep Lords! 3. Mindustry A tower defense. You collect the required resources to build your battle stations. Make your own maps or use the editor to create pixel arts! 4. Doom and Destiny A silly jrpg with hilarious dialogues (The broken english makes it even more enjoyable) . 4 nerds are transported to a different world, and their task to end the evil that is soon to be found out in order to return home(if the knuckleheads don't screw up). 5. My boy! (Has cost;not free) A GBA emulator. Download any gba roms in the internet and revive the nostalgia! 6. Drastic (Has cost; not free) A DS emulator.
If you want a more compelling phone gaming experience, then I'd suggest trying out morrowind for phone. It's a great port made by the modding community. A little tough to set up but it's rly worth it. Honestly the best RPG I've ever played.
Popped over here from Saberspark Prime, with the mobile ads video! Glad to have more of your content to subscribe too and love your N64-style avatar! Nice touch 👌
Really enjoyed this video! Interesting learning the history, even though it doesn't seem so far in the past haha. Excited for this new channel! Also enjoyed the music from Rocket; Robot on Wheels in the background. Now I want to play it.
This new channel is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to ee more from it. Thats firstly. Secondly, I agree with all of this. The older Gen z remember the simplicities of the ps2 and 3 and don't remember when the in app purchases was that bad. It really is getting to the point where its just too bad and getting almost criminal. You tell these developers to think about the children and they just say "what children?" Or "i do, everyday when their impatience and love for cool things makes us more money hekekekeke" . Its disgusting to think about and I love that there are always those developers that still try to make a genuine mobile game with little to no inn app purchases. My support is all with them for sure. Power to the underdogs
It's honestly scary how successful the in-game purchase model is at reeling people in...? Even as somebody who doesn't have an addictive personality history, and who is used to very constrained budgets, I completely got sucked in by this model to start with & only realised after about a month how much I'd cumulatively spent to keep progressing without delays in the game I was playing. It was a real wakeup call!! I can only imagine how much money they must make off people without such income constraints, and/or how much financial damage they could do for people who are easily addicted to things...? Glad to see channels like Saberspark's highlighting some of the current issues with this industry. I still play as I find it a great sleep aid, but do so without any of the in-game purchases - which also naturally enforces longer breaks away from the game whilst your resources refresh. It's a lot more frustrating, but worth it not to be having your credit card constantly insidiously drained by your own impatience! 🤦🏻♀️
Genshin is called out here (rightfully so) but I see this game in a really positive light. It's lots and lots and lots of good Gameplay without any need to spend any money. There are some mechanics (a kind of energy used for some activities that refills over time, character gacha) that are bothering from time to time (you want do do xyz but you need to wait), but with a tiny bit of management, these things are maybe 5% of the "game". In contrast almost every other mobile "game" aims at delivering the bare minimum amount of content to be called a "game" (with development done once and then let the game run for 10 years without any "relevant" updates) while also aiming at getting the maximum amount of money from the players. I think the "Game per Dollar" Ratio of Genshin is extremely high. And because of that they make a ton of money. Because they delivered a "game with ingame transactions" and not "ingame transactions with buttons" (that people confuse with a "game").
I feel like genshin of all mobile games I've tried is the one that feels more like a game to me, they have the appeal of a triple A rpg game and the monetization of mobile games plus gacha mechanics although they're not required to play it its still a pretty casual game.
It's sad that there isn't good ones out there and most of them have been taken out. It really feels stupid that you can't reinstall the game again that was awesome to play like the original angry birds. They did not have lives like the second game. I wish they keep it in the store than remove by their greed. Sorry I haven't watched the video but, I'm giving my opinion to what is going on right now. I'm not saying all games are bad. Just it doesn't feel right about their pay to win stuff. I have Stellar fox on my phone and I'm not going to uninstall it because it was taken out of the google play store.
My guess is that they didn't complete the story. There was 5 levels and the rare thing is there was no life system on the mobile. I wish they completed the whole game and finding out what happened. The game art style was like Ori and the blind forest.
I have to say, some Gatcha games are actually not too bad although they still play into that need to have a certain character. What I mean of that is that they give you ways of earning in game currency to buy those loot boxes or Gatchas as well as letting those who want to buy them buy them. I have been playing Genshin Impact for example and never spent a dime in it (Been on it for about two years now), getting my characters from free in game currency that they give you or you earn. The worst ones I think are the ones that are not reasonable with that in game currency or have no way of getting it other then buying it.
I played Monster Strike since it first came over to the West, and even though it failed here I ended up playing the original JP version for quite some time (as a F2P run) before I took a long break. That game got so popular in Japan, it spawned a 3DS game, a card game, has its own store in Shibuya, has several seasons of anime (though the episodes are very short, but the animation gets progressively better), AND 2 movies with a summer special, and even their own like...competitions and events. And for the longest time they were ALWAYS behind P&D on both ratings and revenue. And whaddya know? Now they're top of the charts, and I have a sudden urge to update my application...
@@mykaruest3620 The reason normally is to split up their content so each channel has a focus. Saberspark, for example, made this channel so he can talk about the game industry without splitting the audience of his man channel which talks about animation. Different channel, different subject.
I used to play a mobile game by EA where you create your own super hero and fight them against others online in tournaments. I can't remember what it was called, but it was like a card game and was addictive as hell. It was discontinued and its servers shut down. I talked to a lot of players in the chatroom built into the game and some were suing because they had spent hundreds, and some even spent thousands on this game. I thought that was insane. I spent 20 in this game and regretted it immediately. I miss that game
I Did NOT expect to hear Dragalia get namedropped here, That being said if you DO want to play a gacha game I highly suggest it because of its generosity & also the fact you can pretty much win any quest with any set of adventurers if you're determined enough (Just have to build them correctly as with anything..) The ultra-generous 3rd anniversary is going on as of posting this video and the event story is probably one of my favorites so far. I digress-- it IS still a gacha game. You *will* have to save for characters you want and watch your wallet (Albeit you do not need to pull for more than 1 copy of an adventurer unlike Genshin or Feh. Guaranteed pulls are also a thing & every once in a while they host a pack where in exchange for a premium tenfold you get... another tenfold and a character of your choice.) but for a hack n' slash mobile game its one of the most effort filled games i've played. Definitely worth a shot if you're into these types of things. I wish Nintendo promoted it more because the story is incredibly good. Also.. theres a roguelike mode for it dropping later this year. I'm excited to see how that turns out.
It is a shame to see how mobile games used to be, and then look at what they’ve become. It feels like such a step backwards. It’s especially sad considering how powerful phones have become since then. Developers could be making full-on games just like in the early days, only now with even better graphics and performance, but nooo. We have to stick with match 3 and endless runner games.
Thankfully more and more mobile players are beginning to get tired of being milked for money, Including myself, many people I know have quit many games because there's no balance between what's free and what you have to play to enjoy. That's why I've only stuck with Genshin, I can pay to get characters but it's not required to actually enjoy the content.
For now.... Y E T I’m sticking with the good ol’ classic puzzle game of Mekorama, Labyrinth 2, Heroes and Castle 2, KoF A-12 and Rayark Interactive games (too much to count)
It really does piss me off. As someone who doesn’t own a PC or console my phone is the only source of “gaming”. Unfortunately there will never truly by a fun, free, and ad-less game.
A suggestion for your avatar, perhaps try not to have it return to the normal pose every time you change to another pose? As it is right now it's rather slow and not very snappy like your main channel's avatar. Starting each pose from the new pose's "startup" animation could work better. Not that you shouldn't use the to-normal animation at all, but just don't use it when, say, you're going from a confused to a shocked pose. Apart from that, loving the 3D avatar!
The biggest reasons for me in order of what makes a mobile game suck: 1. Cluttered UI - Too much shit on the screen like login reward, spin the wheel, events, offers, etc that are always on the main screen. 2. Forced ads - Ads that pop up videos after a stage or whatever 3. Pay to enjoy - no not pay to win. This is more like extremely few bag slots that can only be unlocked via premium currency. Reward chests that can only be unlocked with keys bought with premium currency. 4. Video ads for game currency - Not to be confused with video ads that give rewards. This goes hand in hand with the above where they give you a few of the premium currency, they use this in tandem with point #3 to rake in ad revenue. 20-30 videos for 1 bag slot out of 40+ or 1 key for a chest that still needs like 8 hours to unlock. 5. Pay to win. 6. Energy meter
"You're probably watching this video on your phone, And if you're not, It's probably somewhere within arms reach." Haha, No its 2 floors downstairs because I forgot it wasn't in my bag.
Man, Bible Town hit Saber so hard he flew back into the 64 bit era.
Those eyes..they make me piss my pants..
Lol
XD
@@tobiko6499 Translated to english the XD says XD
@@TheRealUnkn0wn_289 lmao yeah TH-cam can do that right now i guess :v
“I found a game for buddies”
“If you beat this, you are legally skilled”
“99% of people can’t beat this”
And it’s pretty disgusting, the company don’t even use a high quality animation for advertizement, they steal it
Supercell maybe kinda p2w but atleast they use a high quality animation and very nostalgic
"CAN'T REACH PINK!"
1. singleplayer with bots
2. no skill needed
3. 99% can beat it
@@eowynbates9376 4. no pink in the game
Sadly, he didn’t explained about fake mobile game advertising on this video.
"It's not gambling because the rewards aren't worth any real-world value" okay but that's worse. You do get how that's worse, right?
Oh yeah
That's like saying "Hacking someone's bank account isn't a robbery because you didn't physically take their money". Might be a moderately false equivalent, I'll admit but, basically it's excusing scummy activity because it's not physical or violently coerced. It is still harmful and predatory.
It’s how Japan got around the “no gambling” rule with pachinko. I still don’t even understand how the game works.
That's basically like the attempt of excusing a rigged one-armed bandit.
"Oh it's not gambling, because there is no 777 main prize for the gambler!"
No. It's still gambling. You're ripping them off, but it's still gambling. You promise something, you let them pay for chance...that's gambling
The actual reason is with loot boxes you still get something for your money. Legally in order for it to be gambling there has to be a chance that you get literally nothing. It was decided in the 90s when tcgs were under scrutiny for being gambling. So for lootboxes to be changed we have to change the legal view of what gambling is
I really miss when mobile games actually tried to genuinely entertain their players instead of constantly clawing for their pocket change. Angry Birds, Jetpack Joyride, etc., those were the days.
They where all either Flash games or a rippoff of a Flash game, which is why they weren't clawing for your money since the original didn't.
@@asgth6147 Yeah, all of those where so basic and wheren't even original
They are the kind of games that come as demos for a game dev engine
@@theAstarrr earlier generation anime games on mobile were good. Until dreaded Gacha came along toturn for the opening pandroa's Can of Worms.
A friend of mine got me into an MMO game in 9th grade that was on the phone. For a mobile game, it honestly wasn't that bad and I still find myself playing it when the moment strikes right. Obviously now, I mainly play games like the first Division (Division 2 sucks imo because all the fashion is terrible and it felt way too easy compared to the first game)
PVZ but like before EA bought popcap (Im not sure I just remember having a bunch of fun playing it in the early 2010s"
Mobile gaming was once so hopeful and so quickly exploited and turned into a horrible thing. It's all gotten so out of hand both mobile and on consoles and I only see it getting worse because people aren't pushing back nearly enough. I'll know when it's time to retire from gaming completely when these kind of systems become the absolute norm across the board on consoles and there's simply not questioned at all. I was so happy to see the push back from battlefront 2, but it feels like they just pulled back and learned from that. They will continue to push the boundaries and see what they can get away with. And honestly when that becomes too exhausting I'll know the time has come to get back to my retro consoles and my back catalog of games, for good this time.
I think the main issue is that, even though a majority are pushing back hard, a very small minority of players are spending stupidly large sums, as described. Why design a game for a thousand ordinary people to pay a dollar for, when you can design a game for a millionaire to spend one hundred thousand for?
the thing is, most people that bother playing mobile games don't have a pc or console so playing games on mobile is our last choice
@@furretman3741 If they can't afford a PC, they probably aren't the whales that are promoting the industry. Some people pay exorbitantly large amounts on this stuff.
@@furretman3741
I'm going to assume you meant *"only"* but I get what you're saying.
It's sad but even with the Pushback, the real problem is capitalism. Even retro games had that problem for only being made for a profit
I didn't even notice that this was a brand new channel
kinda cool though, as it allows Saber to make video essays on games and game companies
Omg I didn't even notice either!!! I'm glad you said something because now I just subscribed
Whole thing started bc of saber being tired of TH-cam's double standards with ads on his old channel
And now this lol
He was always able to make videos on games. I guess he wanted a new channel thats more sponsor and advertiser friendly.
There's a new host now don't know if he is replacing Saber tho
hearing doodle jump and cut the rope are considered early giants makes me feel so old
I'm not even a legal adult and I recognize those. Come on.
@@adre2194 but did they come out when you were legally an adult? making you realie you've been an adult for longer than you thought?
@@harveysinclair8986 he's an illegal adult
@@CoreRealm A stolen adult
same
Simple answer: Everything was great until Candy Crush happened.
Guess I am glad to keep going with Bejeweled series* and not playing those 'rip-offs' until now...
*note: Stars doesn't count, lol.
nah there’s been a few great apps since then. The Supercell games, Bloons TD battles, and the skateboarding ones to name a few
Yep
@@CrystalWings12 unfortunately I only have Stars because I don’t like blitz and it’s the only free one
We have a "until the fire nation attacked" situation on our hands
I love how mobile games became ad-watching simulators.
Yeah but I kinda hate it when gameplay pops up. It's so annoying. Like I came here to watch ads smh.
Eh, it doesn't happen too often anyway.
Y
IS THIS FREE LIKES? LETS SEE WOO
Reminded me of Black Mirror. Sooner or later these ads will be equipped with mind-reading software so that if your attention wonders somewhere for a few seconds the ad pauses itself, prompting you to watch the ad and pay attention to it.
@@r.a.6459 however that will at least require camera access and with Google pretty much denying apps and sometimes even the users of anything even remotely considered sensitive content, they can forget about doing so.
this isn't a history of us playing mobile games
it's a history of mobile games playing us
"THEY PLAYED US LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE!"
One good thing about growing up poor, you dont fall for gambling nonsense and always play it safe. Because you understand the value of a dollar.
yeah,it's pretty easy to ignore microtransactions when you're used to not spending money on games
@@czerky1091 it's not that we didnt spend money on games. We just had to choose what games we wanted to buy. We had to weigh what we got out of each choice. Especially if it was single player.
Thus learning what's my time and money best spent on.
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer When you grow up poor, even buying videogames becomes an investment. "Is this game worth it?", "Im wasting my money?".
Even replay value becomes an important aspect of it.
Is it just me or does it feel like the 3D model needs a little bounciness to the idle animations?
I agree
Yeah, it's not the same as the 2d static images which work better for the other channel. Even Lily's Garden has bounce to their stationary poses.
Yeah, I agree. He may just be trying to emulate the N64 era and/or style, though. The movements are very jarring so I believe that if he wanted it to look smoother, he would've done it already. Maybe in the future he will change it. We don't know for sure.
Could use a little, yeah.
@@dtatertot true
On the topic of “don’t mess with a passionate gamer’s hobby”, don’t forget about the crowd reaction Blizzard got for announcing a Diablo Mobile. “Don’t you guys have phones??”
True. But for me mobile games ironically never cut it because the good ones actually use TOO MUCH ressources. I'm very skimpy on my phone and basically buy an indestructible brick every 5 years or so. "Triple A graphics!" just don't run on it. And my fingers are too fat to actually play most games. I would love for an actually good gamepad with integrated Smartphone stand to come out so I can play good games on my phone without either not being able to use it because of my fingers, or the gaming to be inconvenient because I would have to set the phone down somewhere while I use a gamepad
@@HeresorLegacy at that point just buy a switch
@@thelittleoleme5323 I do have a Switch. But I need a bag to carry that around. My phone is always in my pocket when I leave the house.
@@HeresorLegacy but then u are willing to lug a controller arround
@@thelittleoleme5323 That is more for emulated games, since SNES and PS1 look awesome on a tiny screen
I worked on an early iPhone game. It was a fantasy role playing game with lots of great features and cool graphics, and we sweated each and every detail to make it the best gaming experience we could.
All the while we were slaving away on it, the game that squatted for months in the number 1 spot in the app store was...Moron Test.
And ultimately our game dropped into the ocean of iPhone games with barely a ripple.
I'm not bitter or anything.
Please make that game on android please : )
what was the game?
What's the game called?
That means your marketing was garbage. Great products can't market themselves. Sorry not sorry.
@@dbsirius True, we did not have a million dollars for a marketing campaign. Our mistake.
I really like the design of your avatar!
Same
@@Mikewazowskioverheaven ok
As do i
Oh ok
I like you
I'm glad I'm poor and have good impulse control so I can play the more predatory mobile games and feel satisfied with seeing them as just a silly distraction and nothing more.
I still wish the market would change for the better though.
Same here,I will never buy any of that shit. I have found some games that are actually enjoyable,even games that have this sort of stuff can be fun but it depends on how they do it. We all just gotta deal with it cuz it’s definitely not gonna go away anytime soon.
You should try Genshin. It's an amazing game that doesn't have predatory mechanics. Unless you really, really have poor impulse control and the need to collect everything.
@@LARVideos I can’t play it because my ipad doesn’t have the room for it. I have played Honkai Impact 3rd thou so I know how good Genshin is probably.
@@vipersniperpiper6093 It's similar in some ways, but very different in others. It's a giant open world game. You can go anywhere, and exploration is a big aspect of it. From what I remember of Honkai, that's more a "typical level" select type thing.
@@LARVideos Yeah,I generally know what the gameplay is like,seen enough of it to see that.
This new channel is stellar and a testiment to how far you've grown as a content creator. Keep up the good work Saber!
He really has grown :) soon he will be a full fledged Sabertooth tiger lol
Marriane Bad cry about it
he used to have a gaming Channel
I discovered this channel recently first seeing the new video uploaded some hours ago. I thought some guy was copying saberspark but then I saw it listed by the Saberspark channel along with another. What's up with this? What did I miss.
Edit: I missed the note where saberspark mentioned what this channel is supposed to be.
This hits hard. My childhood followed mobile gaming’s progression from Snake on a Nokia, to random iOS webapps, to early app development, to the age of Lite versions… and then watched as it evolved into this mess.
I imagine a lot of us mid-‘90s babies are all watching Saber’s rundown the same way - we lived it, we know each step by heart, but it’s somehow sadly cathartic to hear it all so well-put.
Too bad it’s too effective to change any time soon.
The extreme monetization, idle games, and lack of creativity killed mobile gaming. Phones right now are more powerful than the switch. All we need is someone triple A dev to port a modern game and take advantage of something like the razer kishi.
Have you heard of a title called Genshin Impact by any chance?
@@megabuster3940 I played it for a couple weeks around when it came out. It has gatcha mechanics, and I found the combat very unrewarding. It looks like a AAA game though, so it's on the right path, but didn't do it for me
@@megabuster3940 yes I have its a gacha game for weebs
@@FrankieHiltz instead of free to play they should target a specific audience with paid price this system was good
What? Powerful than a switch??? A switch has 256+ cuda cores nvudia gpu.
I think that my playing a lot of these types of games in my youth, combined with my stubborn refusal to spend money, ended up instilling me with the virtue of patients.... heh, dodged a bullet there, I suppose
90% of mobile game players are like you and me, spend almost nothing on a game for months until we got bored and moved to other free games.
It's the top 1% that pay exorbitant amount that people usually focused on
@@goonerOZZ yeah, I am aware
Mine is different, i grew up with console games, and seeing my coworkers play mobile games in their phones, watching the ugly graphics, shallow gameplay, and most importantly, them constantly getting bombarded by ads and microtransactions from every corner completely turn me off from those kind of games
@@manusiabumi7673 same PC master race:
@@manusiabumi7673 Growing up with console game or PC game is privilage tho. Not many people have the money to buy console and games each year. People in third world country don't have enough buying power. But for mobile game, there are more free option. They can play it without spending at all. If the game stop them from having fun and force them to pay, they can just jump to other free games. This is the reason mobile game is growing fast in SEA, Africa and India. Because they can't affort to pay anything, they are more resistant to monetization.
And you know what sucks, I have found games I liked that weren’t freemium and actually without ads or a ton of ads and over the years the integrate more ads or become paid to play
Cough angry bird cough
Some of the few I can think of off the top of my head that are good without demanding money or are minimally priced: Night Of The Full Moon, Hoplite, Chimaera Recollect, and Caves. There are a few others that are alright but they definitely nudge you to spend at least a fiver to get upgrades you'd have to grind for or to get rid of intrusive ads, engaging gameplay aside if you're patient enough. It's sad how mobile games are even more a c×cktease than the 100-in1 Games discs I grew up with on Windows 98 with the splash screens asking you for credit card info after like 3 levels. But dangit those 3 levels were fun as hell and I'd play them thousands of times, as opposed to hitting the glass cieling of progression and false sense of accomplishment mobile games give us now. Oh and the scams. So many scams.
@@hanin3128 This has really ticked me off recently. The original angry birds is no longer around and the second one only lets you have a limited number of retries before you have to wait or pay to get more. My daughter really likes the game, but isn't very good at it yet so it is a little sad to watch her happily play for like 10 minutes before having to give up because she ran out of lives.
reminds me of pixel gun
Brawl stars hasn't become this and it came out in 2018
Basically, mobile games went from a great future, to become a popularity over quality
its like painting it used to be about the game but now its about the money
That's basically anything in general.
Brawl stars is great in my opinion
@Heaven make a few fucking lines and doodles, boom it's considered art
There are quite a few good mobile games out still.
I have been waiting for someone to comment on the youtube ads bs for so long. Thank you so much for calling them out Saber
Its sad that mobile games are overlooked when they're amazing ways to tell stories. It makes you focus less on graphics and performance and more on stylistic choices and storytelling (realism isn't the benchmark of good graphics people). I want to see more games like Monument Valley 1 and 2 (imo are the best mobile games ever which aren't a port of a PC/console games) that are simple, yet with unique visual perspective and storytelling.
There's a lot of fun games on the app store still, but so many of them are bogged down by repetitiveness and microtransactions, which just make them feel like content with no substance. Games like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Battle Cats etc. are fun, but not what I would call interesting, dynamic, or groundbreaking. Its like "why should I care about this game?"
Then there are games that try to have a story but just don't feel as good as their gameplay, such as the Shadow Fight series (still great games and they definitely deserve their name, but I couldn't care less about the story. I play it because the combat is really well designed not for the lackluster and boring story)
You can try epic conquest it's free, have good story and gameplay
True i found that most of the Hd graphic mobile games are boring but the lowest graphic such as pixel games on android is surprisingly so good
@@CherrysGuy32 Raster Graphics triumph Polycount models betterm
Or you could basically play of bunch of GameClub games that being delisted app games
I agree with your sentiments on storytelling; it's why I'm working on my own mobile game rn!
Someday I hope to release a really great mobile game, but when I do, I want to be ethical about how I monetize it!
I'm leaning in the direction of using the League of Legends model, where the game itself is free, but the in-app purchases allow players to buy in-game assets that the player keeps indefinitely.
And, of course, no lootboxes. At all.
I wish you the best of luck.
I want to download your game
So pay to win?
Yes, we need more good mobile games, instead of the shitshow that is the crappy low effort unity puzzle games I keep seeing.
@@tanatep23league of legends isn't pay to win and never was 😂 what you buy doesn't make you stronger
Honestly, there are some amazing diamonds in the rough when it comes to mobile games. The issue is, they are usually the ones that don’t have any advertising, they’re the ones you find when you search for an app, can’t find it, and decide to try something else that came up anyway.
Any recomendations?
@@caldw615 most of the "Pixel Dungeon" games, but the best in my opinion is probably the Shattered Pixel Dungeon. It's a turn-based dungeon crawler with pretty standard selection of RPG classes. The game is still for free despite reaching its 1.0 version and the developer is constantly working on it and improving it. I haven't been playing it for a while but came back recently and it still feels satisfying. It's quite skill-based though, so it might take you some time to reach the final boss (I still haven't even seen the last floor), but nonetheless I highly recommend it.
@@caldw615 try cats are liquid 1&2
I found some story based apps. Some had an energy useage system but it was high quality generally. I think the developer was 'Odencat'
@@caldw615 Battle Cats is a pretty solid game
I love how his shoe texture never really fully loaded
It is loaded, but because of the limitations of the hardware it needs to be low-res.
Still better textures than the feet and ground in Skyrim
No, it's loaded alright...
Oh man. That 64 character looks AWESOME. No joke, I can't wait to see things like Pokemon and other game things on here. 😸💖🎮👍
The guy who made it is Tom Oliver his models kick ass.
Im sad you went only over the F2P and Pay2Win Model but not the Evolution of the Gatcha Model of Japanese Games, cause honestly that is the more interesting evolution. Cause they went from Monetizing Strength of Characters and Mechanics...to learning how to Monetize One's Affection like how a Person wants to Buy an Actual Gatchapon or Figurine, often through the use of Storytelling and World Building as an Element for the Mobile Game.
As controversial as they are, I can definitely see why there's gacha game fans, instead of just gacha game addicts
Frankly speaking thats the model i can get behind much more than the pay2win shit that was show here. They actualy give you some story to Hook you on
It's really a bummer seeing what mobile gaming has become. I genuinely have a soft spot and good memories of some of the amazing point and click adventure games and sim type games of the 2010s. If anyone hasn't tried them, I highly recommend the games by Biscuit Placebo. You, Me, Hell is one of my favorite games to this day, the humor, the South Park-esque paper art, just lots of heart to their games. They haven't come out with anything in a while and that really bums me out, but the market is a different place now.
i thought this was going to be more or less the same as your og channel, but i like the details you put into making it different. the earthbound border around clips, the mario 64 text font, your low poly avatar, and even the background being made of 3d models are all great touches
It’s funny how he used this channel so his main one won’t get taken down, smooth move
Y-your username… it’s cursed…
Why would it be taken down?
@@valletas isn’t it obvious?
@@Incrediblegassygem599 not really considering that many youtubers have made videos about this in the past that goes into even more detail and nothing happened
@@valletas because inappropriate stuff aka showing skin even tho it’s in TH-cam adds
That's an awesome avatar
Oh hi Vailskibum
Only time I’ve ever seen someone verified’s likes not blow up immediately.
Yeah it is
The creator of his design is badass
Hello vailskibum
I really love 3D Saberspark, he nails the "Nintendo 64 side character" aesthetic
I love the 3D look. I wish you added animated idle loops like a video game would. I think it would improve the video aspect of this
I love this New Concept for a gaming channel, can we expect videos on Newgrounds, Stick Death and other Flash game sites that are no longer accessible online? Newgrounds defined my High School and college Years!
Stick death was by far the Pinnacle of nostalgia for me. I watched 5moca atleast 3 times a week when I was growing up
Eh...I can't really see Saber using Newgrounds unless as an alternative for videos too risqué for TH-cam.
@@TeamFriendship8600 he just released a sailor balls video and has been teasing a video on risque mobile game ads. Why wouldn't he cover Newgrounds?
Gamepapa, Kongregate, ArmorGames, Adult Swim games, etc etc. Ahhh the sweetness of hours wasted on Flash-based interactives.
Newsground is still continuously active. What are you on?
25:10 Games are art, and just like the art world, gaming has its own versions of Anish Kapoor
Literally never heard of him...
@@SwiftNimblefoot He's a really pompous, snobby artist, best known for creating The Bean (officially the "Cloud Gate", but only he actually calls it that) in Chicago's Millennium Park and being banned from using multiple paints by their creator because he's just that unlikable.
@@Twilekmaniac To add on to this, he’s also known for attempting to exclusively license Vantablack, a substance thought to be one of the least reflective substances known
@@vanadium8865 Yep, I believe that was the catalyst for the chain of events leading to him being banned from some other pigments
The art world is now just a place for money laundering and tax evasion
Can’t wait for the SNES (saberspark new enjoyment system)
That... Sounds right and wrong.
"What's RUINING Mobile Games?"
-microtransaction
-lootbox
-gacha hell
26:26 Do *NOT,* I repeat, do *NOT* buy cards off eBay.
Sites like TCGPlayer are generally better and often much cheaper and actually reflect the actual price of the card.
Btw, as a person that plays a few gachas; Fire Emblem Heroes is the least offensive when it comes to the Nintendo gachas, as it's very, very possible to F2P (yes, this is an actual term used for people who don't give a cent when playing a gacha) FEH. Their Mario Kart gacha is easily the most offensive. Though, with that said, FEH does make about 7.6 times what the Mario Kart gacha makes. I feel like that's more because people actually have stuck around for FEH compared to that Mario Kart gacha. And I feel like the reason Nintendo even made a Mario Kart gacha was because Mario Kart 8 is their most selling software on the Switch.
With that said, while I know this video was made and released long before the 2021 revenue charts were made public; Genshin Impact is at the top of most grossing game in its first year. At anywhere between 2.3 to 3.5 billion dollars. Fortnite in its first year only made 2.3 to 2.8 billion and it's now second on that chart.
Before anyone says anything, I'm not saying gachas are good or anything, they absolutely have their problems (Looks at some of the ads for my most played gacha, that being Azur Lane's), but as it stands, they're going to be sticking around, for better or for worse.
"What's ruining mobile games?"
Short answer: Money.
Ie Capitalism
I would argue that app stores were never about enabling the little guy by Apple or Google (not sure about Valve); they were always about being the gatekeeper to a burgeoning market they knew would explode. They didn't have to predict what kind of models would work, so long as it worked at all and they got their cut.
This also means we can't look to them for help out of the gambling/lootbox hellscape the industry has currently found itself in
Wow I never thought I'd hear saber say the phrase "Love Live". I used to be way too addicted to that game, and the manipulative gacha mechanics made me spend way too many hundreds of dollars. Wish I knew more about the psychology of mobile gaming more back then....
Awesome video--the new assets look great and gave me a solid laugh. I'm so excited for the future of this new channel
3:30 I remember there was a NDS web browser exploit that let you run homebrew and illegally copied games. Clearly Apple didn't know about this.
One of the saddest thing is seeing unlockables be made into micro-transactions. Ruins the value of those extra cool skins and weapons when someone just buys them for $5.99. Miss when you could unlock them through actually playing the game.
mobile games have been on a downfall but mobile rhythm games such as cytus ii, arcaea, phigros, muse dash and voez are fantastic and phigros is entirely free. even older games like deemo are still getting updated. although some of them have dlc that is way too expensive, cytus ii, muse dash and phigros are 3 of my all time favourite games.
Cytus II gang raise up!
@@hubertkrakowski722 HELL YEAH
Mobile ports of indie games are also good
say hi to GEOMETRY DASH
Infinity blade fans here, all I have to say is this, _you have rhythm?_
Honestly some of my favorite games have gacha mechanics. I don't really have a problem with them as long as the game is still playable and enjoyable without spending money, and if the paid content is actually worth the money spent.
Paid content is never worth the money spent unless it gives you more gameplay content, like map packs or mission pack type DLC, arguably also something like TF2s contracts that gives the player challenges to complete.
There's something to be said for it when the paid content is worth it---sometimes it is!
@@longWriter exactly. It depends on the game
Same, I'd recommend guardian tales if you're looking for a good gatcha that's great free to play and has a fantastic story and is update every 2 weeks
@@Miniae_Cecilia Gacha games are not worth spending money on. They tend to be designed specifically with whales in mind, requiring massive ammounts of money to get whatever specific thing it is you want.
I personally play the f2p friendly Princess Connect Re:Dive, haven't spent any money and have gacha currency for days so I'm ready for all the upcoming limited characters I want.
For free to play games my attitude is that I won't spend any money and if that results in a bad experience (i.e. it's p2w or something) then I stop playing.
I LOOOOVE the character, it's so creative and cute idk it shows the attention to detail that Saberspark adds to every project he makes.
Small important note about apps selling for $0.99 on the app store: it had less to do with it being the lowest price and more about the massively important detail that Apple would NOT take a cut from apps selling for under $1.00. Over that, and you'd have to give Apple a cut of the sales, I forget what percentage it was back then though.
Love the avatar! Looks really cool!
As someone that plays games like Fire emblem Heroes, It's annoying to see clear hyperwhales appear and completely crush the pvp teams with maxed out premium characters(in a f2p standpoint).
I mean, another reason why games like League and Dota are still juggernauts is because they can be run on cheaper hardware. Not everyone lives in a first world country or shill 2500$+ for a gaming setup in order to have the software and storage space to run the newest sparliest triple A games. Dota can run on a 400$ laptop that you need to use for school and work anyway; and Genshin Impact gives us in the third world a chance to play something we imagine triple A rpgs to look like at their lower graphic settings with a phone that costs 250$.
I’m so happy that you finally addressed this issue! These ads should not be allowed on the platform especially around children.
It's especially effed that they have TH-cam Kids but still insist on treating all of us like children regardless, *while* shovelling these wildly inappropriate ads into our faces and simultaneously chastising creators like Saber for saying "hollup..."
I'm guessing you commented before watching the video lol. This isn't about the ads at all actually. But I assumed that's the direction it was going as well based off the thumbnail and what Saber's been talking about on Twitter
I am so sick of Valve not being mentioned in the discussion of loot boxes. They get off easy from their contributions to the business model because "steam good"
Yes but then, the loot boxes of valve only give skins and not affect gameplay. While in these shitty games you cant have fun without paying 5$ in every hour.
And yes, as a international game deployer steam indeed good.
@@lordgrunwalder1607 Yep these crappy mobile games are FAR worse with iaps to the point you cant continue with skill and just buy it
Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't play many online games via Steam but doesn't Steam marketplace clear them because it's a secondary market, making your purchases more like trading cards, therefore the contents of your loot boxes actually can have value and you can buy what you want from other users?
That’s because trading is possible in the platform, and you can literally earn some cash back while selling skins you acquired from loot boxes, though it also enables black markets for CSGO skins
While steam does allow for games to utilize loot boxes ( killing floor or payday or the trading cards) the thing that makes steam the proverbial adult supervising drinking teens is that steam has the market place. The loot boxes are cosmetic only usually and anything you get that isn't what you want, you can sell back to the market, to someone that actually wants it. Yes the value is rarely equal to the cost of the box, but the loot box items can be sold for money that goes into the steam wallet and can be used for purchase of games and many of those games drop free loot boxes so it's more like buying tangible trading cards than a thing that only has value to a singular game and nothing else
Love the N64-esque look you guys are using for the videos. Makes me nostalgic, I remember all the games I'd play on the 64 and the original PlayStation.
Man...I'm 20 right now, currently in college and making my own video games. It's been very rewarding putting my ideas into practice, especially since I've wanted to do this since I was little, but I can't help but feel sad seeing how video games fought so hard to be considered art, only to be turned into corporate cash-grabs like everything else these days. (God this makes me sound like a boomer lmao)
I hope eventually things turn around, because it's disappointing seeing something I'm passionate about being reduced to lootboxes and shady social engineering tactics. :(
Please make summer time saga sequel : )
I love Sabersparks new Avatar and how the animations go to a different emotion
kinda wish people started making complete games for portable systems again. then again when there's barely any competition in that regard there isn't really much to say
also the amount of art contributing to smartphone gacha games really saddens me, because there are legitimately good content locked behind shady practices
But the problem is people will find a way to get the game for free, especially on Android. So if you want to make games, just make it on Switch instead
@@Windows11Official games nowadays on phones have drm-run systems, so it's much harder now than back then
@@1010otep I doubt that. Many modders can still find a way to crack the DRM. Also drm will just make the gaming experience worse. *cough cough* Denuvo *cough*
@@Windows11Official well even then its not so easy as those games are mostly online nowadays and therefore can also be verified from the server side which makes it even harder to crack those games
Man…I miss infinity blade. Epic removes them from the App Store years ago.
Apple Arcade should be used to bring back suck titles like that. Another are Square Enix's chaos rings series. Only the third one is still up
It was such an amazing series. Now the only way some gamers will remember it is through the blade in fortnite 😔
i still have it on my phone but you cant play it anymore because it says this developer needs to update for this ios
Didn't Brandon Sanderson actually write the story for Infinity Blade?
Yes, but it its story could keep going considering that the language on the cubes are the same from that game
I remember playing infinity blade 2 (it is a trilogy) and playing it nonstop because it was simple and fun. It actually tried to be an actual game. It was an absolute grind fest, sure. but the combat loop of dodging, parrying, blocking, using magic kept me coming back. It even had hard-as-hell super bosses that I have never managed to beat TO THIS DAY. Listing these now made me realize how well made it was for it's time. So tell me, Where the f#&k did games of this caliber go?
Worse is that the 'mobile model' seems to be a thing chased by any company who thinks they can develop a locked-in platform (which is pretty much all of them by now). I haven't been a user of any platform other than Linux Mint for a long time, so I was shocked to find out that even the Windows 10 built-in games are now full of ads and bypasses for muting them. My mother wanted a mah-jong game, so I got her a Windows port of the KDE games suite that included some, which she seems to like quite a lot. They're certainly at least on par with your average mobile game, and without any ads, tracking, or micro-transactions. However, I was unable to help with the family iPad, since even though none of these mobile games seem any better than (for example) Frozen Bubble, while at the same time bombarding you with ads and selling your data to advertising networks, you can't just compile equivalent games for the OS and sideload them yourself onto a device without jailbreaking it.
All monopolistic companies (successful or otherwise) must die.
Market capitalization of Apple (AAPL)
Market cap: $2.310 Trillion
As of January 2023 Apple has a market cap of $2.310 Trillion. This makes Apple the world's most valuable company
YOU WILL BUY AN IPHONE NOW, AND YOU WILL DROP LINUX IN TURN FOR USING WINDOWS 11.
The best way to fight against these predatory practices is to be aware they exist, and to tell others about them. It is also important to back and support movements to implement laws that will hamstring these practices. The more legal tape we create the less they will be able to put these policies to practice. It's a long battle, but the fact it happened in a few countries already, means it's possible everywhere.
These animations for your avatar are top notch
But... these are just static.
@@Hitoshuratdn it’s still really good, it mixes his usual still images of his main channel and gives it more character with it’s transitions.
@@autistichades5552 oh I'm not saying it's bad, it's really good. But I wouldn't call it top notch.
Saberspark really be dishing out information with each video, and I really appreciate that dedication because not many youtubers do that nowadays
They just copy the wiki page, change some things. Throw in some flowery language and it makes an overall inferior video to something like saberspark.
While he lacks production value in my opinion they are still the best videos on this site.
Maybe broaden your horizon first.
Smart phones: “We will control your entire life.”
Drwolf: *laughs* “You have no power here.”
I play Genshin without ever using the Gacha, unless I get shit for free. I think of it as playing in Hard Mode.
Congratulations! Here's your cookie 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Not really that hard tho. Never payed anything for that game and I'm still able to clear most of its content.
It’s interesting how most of the points could be traced to a mixture of platforms like Nexon and Kongregate. I used to play games on them, and pretty much every point has been done in those before the iPhone. Dungeon Fighter Online used to be distributed by Nexon, and there was a marked stamina system that needed micro transactions to mitigate along with a gacha system for temporary items. Kongregate has an entire landscape of games that are predecessors to Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans that seem to have been the test bed for so much of what has become the mobile market.
Overall, this is a good timeline for the development of the mobile gaming scene. It hammered home just where and when certain events shaped what would follow.
i dig the design of the character model. it reminds me of an N64 style character model (or just any 90’s era console just starting out with 3D gameplay) which is really on brand for the channel rn
someone pls put him in sm64
It's so nice to hear your takes on the gaming market with these videos. I'm happy to watch your inciteful takes. Also, I love the music choices, Glover and Rocket: Robot on Wheels are some underrated gems I noticed! I was an N64 kid all the way.
I loved playing Rocket as a kid. Forgotten gem.
In the same vein, we got pay-to-win MMOs. Might be worth making a video about in terms of moving away from subscription based MMOs to free ones with transactions to allow you to get ahead of other players.
0:00 Intro
1:46 Origins Part 1 Started Off Pretty Good
9:03 Part 2 The Poison Is Injected
18:00 Part 3 The Hook Sinks Deeper
23:00 Part 4 Let's Go Whaling
36:12 Conclusion
You forgot to say origin part 1 start out pretty good.
You convinced me saber, with no prior experience I'm making a mobile game!
Interesting
Good luck
Make it unique
how is it going?
Can you make it good and not thrash like most companies
Really appreciated hearing "SMILE" from Persona 4. Great choice of music!
I appreciate the Parasite Eve music. The title of the game is actually fitting for the topic lol
RIGHT?! My ears have never perked up so quickly
Yeah I recognized it and was surprised. Such a good game.
Furry
Here are some underrated mobile games that are groundbreaking (and ad-free):
1. Radiant (Has cost;not free
A combination of space invaders, asteroids, and galaga. Pixel graphics (almost), various weapons to use, and has an awesome story. Good replay value.
2. Exiled kingdoms (Has cost;not free)
A diablo-style game with a good tale. Choose 4 classes and build your character's setup. Acquire companions along the way and gain the reputation of any factions each with its own feature. And stop the deep Lords!
3. Mindustry
A tower defense. You collect the required resources to build your battle stations. Make your own maps or use the editor to create pixel arts!
4. Doom and Destiny
A silly jrpg with hilarious dialogues (The broken english makes it even more enjoyable) . 4 nerds are transported to a different world, and their task to end the evil that is soon to be found out in order to return home(if the knuckleheads don't screw up).
5. My boy! (Has cost;not free)
A GBA emulator. Download any gba roms in the internet and revive the nostalgia!
6. Drastic (Has cost; not free)
A DS emulator.
If you want a more compelling phone gaming experience, then I'd suggest trying out morrowind for phone. It's a great port made by the modding community. A little tough to set up but it's rly worth it. Honestly the best RPG I've ever played.
Try grimvalor
Popped over here from Saberspark Prime, with the mobile ads video! Glad to have more of your content to subscribe too and love your N64-style avatar! Nice touch 👌
Really enjoyed this video! Interesting learning the history, even though it doesn't seem so far in the past haha. Excited for this new channel!
Also enjoyed the music from Rocket; Robot on Wheels in the background. Now I want to play it.
Omg when does Rocket music play????? I love that game!!!!
This new channel is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to ee more from it. Thats firstly. Secondly, I agree with all of this. The older Gen z remember the simplicities of the ps2 and 3 and don't remember when the in app purchases was that bad. It really is getting to the point where its just too bad and getting almost criminal. You tell these developers to think about the children and they just say "what children?" Or "i do, everyday when their impatience and love for cool things makes us more money hekekekeke" . Its disgusting to think about and I love that there are always those developers that still try to make a genuine mobile game with little to no inn app purchases. My support is all with them for sure. Power to the underdogs
The Saberspark model looks so cool
It's honestly scary how successful the in-game purchase model is at reeling people in...? Even as somebody who doesn't have an addictive personality history, and who is used to very constrained budgets, I completely got sucked in by this model to start with & only realised after about a month how much I'd cumulatively spent to keep progressing without delays in the game I was playing. It was a real wakeup call!! I can only imagine how much money they must make off people without such income constraints, and/or how much financial damage they could do for people who are easily addicted to things...? Glad to see channels like Saberspark's highlighting some of the current issues with this industry.
I still play as I find it a great sleep aid, but do so without any of the in-game purchases - which also naturally enforces longer breaks away from the game whilst your resources refresh. It's a lot more frustrating, but worth it not to be having your credit card constantly insidiously drained by your own impatience! 🤦🏻♀️
Genshin is called out here (rightfully so) but I see this game in a really positive light. It's lots and lots and lots of good Gameplay without any need to spend any money. There are some mechanics (a kind of energy used for some activities that refills over time, character gacha) that are bothering from time to time (you want do do xyz but you need to wait), but with a tiny bit of management, these things are maybe 5% of the "game".
In contrast almost every other mobile "game" aims at delivering the bare minimum amount of content to be called a "game" (with development done once and then let the game run for 10 years without any "relevant" updates) while also aiming at getting the maximum amount of money from the players.
I think the "Game per Dollar" Ratio of Genshin is extremely high. And because of that they make a ton of money. Because they delivered a "game with ingame transactions" and not "ingame transactions with buttons" (that people confuse with a "game").
I feel like genshin of all mobile games I've tried is the one that feels more like a game to me, they have the appeal of a triple A rpg game and the monetization of mobile games plus gacha mechanics although they're not required to play it its still a pretty casual game.
It's sad that there isn't good ones out there and most of them have been taken out. It really feels stupid that you can't reinstall the game again that was awesome to play like the original angry birds. They did not have lives like the second game. I wish they keep it in the store than remove by their greed.
Sorry I haven't watched the video but, I'm giving my opinion to what is going on right now. I'm not saying all games are bad. Just it doesn't feel right about their pay to win stuff. I have Stellar fox on my phone and I'm not going to uninstall it because it was taken out of the google play store.
Why was it taken off?
My guess is that they didn't complete the story. There was 5 levels and the rare thing is there was no life system on the mobile. I wish they completed the whole game and finding out what happened. The game art style was like Ori and the blind forest.
Apparently Rovio wants to bring back the classic Angry Birds. Not sure about other companies though
@@swordwingace3669 oh I see. That sucks, I googled the game and the art is very pretty
Supercell has good games and they are mobile, I think u should check it out
I never would have said this but
Saber actually like pretty cool in 3D
It reminds me of 3 2 1 Penguins
God I loved that show
Saberspark 64 is amazing
I have to say, some Gatcha games are actually not too bad although they still play into that need to have a certain character. What I mean of that is that they give you ways of earning in game currency to buy those loot boxes or Gatchas as well as letting those who want to buy them buy them. I have been playing Genshin Impact for example and never spent a dime in it (Been on it for about two years now), getting my characters from free in game currency that they give you or you earn. The worst ones I think are the ones that are not reasonable with that in game currency or have no way of getting it other then buying it.
exactly and i feel like the story is the core of it as well because the characters are all put into effort.
I played Monster Strike since it first came over to the West, and even though it failed here I ended up playing the original JP version for quite some time (as a F2P run) before I took a long break. That game got so popular in Japan, it spawned a 3DS game, a card game, has its own store in Shibuya, has several seasons of anime (though the episodes are very short, but the animation gets progressively better), AND 2 movies with a summer special, and even their own like...competitions and events. And for the longest time they were ALWAYS behind P&D on both ratings and revenue.
And whaddya know? Now they're top of the charts, and I have a sudden urge to update my application...
Damn you, making me follow yet another channel.
Nah it's fine, I like listening to you talk
second channels, the TH-cam version of micro-transactions ;)
@@Surkk2960 Do you know why some people make multiple channels?
@@mykaruest3620 Yes I do... I was trying to make a joke...
@@Surkk2960 No, I was genuinely asking why TH-camrs make multiple channels.
@@mykaruest3620 The reason normally is to split up their content so each channel has a focus. Saberspark, for example, made this channel so he can talk about the game industry without splitting the audience of his man channel which talks about animation. Different channel, different subject.
I used to play a mobile game by EA where you create your own super hero and fight them against others online in tournaments. I can't remember what it was called, but it was like a card game and was addictive as hell. It was discontinued and its servers shut down. I talked to a lot of players in the chatroom built into the game and some were suing because they had spent hundreds, and some even spent thousands on this game. I thought that was insane. I spent 20 in this game and regretted it immediately. I miss that game
Love how the 3D model makes the expression like your 2D version :3
I Did NOT expect to hear Dragalia get namedropped here, That being said if you DO want to play a gacha game I highly suggest it because of its generosity & also the fact you can pretty much win any quest with any set of adventurers if you're determined enough (Just have to build them correctly as with anything..) The ultra-generous 3rd anniversary is going on as of posting this video and the event story is probably one of my favorites so far.
I digress-- it IS still a gacha game. You *will* have to save for characters you want and watch your wallet (Albeit you do not need to pull for more than 1 copy of an adventurer unlike Genshin or Feh. Guaranteed pulls are also a thing & every once in a while they host a pack where in exchange for a premium tenfold you get... another tenfold and a character of your choice.) but for a hack n' slash mobile game its one of the most effort filled games i've played. Definitely worth a shot if you're into these types of things. I wish Nintendo promoted it more because the story is incredibly good.
Also.. theres a roguelike mode for it dropping later this year. I'm excited to see how that turns out.
It is a shame to see how mobile games used to be, and then look at what they’ve become. It feels like such a step backwards. It’s especially sad considering how powerful phones have become since then. Developers could be making full-on games just like in the early days, only now with even better graphics and performance, but nooo. We have to stick with match 3 and endless runner games.
Thankfully more and more mobile players are beginning to get tired of being milked for money, Including myself, many people I know have quit many games because there's no balance between what's free and what you have to play to enjoy. That's why I've only stuck with Genshin, I can pay to get characters but it's not required to actually enjoy the content.
Me but with Dragalia Lost. Although fortunately their rates are pretty good so I don't need to spend a dime.
For now
Only playing Touken Ranbu and Onmyoji. And i can tell the latter is way more money hungry.
my singing monsters
For now.... Y E T
I’m sticking with the good ol’ classic puzzle game of Mekorama, Labyrinth 2, Heroes and Castle 2, KoF A-12 and Rayark Interactive games (too much to count)
Love that 64 animation!
Can't wait for Mario 65
This is awesome :) happy to see a new chapter for you
man i miss the game ads of Clash of Clans,Angry Birds,Jetpack Joyride,and Hungry Shark
It really does piss me off.
As someone who doesn’t own a PC or console my phone is the only source of “gaming”. Unfortunately there will never truly by a fun, free, and ad-less game.
I accidentally found this spinoff channel and I’m subconsciously freaking out at the Mario inspired intro and new animation
I am so so excited for this channel Saber, you don’t even know 😍
A suggestion for your avatar, perhaps try not to have it return to the normal pose every time you change to another pose? As it is right now it's rather slow and not very snappy like your main channel's avatar. Starting each pose from the new pose's "startup" animation could work better.
Not that you shouldn't use the to-normal animation at all, but just don't use it when, say, you're going from a confused to a shocked pose.
Apart from that, loving the 3D avatar!
The biggest reasons for me in order of what makes a mobile game suck:
1. Cluttered UI - Too much shit on the screen like login reward, spin the wheel, events, offers, etc that are always on the main screen.
2. Forced ads - Ads that pop up videos after a stage or whatever
3. Pay to enjoy - no not pay to win. This is more like extremely few bag slots that can only be unlocked via premium currency. Reward chests that can only be unlocked with keys bought with premium currency.
4. Video ads for game currency - Not to be confused with video ads that give rewards. This goes hand in hand with the above where they give you a few of the premium currency, they use this in tandem with point #3 to rake in ad revenue. 20-30 videos for 1 bag slot out of 40+ or 1 key for a chest that still needs like 8 hours to unlock.
5. Pay to win.
6. Energy meter
Aren't those stuff you see on games for free?
"You're probably watching this video on your phone, And if you're not, It's probably somewhere within arms reach."
Haha, No its 2 floors downstairs because I forgot it wasn't in my bag.