2017 Mobile Gaming Highlights & 2018 Preview

Although not quite as big a year as 2016, 2017 was still one heck of a year for Mobile gaming!

So, where do we begin? Mobile gaming continues to increase in popularity. Mobile gaming is now officially the most popular gaming platform ahead of both computer gaming and gaming consoles. Popular games like Pokémon Go and Super Mario have further increased the growth rate of mobile gaming. Since mobile gaming is something we are super passionate about and near and dear to our own hearts, we are pretty stoked!

Unfortunately, even though smart phones keep gettin "smarter" and games keep gettin better, mobile phone batteries are just not keeping up with power demands, especially when it comes to mobile gaming. No worries because GGTR has you covered so you can keep gaming all day long with our own Pokédex-inspired battery case charger and our line of gamer-inspired power banks! We're excited to unleash some new mobile gaming gear in 2018 to really help you take things to the next level!

Here are some of the biggest moments in mobile gaming for 2017... 

Top Mobile Games of 2017

A few of our favorite new mobile games from 2017 include Linelight, Bury Me, My Love, and Monument Valley 2.

'Linelight' focuses on basic components as gamers guide a beam of light from point A to point B. Seems simple, right? Shifting pathways, enemies, and cycling animations make this game challenging, but addicting.

'Bury Me, My Love' is about a woman fleeing war-torn Syria in hopes of making a better life in Europe. This title has perhaps the deepest and most connecting story of 2017. It shares the story of going through refugee camps, security checkpoints, and across borders. It shows the human struggle for a better life.

'Monument Valley 2' two provides a captivating narrative as you guide mother and daughter through various puzzles. You will guide them through many optical illusions, making this classic puzzle game sequel was a hit in 2017.

Nintendo

Finally! We gamers have always wondered when Nintendo would unleash our favorite, lovable plumber on the mobile gaming scene. Seems like the Gods at Nintendo listened to our prayers and DELIVERED! Super Mario Run was the most downloaded mobile game of 2017 on Google Play.

But wait, that’s not the only activity we saw from Nintendo this past year. Nintendo also launched the RPG Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing on mobile gaming platforms. Fire Emblem actually brought in more revenue that Super Mario Run by generating over $100 million in revenue.

Only time will tell what Nintendo has up their sleeves for future mobile gaming titles. Mario Kart anyone?

Virtual Reality

You mean to tell me that we mobile gamers can immerse ourselves in our favorite games even deeper?! Virtual Reality shook up the way we looked at mobile gaming and perhaps the future of gaming.

Samsung introduced their own VR system as did Oculus. Both companies continue to add more content and support for games, not to mention adding TV shows and movies to their lineup. Samsung’s device even offers a remote controller with their VR device that tracks your hand motion and interacts with the gaming world.

Google even got into the VR game with their own device, the Google Daydream View. Their product comes in three different colors and their own remote. Let’s just say, 2017 was a huge year for VR gaming and as we start to see more and more large names get into this space, it can only mean one thing for us gamers, better VR experiences!

Augmented Reality

As good as we thought Virtual Reality was for mobile gaming, augmented reality became the new reality in 2017. Augmented Reality made a huge push in 2017, as Apple’s AR kit established a user base of over 100 million people virtually overnight.

AR is great for the mobile gamer because no longer do they have to purchase accessories and add-ons for their smartphone. Now, with every smartphone purchase, gamers know that they can enjoy games in Augmented Reality right out of the box.

With such a strong push into AR, developers created a huge database of games to choose from. AR saw such a strong success in 2017, that Google plans on implementing AR in 2018 for its smartphones. 

AR Games

Even though Pokémon Go didn't release in 2017, a lot has happened over this past year with our favorite AR mobile game. We saw the release of Raid Battles and multiple live events where gamers came together to catch 'em all!

Raid battles were introduced this year where players can team up and work together to take down powerful Pokémon called 'Raid Bosses'. Players earned exclusive rewards for taking down these bosses. This new feature also allowed us to catch even the most legendary of Pokémon, such as Ho-Oh. EPIC, right?!

These new Raid Bosses and the ever-growing Pokémon community has given way to live events where trainers from all over come together and play Pokémon Go together. I don’t think we need to tell you what the impact has been for the Pokémon community and mobile gaming as a whole. For the first time, we’ve seen such a massive coming-together of gamers who share a common interest. These live events have allowed gamers to connect with fellow trainers, battle and catch legendary Pokémon, not to mention foster great friendships. This type of community growth must've caught the attention of savvy developers. Let's see if they can replicate this engagement in other genres and games.

It was such a treat to meet a lot of you at Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago and Pokémon Go Safari Zone in Barcalona last year <3 Running into trainers at live events carrying around a Chargemander is just about the COOLEST :D

AR is being used in very clever and captivating ways and the team at GGTR is excited to see what 2018 holds for AR gaming!

GGTR

With such a focus on mobile gaming and the predicted rise of smartphone gaming, the team behind GGTR has been hard at work to deliver the best possible mobile gaming experience for our fans and peers.

We introduced The Chargemander, a Pokédex inspired battery case that charges itself in 15 minutes! As avid Pokémon Go enthusiasts, The Chargemander allows us to catch Pokémon all day long without having to worry about running out of juice on our smartphones. Being tied to an outlet or waiting for something to charge sucks - just don't do it!

With the high demand and popular success of the Chargemander, our team wanted to give other gamers an even more affordable, more portable mobile gaming charging solution: our GGTR Gamer Series Power Banks are highly portable - smaller than an iPhone Plus and powerful enough to keep your devices charged for an entire weekend of gaming. Oh, versatile enough that you can charge three devices at once, with Quick Charge 3.0 capabilities.

The Chargemander and the gamer series power banks are not for you? Fear not, the GGTR mobile gamer team is hard at work to deliver more gaming products for gamers on the go and we’ll be announcing shortly what we have been working on for 2018.

A look into 2018

Mobile gaming is predicted to generate over $95 billion dollars in revenue by 2022 and $60 billion in 2018 alone! 2017 alone saw over $2 billions of investment in mobile gaming.

It’s safe to say that mobile gaming is here to stay. HECK YEAH IT IS! In fact, we predict in 2018 that augmented reality will play an even larger role in mobile gaming. As Google and other smartphone producers integrated AR in their devices, the user base for AR-based gaming only increases, which will lead to more adoption and more revenue generated in this industry.

With the ability to reach more people through their smartphone, we can also be sure that advertising won’t be going away in mobile gaming. In fact, 54% of mobile gamers said they are okay with advertisements while they are gaming on their smartphones. Sorry gamers, you might stumble across a GGTR ad or 2 while you play this year. It's because we <3 you!

Another huge release we are excited about is the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite AR mobile game, set to release in 2018! It will use state-of-the-art AR technology and allow gamers to explore the real-world as they search for mysterious artifacts, learn to cast spells, and encounter magical beasts. The GGTR team would be lying if we pretended we weren't massive J. K. Rowling fans. And I don't think we are the only ones... HP has quite the following and we can’t wait to see Harry break the internet for at least a few weeks when HP Wizards Unite comes out. Look for us out there playing late into the night on launch day with plenty of battery life ;) GGTR just may also have a surprise or two for Harry Potter fans this year ;)

With that said, we have so much to look forward to in 2018 when it comes to mobile gaming. Thanks SO much for supporting us in 2017! We couldn't be more excited for the year ahead and to help you make sure 2018 is an even better, more gaming filled year than 2017!