By Khalid Wani
Smartphones have undergone a remarkable evolution; from mere communication devices in the early smartphone days, to today, where these devices have become central to our digital activities. We turn to our smartphones for many reasons, from watching the remaining part of a movie that we could not finish at home or having a virtual meeting with the doctor. Equipped with powerful processors, the latest in cutting-edge hardware, and ample storage, smartphones offer a better experience today.
Furthermore, smartphone brands’ continued quest to improve displays has helped these devices offer an immersive and crisp gaming experience too. Moreover, new, and exciting game titles, which were only available for PCs earlier, are often also published for smartphones today. Most importantly, one can engage in mobile gaming anytime, anywhere.
Affordability, accessibility, and convenience have helped smartphones become a dominant device for gaming. In India, the number of gamers across all platforms is forecast to reach 641.2 million in 2027, and with the country being a mobile-first market, 96.8% of total gamers play on a smartphone or tablet. No wonder, while many gaming enthusiasts may own powerful gaming rigs, mobile gaming has also become indispensable. However, mobile gaming has its own set of challenges too.
Mobile gaming and storage
There are many reports and studies available concerning the pain points of mobile gamers and one of the top challenges is often storage limitations.
Storage limitations are something that many mobile gamers will experience at some point. After all, at 15 billion installs, India had the highest share of game downloads (17%) globally in FY22. A mobile gamer should consider enhancing on-device storage where possible, as well as investing in portable storage options. Additionally, it is important to invest in storage designed for gaming, such as the SanDisk Extreme microSD Card for mobile gaming, because this microSD card is built for speed so that little comes between a gamer’s wins and victories. It offers read speeds of up to a blazing 190MB/s and a write speed of up to 130MB/s. This gaming card offers high-performance speeds to support demanding AAA/3D/VR game graphics and 4K UHD video.
When it comes to portable storage there are diverse options available such as NVMe powered high-capacity SSDs such as the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD or the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD. These on-the-go SSDs offer ultra-fast read speeds of up to 2000MB/s and up to 1050 MB/s, respectively. The important thing to note is that companies like Western Digital are dedicated to offering storage products to meet the various needs of gamers, allowing them to focus solely on gameplay without worrying about challenges related to storage.
Mobile gaming is thriving
While PC gaming continues to offer remarkable visual experiences and powerful immersive gaming, the mobile gaming ecosystem will continue to thrive as well. Numerous gaming start-ups are making their entries, and currently there are three gaming unicorns in India. Robust connectivity, such as 4G and now 5G, is also key to the growth of mobile-based gaming, offering players options to play various games on-the-go and indulge in multiplayer games. This will also likely spur mobile esports and offer gamers opportunities to earn more. Even currently, mobile gaming provides gamers with the ability to earn money.
As smartphones continue to dominate the gaming landscape, the importance of storage, both on the device and beyond, will remain significant. Storage companies must keep innovating and introducing storage solutions for mobile gamers, helping ensure that the lack of the right storage does not hinder their experience.
The author is senior director – sales, India at Western Digital
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