With mobile devices being more powerful than ever, one of their bragging rights is being able to run high-quality AAA mobile games in them. That’s what Apple has been advertising with the hardware muscle of its iPhone 15 Pro series and any iPad with at least an M1 chip.
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Is this push for AAA mobile games any successful? According to data from Appfigures, Apple’s marketing push isn’t successful. AAA mobile games like Assasin’s Creed Mirage only had less than 3000 users paying for the entire game, which costs $49(~Php 3k)–and that’s considering it had over 123,000 downloads since its release last July 6.Â
The same can be said for Resident Evil Village, where only 7,000 paid $29(~Php 2k) for the full game despite getting 357,000 downloads since its launch in iOS last December 2023.
What are Appfigures’ findings on this? It seems that people prefer simpler and more casual games on their mobile devices and that they prioritize unique art styles over top-notch graphics. There’s also a factor with controls, as these AAA Mobile Games usually rely on the iPhone 15 Pro’s touchscreen, which does not give the same level of experience as using an actual controller.
Take note that this observation is not limited to iOS devices: even on the Android side of things, the most popular titles are usually gacha games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, where people pay money for pretty waifus and aesthetically pleasing gear–even if they would spend more than an actual AAA console game.
