Why aren't mobile games a part of the site?

[gf78]

I think it is wrong to totally discredit mobile games like they aren't "real games."  But my understanding is that there are millions of mobile games, many of them cheap cash-in's and IAP filled crap.  It would be impossible to catalog them all and even harder to differentiate between paid versions and the "freemium" versions.  You mentioned Square-Enix and DS game ports, but where do you draw the line between what games would be acceptable to the database and which games aren't?  You couldn't even base it off of "best selling" mobile games because crap like Clash of Clans which is pay-to-win is at the top of the charts.  Same for junk like Candy Crush Saga or that stupid crap they have Ahnold advertising.

Personally, I'm looking at deleting all of my "digital" game titles from my collection because really, I don't own them.  The purpose of a database cataloging a "collection" revolves around tangible goods.  At least for me anyway.  If I counted all the "digital" games I have downloaded on my Wii emulator, I would have a collection rivaled only by the Flea in sheer numbers.  But those ROM files, just like WiiWare, PSN, Xbox Live and Steam games are just virtual bits stored en-masse on a HDD.

[PlayerC90]

I think it is wrong to totally discredit mobile games like they aren't "real games."  But my understanding is that there are millions of mobile games, many of them cheap cash-in's and IAP filled crap.  It would be impossible to catalog them all and even harder to differentiate between paid versions and the "freemium" versions.  You mentioned Square-Enix and DS game ports, but where do you draw the line between what games would be acceptable to the database and which games aren't?  You couldn't even base it off of "best selling" mobile games because crap like Clash of Clans which is pay-to-win is at the top of the charts.  Same for junk like Candy Crush Saga or that stupid crap they have Ahnold advertising.

Personally, I'm looking at deleting all of my "digital" game titles from my collection because really, I don't own them.  The purpose of a database cataloging a "collection" revolves around tangible goods.  At least for me anyway.  If I counted all the "digital" games I have downloaded on my Wii emulator, I would have a collection rivaled only by the Flea in sheer numbers.  But those ROM files, just like WiiWare, PSN, Xbox Live and Steam games are just virtual bits stored en-masse on a HDD.

Yes, I completely agree with what you are saying, which is why I said I understand why there is no mobile category here. Although, again, you could say the same about steam. But I get that a line has to be drawn somewhere and that's cool.

I made a second account for my digital stuff, because while I do want to have a nice overview of it, I don't want it to mix with my physical collection. Now if only I would be updating it regulary...   

[desocietas]

I made a second account for my digital stuff, because while I do want to have a nice overview of it, I don't want it to mix with my physical collection. Now if only I would be updating it regulary...   

Haha, I'm in the same boat. I know I own a lot more games than my collection is showing as I pick up Steam games quite regularly through bundles and such.  It's in heavy need of updating.

Going back to the topic at hand, I think one of the admins at some point said that the original goal of the site was to help document and catalog the variants of physical games so that collectors could give a true representation of the games they own without resorting to listing generic titles only.  With the prevalence of digital games now, having them become part of the database was an inevitable "compromise" (that word is being used very loosely and is no indication of my or the site's opinion of digital titles), especially now that there are physical PC items now that do not come with disc but rather a slip of paper with a code on it for Steam.

Mobile games is still a tricky area considering the amount of filler that exists on those shops, but I also understand that there are many ports of games that once ran on our old home consoles. 999 is a tricky one as it's not a full port of the original escape-the-room game but more of a visual novel.

To wind up this long-winded reply, we'll just have to continue to watch where mobile games take us. Perhaps there will be a time when they do show up on VGC! 

[kmacdw]

No offense, but this "mobile games aren't "real" (whatever a real game is) games" line of thinking seems really elitist and kinda... well, sorry, but kinda dumb to me. So if, say, Angry Birds gets ported to consoles it's a real game, but the before mentioned Dragon Quest ports on mobile aren't? Is 999 on DS a real game? How about Steins;Gate? We do have a steam category... and the amounts of games releasing on steam every single day is really, really crazy, with many of them being mobile ports btw.

Don't get me wrong, I get why there's no mobile section on this site and that's fine, it's just the mentality of some people that irks me the wrong way. Idk :x

I think it is wrong to totally discredit mobile games like they aren't "real games."  But my understanding is that there are millions of mobile games, many of them cheap cash-in's and IAP filled crap.  It would be impossible to catalog them all and even harder to differentiate between paid versions and the "freemium" versions.  You mentioned Square-Enix and DS game ports, but where do you draw the line between what games would be acceptable to the database and which games aren't?  You couldn't even base it off of "best selling" mobile games because crap like Clash of Clans which is pay-to-win is at the top of the charts.  Same for junk like Candy Crush Saga or that stupid crap they have Ahnold advertising.

Personally, I'm looking at deleting all of my "digital" game titles from my collection because really, I don't own them.  The purpose of a database cataloging a "collection" revolves around tangible goods.  At least for me anyway.

Yeah I initially didn't include them and often consider deleting them; ha tbh the only reason I've kept them there is it helps me personally remember what I've bought in case I fancy going back and playing something in the backlog

I definitely don't include things from Instant Games Collection and Games With Gold; as they were free and they can easily be taken away. I'd compare free mobile games to that.

[DreamsDied13101]

With Pokemon Go getting penetration numbers on par with Twitter I can see a mobile future on the horizons a lot quicker than I ever thought for even classic console brands.

I don't even own a Iphone or Android device so I feel outdated for the new world.

I'm anxiously watching if the Neo, Scorpio, and NX implode the industry or drive us forward valiantly.