Christian Lövstedt, CEO of Midjiwan AB, has published an open letter to the “global gaming industry”, calling on colleagues to “routinely ignore[ing]“Mobile games and the people who make them.
In a letter sent LinkedInLövstedt said: “mobile [gaming] is one of the most popular and most profitable gaming platforms, currently representing 55% of the global gaming market, but it is often ignored and looked down upon” because “too many” perceive it as “a world of predatory monetization and poor quality.”
The letter comes after BAFTA released a long list of games earlier this week, with Monumental Valley 3 being the only mobile game to “make the list”.
“DICE, one of the top mobile game recognition organizations, has only nominated a mobile game for Game of the Year twice – Angry Birds HD and Pokémon Go. And they were the only dedicated gaming awards body to nominate them, despite how commercially and culturally significant both games are,” Lövstedt wrote, noting that while there was “hope” when BAFTA dropped platform-specific awards, “it resulted in mobile games being almost completely ignored.”
“Awards and the media shape perceptions of what is considered culturally or creatively valuable,” he added.
“If we celebrate innovation, we should celebrate it everywhere. If we value creativity, we should value it wherever players find it. If we care about the future of the industry, we must care about the platform that defines it.
“The industry has a choice. Recognize its largest and most creative platform, or continue to encourage a narrowing definition of what counts as “real games.”
