Mobile games on mainstream platforms

Mobile games are by nature designed to be played on a smartphone/tablet, but many times these games are ported to Steam and/or home consoles like the PS4 and/or Switch. While in reality this might not be a bad idea as it further promotes good games like Angry Birds to various gamers, there are games that literally screw up the porting process, or are just money-fishing shovelware. Almost all of these games are of low quality; featuring either lackluster graphics, gameplay, or pay-to-win aspects.

Examples
Note: This list should only cover games that tried to replicate the mobile gameplay within its console/PC ports, meaning that no proper ports or spinoff games that tried to do something different (but not limited to Puzzle and Dragons Z, Granblue Fantasy ReLink, or Azur Lane Crosswave) are included.


 * One of the first mobile games to get ported to consoles and PC was Dungeon Defenders. While it was pretty good for a console port with no microtransactions and such, the PC version was way ahead in terms of updates.
 * FFXV: Pocket Edition is an inferior port of FFXV based on the mobile game, and has made it in to the Xbox One, PS4, and even the Switch, while this wouldn't be an issue if it was ported only to the Switch (due to it being portable and having weaker hardware), the problem here is that the graphics are around 3DS/mobile standards compared to the mainstream version, not only that, it got ported to PC and other consoles too, all of which already have the original Final Fantasy XV, it was still also called Pocket Edition though.
 * Nintendo partnered with Tencent to make an enhanced version of Arena of Valor for the Switch.
 * Mujo failed miserably on the Switch due to the game having microtransactions.
 * Metal Slug Defense was notable for being a lackluster port from mobile to PC, with unreliable controls and poorly implemented pay-to-win mechanics.
 * While not on either Switch or Steam, Life of Black Tiger is infamous for being one of the worst mobile games to be ported to a console, which in this case is the much more powerful PlayStation 4. Keep in mind that the mobile port is now delisted, but not the PS4 port. In fact it is the only known game to get ported to a console.
 * Another game notable for microtransactions for more saves is WorldNeverland, which was a full-priced port straight to the Switch. Again, like it's mobile equivalent it's fill of microtransactions, such as costumes and as addressed, extra save slots.
 * Microsoft have discontinued the Xbox One Edition of Minecraft and replaced with the Bedrock Edition (which is previously known as/based off Pocket Edition, which was made for Android and iOS) on the Xbox One in the Better Together update, which lacks some features from the Java Edition unless you download a free DLC such as the game music/soundtracks and also filled the store for that version with microtransactions, which also destroys the experience of the Legacy Console Edition of the game. This was also released for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, and even Windows 10/11 (Microsoft Store).
 * The Elder Scrolls: Blades on the Nintendo Switch.
 * Raid: Shadow Legends on Microsoft Windows. Even though it was released on the same day, the game was mainly marketed as a mobile game.
 * Several of Gameloft's old games on the macOS, and more recently, some of their recent games on the Nintendo Switch, Windows, Steam and Xbox.
 * Pixel Worlds. While being an alright Growtopia clone game there is scammers, bullies, spam bots, online daters, and also hackers.
 * Growtopia when Ubisoft bought the game in 2017, the game went downhill as many spam bots and casinos and hackers, also scammers and many bugs and glitches in the game.
 * Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3): It's just the mobile port, but with more bugs and glitches, which is unacceptable due to both consoles' predecessors having their own ports.
 * Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition used mobile ports as basis instead of original PC or console ports, and they ported it over to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Switch, with most of the bugs and glitches, aswell as simplified game mechanics from the mobile versions still being featured in the remasters.
 * Super Meat Boy Forever was originally meant to be a mobile-only endless runner sequel to Super Meat Boy. However, development was shifted to other consoles like the PlayStation 4, XBOX One and Nintendo Switch in 2017. The mobile version yet has to arrive.
 * Pokémon Café Mix: It is possible that this game was originally a mobile game, since it only uses touch controls. Even the Nintendo Switch version only uses touch controls.
 * Chocobo GP: Became the first ever console-exclusive mobile game. It has the typical Pay-to-win model from mobile games, and the $40/$50 version is exactly the same but with most of the stuff unlocked.
 * There are some mobile games that are on the Xbox Store, that are usually sold for cheap. They do not have any achievements in them, in which is a waste of money.
 * Diablo Immortal was meant to be a mobile exclusive, but due to the controversial Blizzcon incident, it was ported to the PC.
 * Some indie developers port their games from mobile to various platforms as a way of climbing up a mountain, where they start with the weakest platform to the strongest.

Why Most of Them Suck

 * 1) First and foremost, mobile phone/tablet games are (often) not designed for dedicated gaming platforms such as the Nintendo Switch and personal computers, and vice versa. What works on a mobile device may not work well on a dedicated gaming console and/or PC and vice versa (see the Ouya for a prime example), especially if you directly port it without changing the controls and mechanics to better fit the use of controllers or a keyboard and mouse. Games such as Spartans VS. Zombies Defense (an unlicensed The 300 ripoff) forgot to change the prompt from "Touch the screen" to something like "Click the mouse", etc.
 * 2) *Because of #1, the controls are sometimes exactly like the mobile games on PC, meaning that you have to hover the mouse over every single button! Also, especially on consoles, some of the buttons are completely useless, although this does not affect the game itself.
 * 3) *The touchscreen controls are even still visible in some ports.
 * 4) The user interface is sometimes oversized, especially on ports of games dedicated to small screen phones.
 * 5) Like how the original games downplay mobile gaming hardware, these ports often don't take advantage of the more powerful hardware present in PCs and consoles. (Many mobile games like Seven Knights and Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition tend to use more simplistic graphics to compensate for the often low specs of mobile devices (though higher-end devices do exist). Some games which are more "hardcore when it comes to graphics" like HiT, Implosion, and Mobius Final Fantasy use higher quality graphics, though they tend to drain the battery quicker or overheat the phone.
 * 6) *Furthermore, some of them require powerful hardware on PC despite the game's quality.
 * 7) *This has been remedied with the introduction of gaming phones, which have heat sinks, cooling fans and longer battery life.
 * 8) These games are simplified for phone devices and may not be interesting for gamers who are used to more advanced or complicated games. (although this excludes some iconic mobile games that are beloved by many people).
 * 9) Most mobile games rely on touchscreens which PC and Switch (mainly) do not favor at all.
 * 10) These games are mostly generic and/or rip-off higher quality and/or more unique games, which have been major trends for years. In fact, since some legitimate mobile game developers don't even bother to port their games on such platforms due to its quality, these guys take advantage of it and don't even hesitate to bring shit to the mainstream platforms.
 * 11) Those mobile games waste space on the storefronts that other games (even good mobile ones) should be taking, just like the App Store and Google Play.
 * 12) For the games with timers built-in, when you quit the timer stops, forcing you to leave the game on for a certain amount of hours or so. To play these kinds of games, play it on something like a GPD Win instead so that you don’t waste money on electricity bills for leaving the computer on waiting for several hours!
 * 13) Almost all mobile games have microtransactions which leads to a risk that kids who have these might use their parents' money inadvertently or purposely in order to pay for microtransactions in these games when they could pay for better games without such microtransactions.
 * 14) Some of these games are usually free to play on phones, but not on the Switch and PC with no compensation/changes for the premium price tag whatsoever (for example, Mujo costs $10 on the Switch eShop, as opposed to being free to play on iOS and Android).
 * 15) *This is inexcusable, since there are mobile games that actually have price tags (such as Geometry Dash or GRID Autosport) just like any AAA game, but most developers prefer to make it free and dump MTX in them, as they believe that all mobile games must be free and AAA games must be paid.
 * 16) *This is more likely due to the freemium trend going on mobile and console gamers used to purchasing games, or that mobile games make money off advertisements which do not work on consoles, but that does not excuse them for charging over 10 bucks for a plain port.
 * 17) Because of the popularity of poorly ported mobile games to consoles, there are fears that Nintendo eShop or even the PlayStation Store could turn into Steam, where they are constantly hoarding with shovelware junk someone could make in hours.
 * 18) This further damages the mobile game industry's reputation, as since the industry's now known for developers' horrible abuse of microtransactions and their disgusting false advertising campaign, they will also be known for their bad games after mainstream gamers find it out on their platforms.
 * 19) After some of these games are ported to consoles, the mobile versions are discontinued in favour of them.
 * 20) Remasters based on mobile ports are released on mainstream platforms first, with the mobile ports either being delayed or cancelled.
 * 21) Most mobile games have features that are available on phones (such as notifications for some event going on in game or permissions) that are not available on consoles and PC. Because they get ported straight with no changes whatsoever, the game could possibly crash upon encountering these features.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Unless the game utilizes multi-touch controls, touch controls actually mix pretty well with mouse controls on computers, especially in games that involve drag-and-drop controls. Both controllers work identically, but with pros and cons, but they still do not really impact the gameplay that much as it is still easy to handle both mouse and touch controls correctly. Therefore, it's actually not a bad idea to port mobile games to computers, especially because of RQ#2.
 * 2) Porting Android games to computers eliminates the need for PC gamers to use BlueStacks or Nox, a highly demanding Android emulator for that same platform. Though, as of Windows 11 introducing the ability to sideload Android apps and support for Amazon's app store, it would make the use of emulators/Android ports partially obsolete.
 * 3) A lot of the older console ports of mobile games took out microtransactions completely, and replaced them with an alternative that requires players to either play to earn in game items, or receive them by opening the game once a day.
 * 4) For iconic games like Angry Birds Trilogy and Angry Birds Star Wars 1, releasing these ports further preserves these games from being lost to time.
 * 5) At least these ports eliminate advertisements.
 * 6) Some of them are free, just like the mobile ports.
 * 7) There are some honest developers who charge for their mainstream ports, mainly because of the monetization in their free mobile games, which might not work on mainstream platforms, which is at least acceptable. Also the ports usually cost under $10.

Exceptions
It should be noted however that a mobile game ported to Steam, PlayStation, or Switch can also play well if it's AAA and done right. If it has the full experience without any pay-to-win experiences for a full-priced game such as Voez, The Pirates: Caribbean Hunt, Bloons Tower Defense 5, Arkanoid vs Space Invaders, and Implosion - Never Lose Hope, then it's passable.

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