Smobile Games Rant

[TheBlaskar]

Look, man, I get that people have to make a living and I'm sure there are people working at Smobile Games that are genuinely wonderful. But, Smobile as a whole is infuriating.

 

If you look at the recent releases on the PS store, you'll see that it's flooded with these "X Run" games (Sushi Run, Burger Run, Horror Run, etc...) and you can't escape them. The problem is there are legitimately great and creative indie titles that are being released now and they're being absolutely buried by all of these trash "Run" titles. The worst part is that the PS4 and PS5 versions are on the store as well, even further hiding the other games that are being released now. 

 

The games are copy-pasted, and they're charging for each game. They're $7 a pop and they all have the exact same synopsis listed below each title. Here are some examples:

-Horror Run is a Runner style arcade game where the user leaps and dashes through obstacles to get to the finish line. Play and survive through 12 levels as you complete your epic run as a Werewolf in the night.

-Space Run is a Runner style arcade game where the user leaps and dashes through obstacles to get to the finish line. Play and survive through 12 levels as you complete your epic journey through space as a baby Martian.

-Pizza Run is a Runner style arcade game where the user leaps and dashes through obstacles to get to the finish line. Play and survive through 12 levels of as you complete your quest as a Pepperoni Pizza.

-Taco Run is a Runner style arcade game where the user leaps and dashes through obstacles to get to the finish line. Play and survive through 12 levels of as you complete your quest as a Taco.

 

The crazy thing about this is that there's a typo in their copy-pasted text where it says "...through 12 levels of as you..." They don't care. There's no effort. No artistry. Just preying on and milking gamers.

 

Idk what else to say. I don't understand how these companies can be supported by people who claim to love the medium. These games are the equivalent of Pixar ripoffs. Stains on the industry created by people who couldn't care less about the consumer experience. 

 

Honestly...please don't buy these games. I'm actually begging you. They hurt the entire world of gaming. Your trophy list doesn't need these, there are plenty of other easy games to buy and complete. Do those instead.

 

Filing this in the Mobile Forum where Smobile belongs.

[LC-Fraggers]

Leaderboard climbing and gaming are essentially two separate hobbies at this point. I do both. I'll play stuff I want to play for a few weeks and then I'll spend a day or two smashing out a bunch of garbage to jump up a few hundred places in the rankings. That seems to be an unpopular pastime on this forum but that's not the point.

I doubt most of us are playing X Run or holding down R1 to milk a cow ten thousand times because we legitimately think there aren't better games out there. They're a means to an end aimed at a different customer base to the "creative indie titles" that you mention. Nobody looking for a new Metroidvania is going to drop money on ZJ the Ball instead of La Mulana.

[Helyx]

56 minutes ago, BCWrites said:

They hurt the entire world of gaming.

 

Season passes ruined gaming. Micro-transactions ruined gaming. The current concept of "DLC" ruined gaming.

 

These are just goofy little games, don't get so worked up.

[gyrocop]

18 minutes ago, Helyx said:

 

Season passes ruined gaming. Micro-transactions ruined gaming. The current concept of "DLC" ruined gaming.

 

These are just goofy little games, don't get so worked up.

 

While I don't disagree that the current DLC culture is a bigger problem, acknowledging that is not really a good counter-argument to what's been said. Especially since what's happening here attest to a bigger problem. 

 

These games are absolutely not just "goofy little games". They are low effort palette swaps most likely ported from mobile. That's why they can release so many so quickly. They are essentially using the trophy hunter fanatics to earn a profit (because I honestly don't see what other demographic would willingly buy more than one of these games). It's the same thing with that Bible game company. 

 

Unfortunately Sony's ever-increasingly lax policy for what can be put on their storefront is negatively impacting actual good indie games and the consumers, because not many wants to wade through this money-grubbing schlock to find an actual gem. It's the reason why storefronts like Steam or the iOS/Play store are such hot garbage. Because while there are a lot of worthwhile entertainment it gets buried in free-to-play nonsense and asset-flips. The PS Store isn't as bad yet, but the quality has been slipping over the past five years, and these cashgrab games are definitely contributing to that culture. 

 

Is it the worst part of the corporate gaming sphere? No. But I don't think you should just wave away this stuff, since it's another piece of puzzle that is this hellscape we call modern day video gaming. 

[TrophyChief]

Sorry, I guess I'm part of the problem. I got the discretionary income, I got the 5 minutes, and I got the trophy addiction. See you in therapy.

[Helyx]

10 minutes ago, MrTrofyHunter said:

I guess I'm part of the problem.

 

Yer herting teh entier wurld.

[LC-Fraggers]

32 minutes ago, gyrocop said:

 

Unfortunately Sony's ever-increasingly lax policy for what can be put on their storefront is negatively impacting actual good indie games and the consumers, because not many wants to wade through this money-grubbing schlock to find an actual gem.

 

 

If somebody can't spot the difference between Sushi Run and Disco Elysium on the new releases list, maybe they don't deserve nice things.

[gyrocop]

7 minutes ago, LC-Fraggers said:

 

If somebody can't spot the difference between Sushi Run and Disco Elysium on the new releases list, maybe they don't deserve nice things.

 

I don't think people can't see the difference in quality either. That wasn't my argument. As I said, I think only diehard trophy hunters are the ones buying these games. I'm just kind of lamenting that it works. That a company profits over the instant gratification Skinner box that is trophy hunting, and it clutters up the store, making finding worthwhile hidden gems more tedious, and that Sony is willfully letting this happen since they profit off it too. That's it. 

[LC-Fraggers]

20 minutes ago, gyrocop said:

 

I think only diehard trophy hunters are the ones buying these games.

You're absolutely right, they are. And yet, both you and the OP are lamenting that consumers are having to- to quote you directly- "wade" through what is apparently an endless tide of filth to find something worth playing, as if it's some sort of massive effort to flick a thumbstick down a row of games.

If that's not what you're really getting at then fine. I just think this "problem" is massively overstated by a lot of users here. EZPZ plats like X Run titles are for leaderboard climbing and are in very little danger of being bought for any other purpose other than to, I don't know, entertain children maybe. Were they disingenuously dressed up to be something they're not, then you'd have a point.  

[TheBlaskar]

Holy hell. After looking at dozens of these Smobile game covers on the marketplace, and then looking at game covers for "My Friend Pedro," "Super Meat Boy," or ANY other fun goofy-looking indie title, a normal weekend couch gamer is going to start writing them all off as the same trash you get with Smobile. 

 

Clearly the hyperbolic "oh my god all this scrolling is making me melt" is ridiculous- the point stands that the layman will most likely lose either interest or faith in browsing the new releases, focusing on whatever has 'hype' or marketing- weeding out the small indie titles that can't even create a ripple upon release

[gyrocop]

49 minutes ago, LC-Fraggers said:

You're absolutely right, they are. And yet, both you and the OP are lamenting that consumers are having to- to quote you directly- "wade" through what is apparently an endless tide of filth to find something worth playing, as if it's some sort of massive effort to flick a thumbstick down a row of games.

If that's not what you're really getting at then fine. I just think this "problem" is massively overstated by a lot of users here. EZPZ plats like X Run titles are for leaderboard climbing and are in very little danger of being bought for any other purpose other than to, I don't know, entertain children maybe. Were they disingenuously dressed up to be something they're not, then you'd have a point.  

 

Okay. This is going to be slightly meta, so bear with me here. The reason why I initially replied to this thread, was that I disagreed with the idea that since something was worse than something else, talking about the less bad thing is misguided or nitpicking. If that was the case, then we'd all just talk about global warming and nothing else forever.  

 

You're right that me being inconvenienced when finding good unknown indie games seem trivial. I can truthfully argue that Steam has gotten so bad that I have given up trying, but seen in context with things like micro transactions and loot boxes it seems slightly petty, and I should have done more to stay on the topic of profiteering, because that is my real big gripe.

 

The idea I wanted to pitch in my original post was that the mentality of making these garbage games whose only real selling point is easy trophies, is the same mentality that leads to these more serious DLC problems. The disregard of the artform of making games in lieu of profit. And by just handwaving smaller issues away, we're denying a bigger picture. 

 

I didn't want to get the idea across that this is some world ending issue, but rather that it too plays a part in why and how corporate greed influences the video game industry. By refusing to acknowledge the ways big companies make things worse for the culture than just the biggest, most egregious examples that we know of, we kinda lose sight of overall systemic problems that cause stuff like micro transactions, season passes, and smaller companies like Smobile hitting the addiction center of a subset of gamers for profit to exist. It makes the artform worse. Even if it plays just a tiny part. Which is why it shouldn't be ridiculed to talk about stuff like this. Even if the OP seemed a bit dramatic. 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by gyrocop

[LC-Fraggers]

28 minutes ago, BCWrites said:

Clearly the hyperbolic "oh my god all this scrolling is making me melt" is ridiculous- the point stands that the layman will most likely lose either interest or faith in browsing the new releases, focusing on whatever has 'hype' or marketing- weeding out the small indie titles that can't even create a ripple upon release

Like I said, if you can't take two minutes to research a game that you like the look of and are about to drop money on, maybe you deserve everything you get. If you hate it that much, you'll only make that mistake once. I just don't see this tidal flood of crap you're talking about that's drowning everything else in its wake. Easy plats are far more prolific than they used to be, agreed, but they're hardly running "legit" games out of business. 
 

 

27 minutes ago, gyrocop said:

 

I didn't want to get the idea across that this is some world ending issue, but rather that it too plays a part in why and how corporate greed influences the video game industry. By refusing to acknowledge the ways big companies make things worse for the culture than just the biggest, most egregious examples that we know of, we kinda lose sight of overall systemic problems that cause stuff like micro transactions, season passes, and smaller companies like Smobile hitting the addiction center of a subset of gamers for profit to exist. It makes the artform worse. Even if it plays just a tiny part. Which is why it shouldn't be ridiculed to talk about stuff like this. Even if the OP seemed a bit dramatic. 

 

It's not the disgruntlement with these games that I or a lot of other people are really ridiculing. It's the overwrought doomsaying, like Sushi, Burger, Horror and Space Run are the four horsemen of the gaming apocalypse. If I see a bad film on Netflix or buy a crap book from a bookshop, it's not going to damage the foundations of my love for film and reading. 

I guess where we fundamentally differ here is that I don't really see this as a problem. I think we've already agreed that these games cater to a small sub-community that want to compete on the leaderboards. That's really up to them on how they want to pursue their hobby. I really fail to see how this affects gaming in a broader sense though. Saying that it damages an artform is ignoring the fact that not every painting is or has to be art and those that aren't don't make the Mona Lisa any less accomplished.

[gyrocop]

19 minutes ago, LC-Fraggers said:

I guess where we fundamentally differ here is that I don't really see this as a problem. I think we've already agreed that these games cater to a small sub-community that want to compete on the leaderboards. That's really up to them on how they want to pursue their hobby. I really fail to see how this affects gaming in a broader sense though.

 

It doesn't. At least not significantly. I'm arguing the reverse. That the broader gaming landscape affects this. I'm trying to validate this issue as a symptom and not a cause. Broader trends in gaming and corporate culture has brought this nuisance (however insignificant it may seem), and how annoying it is differs from people to people. But the insignificant and the significant issues have the same source. Blatant profiteering. I kind of just wanted us to unite in that knowledge rather than feed into devisive rhetoric of who has the bigger problem. 

 

I don't mind bad art. I actually have real affinity for a lot of bad art. Soul Axiom was universally pandered, but I love it. It's such a mess of bonkers ideas that it feels like a dumb sci-fi fever dream. Even things like My Name Is Mayo (which usually gets ridiculed here) at least had a premise and charm that made it feel like it was created with an artistic purpose and/or vision. What I dislike is soulless corporate art created for the sole purpose of profit. Like those ugly monkey NFTs. I fail to see how asset flips or basically recycling the same game is a purposeful creative statement and not just greed in video game form. I don't like it because it is bad art. I don't like it because it doesn't feel like art at all to me. If you think that these games have genuine artistic purpose or that games don't need to have that to be considered worthwhile, then I'll agree to disagree. There is nothing but subjectivity in those discussions. 

[LC-Fraggers]

42 minutes ago, gyrocop said:

 

It doesn't. At least not significantly. I'm arguing the reverse. That the broader gaming landscape affects this. I'm trying to validate this issue as a symptom and not a cause. Broader trends in gaming and corporate culture has brought this nuisance (however insignificant it may seem), and how annoying it is differs from people to people. But the insignificant and the significant issues have the same source. Blatant profiteering. I kind of just wanted us to unite in that knowledge rather than feed into devisive rhetoric of who has the bigger problem. 

 

I don't mind bad art. I actually have real affinity for a lot of bad art. Soul Axiom was universally pandered, but I love it. It's such a mess of bonkers ideas that it feels like a dumb sci-fi fever dream. Even things like My Name Is Mayo (which usually gets ridiculed here) at least had a premise and charm that made it feel like it was created with an artistic purpose and/or vision. What I dislike is soulless corporate art created for the sole purpose of profit. Like those ugly monkey NFTs. I fail to see how asset flips or basically recycling the same game is a purposeful creative statement and not just greed in video game form. I don't like it because it is bad art. I don't like it because it doesn't feel like art at all to me. If you think that these games have genuine artistic purpose or that games don't need to have that to be considered worthwhile, then I'll agree to disagree. There is nothing but subjectivity in those discussions. 

We're actually on the same page here. I agree that these games achieve nothing but another foothold up the leaderboard ladder but that's really my point; that gaming for pleasure and leaderboard chasing are now two separate hobbies. As such, viewing these asset flips as anything besides software for the purpose of rank increase is only going to be in spite of their actual purpose. Nobody's making these to win any awards. They cater to one specific subset of gaming culture and they obviously do quite well from it.

Had trophies never existed, we wouldn't be having a conversation about Sushi Run right now. That's why software like it doesn't really belong in a conversation about gaming. It caters to trophy hunters, not gamers. That's why I find the concept that overly easy plats would be responsible for any kind of downfall of creativity in gaming dubious. They're aimed at a different demographic entirely.

[Camokidd87]

You guys think thats bad? S mobile just started releasing games in the asian store for the first time last night and the first one is burger break ps4. Its priced at RM339 which is 80 bucks U.S.. im at a loss for words. 80 bucks for one burger break

[dieselmanchild]

I couldn’t agree more. The state of the gaming industry and this hobby of trophy hunting is pretty sad these days in all honesty. I feel like so many people have forgotten the true essence of trophy hunting and what made us all fall in love with this hobby in the first place, and instead fall into this meaningless dopamine loop of smashing out these kinds of games for leaderboard ranks and higher numbers on their profile. It’s a damn shame but there’s no stopping it at this point, it’s a runaway freight train that has over saturated the console and mobile market. I do what little I can to fight it by simply ignoring all these shit stain excuses for games and spending my time playing things that actually interest me, and chasing trophies in the type of games that made me obsessed with hunting trophies in the first place. 

[DaivRules]

52 minutes ago, Camokidd87 said:

You guys think thats bad? S mobile just started releasing games in the asian store for the first time last night and the first one is burger break ps4. Its priced at RM339 which is 80 bucks U.S.. im at a loss for words. 80 bucks for one burger break

They said shortly after releasing their games on the Asian store that the pricing is incorrect and they’ll be fixing it ASAP. 
 

 

[Camokidd87]

1 hour ago, DaivRules said:

They said shortly after releasing their games on the Asian store that the pricing is incorrect and they’ll be fixing it ASAP. 
 

 

i figured it had to be some sort of mistake. i see a few people played it already but theyre probably streamers that were gifted free download codes. or atleast i hope thats the case haha