Do you remember a time before smartphones? Mobile phones have a fascinating history.
They’ve been so big that they wouldn’t fit into your pocket, and so miniscule that you could barely read the text.
It was some years before we saw the first cameras on phones, and even longer before we could surf the web.
While early mobile phones couldn’t do many things they do now, they did manage to entertain us with simple, fun and highly addictive games.
In 1994, while Forrest Gump was inspiring the world on the silver screen, Tetris came to the small screen as the first mobile phone game ever.
Three years later, the legendary Snake game had people hooked to their Nokia device trying to beat their high score.
This little serpent sparked the dawn of the new use for the mobile phone: entertainment.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane together to relive the mobile games that have stood the test of time.
The Best Retro Mobile Games
1. Tetris
The year was 1994 and the
Hagenuk MT-2000 was launched with a special treat for owners: the first ever mobile phone game, Tetris.
The wildly popular video game from the ‘80s had already proven itself on the small screen with Nintendo’s Game Boy. The simple concept and ear-worm music had people hooked. And with that, the scene was set for mobile games to come.
2. Snake
Mobile games really took off when Snake was released in 1997 for the legendary Nokia 6610. Even though it was some black blocks moving on a tiny screen, it quickly became an iconic way to waste hours.
The aim of the game was simple: control a serpent around the screen to pick up pieces of “food”, while avoiding the edge of the screen and the serpent’s own tail.
The concept of Snake wasn’t invented by Nokia – it was drawn up in 1976 as an arcade game called Blockade and had featured on home computers since the late 1970s. Then, Finnish developer Armanto preloaded it onto Nokia’s 6110 handset, and the rest is history.
Over 400 million copies of the game are believed to have been made. The first
multi-player gaming experience was a two-player version of Snake that could be played between two 6110 phones using the infrared port.
For those who miss navigating a snake around a screen or want to know how to play retro games, an old-school Snake ‘97 game is available on iOS and Android.
3. Space Invaders
While aliens didn’t attack the Earth as predicted by the movie Independence Day, in 2002, Space Invaders entered the world of mobile phones.
Originally a shooting arcade game released by Japanese game designer Tomohiro Nishikado in 1978, Space Invaders was hugely popular on mobiles.
In the game, you are tasked with the mission of defending the world from aliens by shooting them. The aliens move back and forth across the screen, gradually increasing in speed, and the game ends if the aliens reach you at the base of the screen.
Today, you can play Space Invaders on iOS and Android devices and enjoy all of the original features that captured imaginations back in the arcades.
4. Minecraft
Created in 2009, Minecraft is the best-selling video game in history. The aim of the game is to build, explore and survive. Simply understood, players create and break different kinds of blocks in three-dimensional worlds.
It was first released for iOS devices in November 2011, with the developers creating a special Minecraft: Pocket Edition. This had features that were specially designed for playing on a mobile device.
One of the greatest things about Minecraft is its ability to bring together different people from all over the globe, across generations. For that reason alone, it’s sure to continue to be a popular mobile game for years to come.
5. Super Mario Run
Everyone's favourite moustachioed Italian plumber launched onto mobile phones in 2016 and became an overnight sensation.
Funnily, Nintendo had been hesitant about developing titles for the mobile gaming market since it took off in the early 2010s. The Japanese giant of entertainment was highly protective of its franchise characters and wanted to keep them for its own consoles. But by 2014, the company could no longer deny the growth of the mobile market, and it made its move.
Super Mario Run received 3.5 million downloads in its first day and
50 million in its first week, eclipsing Pokémon GO to become the most downloaded mobile game.
Super Mario Run is known as an auto-runner platformer game, which means Mario is constantly moving to the right and the player can make him jump by tapping the screen.
6. Angry Birds
Slingshotting birds into random structures full of evil pigs might sound a bit strange, but it’s proven super addictive and extremely fun.
We’re talking, of course, about Angry Birds.
Angry Birds became the first commercially successful mobile game when it launched in 2009, just a year after the
launch of the iPhone App Store. Rovio Entertainment then ported the game over to Android as a free version with ads, which users could pay to remove.
With simple rules, limited skills needed, and less demand on time, the Angry Birds game brought a casual puzzler approach to mobile gaming, and has remained a staple ever since it first flew onto mobile devices.
Fun fact: In June 2011, Nokia Malaysia broke the record for the most people in a mobile phone game relay by getting 2030 people to play Angry Birds for 10 hours.
7. Bejeweled
Another casual game that took off when the App Store was launched was Bejeweled.
The addictive gem-matching puzzle game was originally developed by PopCap Games under the name Diamond Mine. Microsoft was so impressed that it partnered with PopCap Games to bring Bejeweled to life on its various websites.
Bejeweled is what’s known as a Match 3 game. You simply match the jewels based on their shapes and colours to make them disappear. There’s also a time limit to give it an arcade experience.
For such a simple concept, it’s insanely addictive and players end up flexing their thumbs in their sleep as they dream about multicoloured gems.
8. Temple Run
In 2011, the ultimate endless runner game was launched: Temple Run.
Developed by Imangi Studios, the game captured everyone’s imagination with its Indiana Jones vibes. Your mission: to run for as long as you can while evading a massive creature, collecting coins, and using quick reflexes to stay alive.
The franchise has since become huge adding many more Temple Run versions. Temple Run even inspired Disney to start making major investments in mobile games, and they partnered with Imangi Studios to create Temple Run Brave, a mobile version of the Pixar film Brave.
9. Candy Crush Saga
King’s release of Candy Crush Saga in October 2012 introduced the definitive Match-3 mobile puzzler experience.
The game invites players to match sweet treats in a vast collection of challenging puzzle scenarios.
First, smartphone screens were getting larger, meaning developers had more real estate to work with.
Second, games companies realised they could reel in players with free-to-play games, then charge for extra lives and power-ups.
By the end of 2013, the game had attracted over
400 million new players and King’s revenue had jumped from
$62 million in 2011 to $1.88 billion from advertising and in-app purchases.
Recap
Mobile phone games have come a long way since the days of Tetris and Snake, but these old-school games, along with other retro favourites, have truly stood the test of time. As well as entertaining mobile phone users for decades, they have gone on to inspire the best
Australian made mobile games so we can enjoy imaginative fun on our small screens for years to come.
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For the first 1 month*
- Includes Data Rollover Data rollover lets you carry over any unused data at the end of the month, over to your next month.
- No-lock in contracts
- Unlimited calls and text
- International Roaming and International Dialing packs available**
- Includes Data Rollover Data rollover lets you carry over any unused data at the end of the month, over to your next month.
- No-lock in contracts
- Unlimited calls and text
- International Roaming and International Dialing packs available**
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160GB
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- Includes Data Rollover Data rollover lets you carry over any unused data at the end of the month, over to your next month.
- No-lock in contracts
- Unlimited calls and text
- International Roaming and International Dialing packs available**
*Offer ends 03/06/2024 at 15:00 AEDT. All for use in Australia. Personal use only and not a broadband replacement. Plans auto renew every month. Roll over your unused base data monthly and build up to a massive 500GB. Data will not expire while plan remains the same, but may be lost if plan is upgraded or downgraded. On selected plans only. T&Cs apply, refer to our Critical Information Summaries and General Terms.
**Additional charges and T&Cs apply for International Roaming and International Dialing.
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