Game porting is a common practice in the gaming industry, as it has been for decades, but in more recently, despite the complexity of game porting, game ports are released faster and with more efficiency than ever. Though platform-exclusive games still exist and occupy a major part of console manufacturers’ success, players have never had as much choice as they do now for how they want to play their favorite games.
Porting between platforms is more achievable than ever. From consoles to PC, PC to consoles, and even PC and consoles to mobile platforms, nothing is impossible when it comes to the availability of games across multiple platforms. With more easily accessible games across all platforms, gamers can connect with them in a manner of their choosing easily, allowing them to interact with other players, play at home, while on the go, or with friends.
Embracing New Platforms Through Game Porting
Through game porting, existing games can be delivered to exciting new platforms. Games were once far more limited to their original release platforms, but through the widespread adoption of game porting in more recent years, games are making their way onto a wider variety of platforms than ever before. Next-gen consoles, cloud gaming systems, and even mobile gaming devices have benefited significantly from the stronger focus on game porting within the gaming industry.
Beyond just bringing a game to a new platform, game porting is about bringing novel game experiences to new platforms and adapting them to take advantage of different gaming technology on offer from them. Take Ghost of Tsushima, for example. Originally a PlayStation 4 exclusive, it was ported to PlayStation 5 and leveraged the next-gen console’s unique features. The game’s immersive experience was enhanced through the DualSense controller’s distinct features, loading times were greatly reduced, and its overall visual fidelity improved.
Growing Your Audience Through Game Porting
Game porting is a proven way for developers and publishers to grow their titles and develop larger audiences. Game porting allows developers to tap into previously unexplored markets, including next-gen console owners, VR gamers, mobile gaming communities, and much more. Bringing games to other platforms to make it a truly multi-platform gaming experience helps previously inaccessible audiences to join a game’s community.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, considered by many gamers to be one of the greatest games of all time, was originally released on PC and Xbox some months later in 2003, but in the years since its release, it’s found new life on modern platforms. The gaming industry’s technological advancements have helped bring it to Nintendo Switch, and mobile gaming devices running iOS and Android. Its release on these platforms marks the first time Knights of the Old Republic can be enjoyed through mobile gaming or a Nintendo console, helping bring in a new audience and extend the game’s influence into a new generation of the gaming industry.
Game Porting Extends Games Lifecycles and Preserves Them
Beyond developing a new audience and cultivating interesting ways in which existing games can be experienced on new hardware, game porting helps extend the natural lifecycle of games and works to preserve them. Services like Xbox Game Pass help older titles, as well as new ones, be accessible to a new audience and extend their lifespan indefinitely beyond their initial shelf life. Take The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, for example. Initially released in 2002 on Xbox and PC platforms, it’s now accessible on modern Xbox consoles through Xbox Game Pass.
This is just one example of how game porting helps continue the legacy of existing games. Since PlayStation Plus’ revamp, it now offers classic titles from the brand’s earlier years such as the original Doom, along with cult classics such as The Evil Within from two console generations past.
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