When It Makes Sense to Use Your Smart TV for Games: And When It Doesn’t
You have finished the most difficult tasks in redesigning your house, and now it’s time for useful items to be purchased and placed in different rooms. TV is one of them, and people enjoy buying gigantic screens for their entertainment rooms. Surely, cable TV is staying in the past, but what we love about those big screens besides watching Netflix, is playing games.
In fact, that’s a big deal for many. However, what we notice is that Smart TVs can be great for some games, while won’t make any sense for others. So, let’s understand your priorities, to not make a mistake in the entertainment room.
A significant number of gamers like casino games, and for them, seeing those cards bigger, or the jackpot wheel brighter, feels like an upgrade. We need to pause here for a second and say no. If that’s what you spend the entertainment time on mostly, then a big TV to play casino games will be almost a waste of money, and let’s explain why.
Modern casino games are already well optimized for desktop and especially smartphones in a sense that many don’t even feel the need for a bigger screen. But beyond that, some casino games are logically suitable for a smaller screen, such as those in a video poker style. So, online video poker and similar games are designed for on-the-go play. They fit well in your pocket: tap with one hand, get a little win or loss in 30 seconds, then set it down.
On a Smart TV, however, playing the same game often feels clunkier. You usually need a remote or controller instead of touch, and the experience is less personal. You can’t discreetly check notifications or take quick breaks as easily on a TV. In short, games built for quick mobile sessions work best on phones – their screens and controls are optimized for that style of play, and they let players grab a few minutes of fun anywhere.
On top of this, with the emergence of digital gambling platforms, many players opt for real money games, which may feel really rigid on a smart TV, whereas on smartphones, transferring money or checking the wallet can be smooth. So, no TV.
Mobile Gaming’s Dominance (Smart TVs vs. Phones and Consoles)
The numbers clearly show how big mobile gaming is. In 2024 the global games market is about $187.7 billion. Almost half of that (about 49%) comes from mobile games. In other words, mobile alone pulls in more money than consoles and PCs combined. And the Smart-TV gaming market is tiny by comparison – only about $179 million in 2024 (that’s 0.18% of the total games market!). Smartphones and tablets simply account for most of the industry.
It’s the same story on the player side. As noted above, roughly 2.85 billion people play games on mobile devices, which is the vast majority of all gamers. By comparison, only about 908 million people play on PCs and 630 million on consoles. (Many people play on more than one platform, but these figures highlight the scale: mobile “dwarfs” the others in user count.)
In fact, a survey of U.S. gamers found that 60% of Gen Z and 64% of millennials prefer mobile phones for gaming. This dominance is driven by convenience: virtually everyone has a smartphone, and mobile games are often free or very cheap. In Asia-Pacific, mobile gaming is especially huge – China alone expects over 80% of its $94B gaming market to come from mobile games.
All these figures underline one point: mobile gaming is the market leader in both revenue and players. It grows every year. As Unity game-engine exec Felix Thé observes, developers are now under pressure to support whatever platforms players use, because “the ability to connect friends and communities across different platforms is increasingly becoming a player expectation and in turn is emerging as table stakes for developers”. In other words, gamers expect to play together no matter the device, and that demand largely comes from mobile users wanting their games everywhere.
Gaming Platform Comparison: Revenue, User Base, and Smart TV Viability
| Platform / Category | 2024 Revenue | 2024 Users |
|---|---|---|
| Global games market | $187.7 B (total) | 3.42 B players |
| Mobile games | $92.6 B (49% of total) | 2.85 B players |
| PC games | – | 908 M players |
| Console games | 42.8 B (total) | 630 M players |
| Smart TV games | $0.179 B (0.18% of total) | – |
Cross-Platform Play and Giving Feedback to Developers
Many games are built for cross-play: you might start a game on your phone, then continue it on a console or big-screen TV, or vice versa. Developers have realized that players will move between devices, and they plan games accordingly. As noted above, cross-platform support is “table stakes,” so if enough players ask for better Smart TV compatibility or remote-play, studios will often take notice.
Keep in mind that if you’re someone who enjoys playing games on a big screen, it’s always possible to send feedback to developers. Many gaming companies open such discussions themselves by asking their social media followers about the changes they would like to see in their games.
For example, you might see a game studio post a poll on Twitter or Discord: “Would you like us to improve the TV interface?” or “Which features should we add to our console app?”. Players respond, and developers get ideas for the next update. Moreover, some gambling platforms use social media to gather feedback, such as in the example below, where the audience was asked to suggest new features for slot games:
Game makers even hold surveys or beta tests for different platforms. If many fans ask for larger text, better graphics, or controller support on Smart TVs, a company might include that in the next patch. We’ve already seen some games add “big-screen modes” or support screen mirroring because players requested it. In practice, this means a game’s design often reflects the collective voice of its audience.
When enough players say, “I like playing on my TV – please add more features for that,” companies take note. Over time, cross-platform play and fan feedback are shaping games. The end result is that whether you’re on your phone or on a Smart TV, your experience keeps getting better, thanks to the conversations between players and creators.
