The iphone as a gaming platform

[miir]

I'm skeptical that the iphone will ever be considered a legitimate portable gaming platform.

People complain about the 6 hour battery life on the PSP... you're lucky to get 2 hours of gaming on the iphone. Not to mention that people actually use the iphone for phone and email and won't want to without because they drained their batter playing games. And it's not like you can carry around a spare iphone battery

For a lot of people, the lack of any tactile controller is a deal breaker. I tried SF4 on the iphone and while it was smooth and looked great, the control was a nightmare... not to mention my thumbs covered nearly 1/2 of the screen. The driving games that use the accelerometer are a better but you look like a fucking retard when you're playing and you can't play them on a crowded train/bus/streetcar.

Sure there are over 6000 games in the app store but the overwhelming majority of those are complete fucking trash. There's no quality control. You have to slog through hundreds of mini-game, tower defense, 'flash' type games before you find one that might actually be worth playing.

There is a fucking STAGGERING amount of shovelware in the app store.


The first two issues are moot with the ipad... but the ipad is not exactly portable. I don't own a pocket that can fit the ipad.

[Fairweather Pure]

Your post is a combination of misinformation and ignorance. The iphone is a portable gaming platform. The battery lasts longer than 2 hours. You can get a battery extender if you want. 6,000 games? There were 13,000 games as of July 8th, 2009. Many free, most a dollar.



That chart is a year old. The PSP has only slipped further since then and apple has only gained.

I think "hardcore" handheld gaming is pretty lame. For on the go, I want games that will keep me busy for 10-15 minute stretches at a time and the iphone delivers that in spades. We're not even mentioning the myriad of other things it can do that the PSP or DS cannot. There are even "hardcore" games if I wanted to play them, but I don't. I have a 55 inch HD TV, a PS3, Xbox 360, and 120+ games to do that on (not to mention my PC).

The best iphone and ipad games play to the device's strengths. The games that do that are every bit as good as any game on any other handheld device.

When looking at your largest complaint, the lack of a tactile controller, look no further than the latest Apple patent:



(It's a tactile controller that your iphone slips into)

[miir]

Your post is a combination of misinformation and ignorance. The iphone is a portable gaming platform. The battery lasts longer than 2 hours. You can get a battery extender if you want. 6,000 games? There were 13,000 games as of July 8th, 2009. Many free, most a dollar.

2 hours of playing graphics and processor intensive games (ie: not flash/timewaster type games) will nearly drain the battery on an iphone 3GS. That is not misinformation or ignorance.... it's fact.

Typo. Was supposed to say over 16000.


The price of the game is usually a good indicator of quality.
I can count on one hand the number of free/99 cent games I would willing play for more than 15 minutes.
As I said, there is a staggering amount of shit in the app store. That is not misinformation or ignorance.... it's fact.

The iphone is a great platform for gamers who don't give a shit about quality. The kind of person who doesn't think twice about paying 99 cents for a timewaster that they could be playing for free in a web browser.


On my daily commute, I see all kinds of people playing their DS or PSP on the subway/streetcar and I frequently see people playing brickbreaker or texas hold'em on their Blackberries. I rarely ever see people playing games on their iphones.

[Winnow]

The iPad and next generation iPhone have no battery issues. In fact, the iPad seems like a minor miracle with it's 10+ hours non stop, full bright 10 inch screen battery life.

Having now played quite a few games on the iPad since cracking it, I have no doubt it will take off in the gaming area. It's the best virtual Pinball experience I've had yet!

The Chaos Rings RPG game I linked in another thread has great movement controls. There are no "buttons"...wherever you put your finger on the screen becomes the movement button so you don't have to worry about hand/finger placement.

iPhone will have a higher res screen than PSP and that Nintendo portable thingy starting in June with the iPhone HD release.

[Fairweather Pure]

2 hours of playing graphics and processor intensive games (ie: not flash/timewaster type games) will nearly drain the battery on an iphone 3GS. That is not misinformation or ignorance.... it's fact

I played Resident Evil 4 on my Iphone 3GS for 4 hours and had 40% battery life left. Where the hell do you come up with your figures? They're wrong.

And I will stand by the fact that there are plenty of quality games on the iphone. The ipad games are even better.

EDIT: lol at quality games on the PSP. Then why doesn't anyone buy them?

[Funkmasterr]

Fair, I generally like you, but I have to admit since you bought a iPad my value of your opinion has gone a weeeee bit lower, and I may or may not view you as a trendy apple fanboi along with winnow

That being said, I think your viewpoint and what you desire out of handheld games is why the iPhone is doing well in the games department. A lot of people want simple games to play on their handheld. Although I think generally their reasoning is slightly different than yours, and falls more along the lines of "I'm too stupid or impatient to play a game that takes me more than 15 minutes so this 334039340934903434 th reiteration of massively dumbed down tower defense is perfect". However I think you are probably damn near alone on this one, compared to the rest of vv.

I can also tell you that I don't give the sales numbers as much weight as you are. Games (and many apps) on cell phones are a novelty that wears off for most pretty quick. People buy a lot of games and apps that they use once and likely never touch again (I'm one of said people). So, to reiterate, everyone that buys a iPhone seeing that they can play Pacman and thinking "OMG PACMAN I HAVE TO HAVE THIS", which leads to them buying it, playing it once and never touching it again != the iPhone being TEH HANDHELD OF TEH FUTURE.

Personally, I want my phone to be a phone, with some cool features. Games, Camera and MP3 player are not cool features I care to have or will really use on my phone. I'd rather have those devices remain separate.

I also want quality games that take a time investment, whether it's on my handheld, my 360 or my PS3. I don't want or need a casual game developed with teenagers with ADD in mind.

[miir]

I played Resident Evil 4 on my Iphone 3GS for 4 hours

Yea right.
Nobody could play that carpal-tunnel inducing mess of a game for 4 hours straight.
If you're gonna bullshit, at least make it believable.

lol at quality games on the PSP. Then why doesn't anyone buy them?

FF Dissidia sold nearly 2 mllion
Monster Hunter FU sold 4.5 million
Gran Turismo sold nearly 2 million

The PSP has nearly 40 titles that have sold over a million.
The iphone has like... four. And they are all flash/timewaster minigames.


If iphone games are so great. why doesn't anyone buy them?

[Funkmasterr]

P.S. The only time I've played games on the iPhone was sitting on the train with my cousin in Japan, but I didn't like it much. The only reason I've even bothered trying any of them on my android is because I've got keys to use to control shit. Having to use touchscreen which effectively covers up 1/3 of the screen to play a game, is fuuuuucking gay.

[Winnow]

That being said, I think your viewpoint and what you desire out of handheld games is why the iPhone is doing well in the games department. A lot of people want simple games to play on their handheld. Although I think generally their reasoning is slightly different than yours, and falls more along the lines of "I'm too stupid or impatient to play a game that takes me more than 15 minutes so this

That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want a separate hand held. Carrying one device around in my pocket is enough. As for power, the iPhone is more powerful than the PSP or Nintendo thingy. The games aren't just "word search" anymore. Chaos Rings is a full fledged RPG that is probably better than anything offered on the PSP and the Nintendo fad device.

The only thing you have left to bitch about are touch screens and as you can see, even the crappy Sony and Nintendo handhelds are going touch. Deal with it.

[Funkmasterr]

That being said, I think your viewpoint and what you desire out of handheld games is why the iPhone is doing well in the games department. A lot of people want simple games to play on their handheld. Although I think generally their reasoning is slightly different than yours, and falls more along the lines of "I'm too stupid or impatient to play a game that takes me more than 15 minutes so this

That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want a separate hand held. Carrying one device around in my pocket is enough. As for power, the iPhone is more powerful than the PSP or Nintendo thingy. The games aren't just "word search" anymore. Chaos Rings is a full fledged RPG that is probably better than anything offered on the PSP and the Nintendo fad device.

The only thing you have left to bitch about are touch screens and as you can see, even the crappy Sony and Nintendo handhelds are going touch. Deal with it.

I don't carry my hand held around with me. I don't have my iPod everywhere I go. I'm not one of the people walking down the road that has to have my fucking earphones in just to walk. I don't want or need that shit to be with me all the time, so worrying about having multiple devices on my at once is not a concern. The most this comes into play for me is having my phone and iPod in my pocket from my car -> work and work -> car.
I won't bother with the pathetic troll attempt about games.

And things are going touch screen because there are so many more gadget of the week buying retards out there nowadays. I like the PSP for the little specific use I'll get out of it. I would not have even considered buying it if it was strictly touch screen, and as soon as my only options are touch screen, I won't own another hand held.

Oh, and the idea of making a case to put around your phone to have a dpad and buttons for games is fucking ridiculous. Buy a goddamn real hand held gaming system.

Winnow and Fair just need to accept that while they may be part of the majority overall, they are singing to the wrong crowd here..

[miir]

Chaos Rings is a full fledged RPG that is probably better than anything offered on the PSP and the Nintendo fad device.

More accurately, the Iphone finally has an RPG that can actually compare to the offerings on the DS and PSP.


I put it on my touch last night and played it for a bit and it is a pretty good game.
The graphics fall between the DS and PSP, it runs smooth and the control scheme isn't too awkward.
But so far, there's nothing that would compel me to play it over the current games I'm playing on my DS (PS zero, SMT Strange Journey, Nostalgia)

[Boogahz]

I have tried out several games on my iPod Touch. There were a couple that I "might" have played for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, but the control scheme was not quite where it needed to be for it to be comfortable. As a gaming platform, I feel the games just are not there yet.

[Canelek]

And it's not like you can carry around a spare iphone battery

There are a few external options. I have a kingston spare battery that attaches via cable. However, it is cumbersome and I only use it when I don't have a outlet or laptop handy.

[pyrella]

After 2 5 hour flights in the past week, I'm going to give props to the iPhone's battery life with the caveat that it was in 'Airplane mode' and I was using headphones instead of built in speaker. So no Cell/WiFi/Speaker munching up my battery - but I listened to music the entire flights and played games ~3 hours of each of the 5 hour flights. I was above 50% battery at the end of both. Some games chewed through the battery faster than others, but nothing incredibly significant.

As far as the signal to noise ratio on the crap games...it's not unique to the iphone, but it is exacerbated with the low man power needs and quick development cycles - try before you buy + review sites are still the way to go. Hell, we should get someone to make us a VV app! On this note, someone should make a dedicated iPhone *Games* thread so that we can provide our own recommendations to save the rest of us from downloading crap, or pointing out a gem we may have never seen.

Lack of tactile feedback is a peeve of mine, but games that are designed around the idea that this is a touch screen device and not a 'controlled' device work well - ragdoll blaster and Tower Defense style games are good examples. Lots of puzzle games, etc - ports from other consoles are well...ported from the console they were designed for....not actually created for the display and interface available - it's just a money grab from fan boi's who will buy anything X,Y, or Z branded.

[Bagar-]

The only non-timewaster game I've downloaded is the FF1 port, and it's nearly impossible to play with the shoddy controls.

The iPhone will never be a serious gaming platform simply because the touch screen causes your fingers to pretty severely obscure whatever is happening on screen. Battery life aside.

If they made (or make? do they?) a peripheral that borders the phone and adds a d-pad and some buttons I see some potential although it would defeat the entire point of not wanting to carry around a DS or PSP.

This is solely based upon my experiences with the FF1 controls. They weren't game-breaking, but they were irritating enough to make me not want to play an otherwise really fun game, so that's enough for me.

[Winnow]

The only non-timewaster game I've downloaded is the FF1 port, and it's nearly impossible to play with the shoddy controls.

That game is crap on iPhone compared to Chaos Rings. Try a game made for the platform with controls/UI for touch, not some ancient port. That would be like me basing a current PC using Ultima III from 1985 as my review software...well not even that...have to port in some c-64 game onto the PC and then review it on the PC as if it were made for that platform and not 10-20 years old.

[Bagar-]

You're right. It's unrealistic to expect for a port that they specifically made for the iPhone to have adequate controls. My bad.

[Winnow]

You're right. It's unrealistic to expect for a port that they specifically made for the iPhone to have adequate controls. My bad.

Blame the team that ported it, not the phone.

It's not unrealistic to use a game actively developed for a platform to evaluate it and not a forced emulation of some old shit.

[Fairweather Pure]

Rivals are invading its patch, but Nintendo is ready to go to war
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent

Nintendo is preparing to unleash the full force of its development and marketing artillery against Apple after profits tumbled at the Japanese giant for the first time in six years.

The reversal of fortunes, though flagged in advance by the company, throws the spotlight on threats to what once seemed a bulletproof business.

Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo president, is understood to have told his senior executives recently to regard the battle with Sony as a victory already won and to treat Apple, and its iPhone and iPad devices, as the “enemy of the future” .

That, say analysts, may be premature. Last Christmas, almost twice as many Wii consoles were sold in the US as the PlayStation3. But games developers increasingly see Sony’s machine as having a large enough base of users to justify not making titles for the Nintendo machine.

Sony and Microsoft are also making their own forays into family-oriented gaming and the iPhone has emerged as a formidable competitor for Nintendo in the handheld gaming arena once dominated by the DS console.

Sources close to the Kyoto-based company describe a mood of concern as the hardware and software divisions race to restore the capacity to “surprise” — a traditional feature of Nintendo games that Mr Iwata holds dear.

The company’s recent strategy has centred on creating devices aimed not just at children and dedicated — generally male — gamers, but at the whole family. Two years ago, the company claimed to have permanently altered the demographics of video games by raising the average age and the gender mix of gamers. Unfortunately, the very people it claimed to have converted — high-school girls and men aged between 30 and 40 — reported that they would rather have an iPhone than a DS in their pockets or handbags.

Although the company ended the 2009 financial year squarely in the black, analysts described Nintendo’s profit slide as a “triple punch”.

Despite selling over 10 million copies of the latest Mario title for the Wii console, the pipeline of new games has stopped delivering the sort of blockbusters that drove console sales to record levels in the first two years after its launch. Nintendo has also suffered from the financial crisis. Households around the world spent most of last year in full belt-tightening mode, and remain cautious about buying games with a relatively short playing-life.

But the most striking decline was in sales of the consoles. Although both the Wii and DS have outsold their Sony and Microsoft counterparts, the lower technology of the Nintendo machines is starting to show. With far less processing power than either the PlayStation3 or Xbox 360, the Wii is suffering. Its sales were 21 per cent down in the year to March 31. Net profits at Nintendo, meanwhile, fell to Y228.64 billion (£1.6 billion) from Y279.09 billion.

[Sueven]

What does it mean to be a "serious" or "legitimate" gaming platform?

[Aslanna]

Who knows. A lot of people don't even consider the Wii as "serious" gaming.

[miir]

What does it mean to be a "serious" or "legitimate" gaming platform?

Timewasters, flash type minigames, tower defense or any other type of game that has a 'free to play in your browser' version are not usually not considered legitimate/serious games. The type of games that are developed by one guy, have no originality and no budget.

[Winnow]

What does it mean to be a "serious" or "legitimate" gaming platform?

Timewasters, flash type minigames, tower defense or any other type of game that has a 'free to play in your browser' version are not usually not considered legitimate/serious games. The type of games that are developed by one guy, have no originality and no budget.

EA = 1 guy?


What a clown

[miir]

Of course I don't mean that every fucking game is like that, idiot.


Just look at the staggering amount of complete shit in the appstore.
They need to cull 95% of the games they have in there.


Until the Iphone fixes the shit to quality ratio in their games catalogue, it's difficult to consider it a serious or legitimate gaming platform.
A handful of AAA titles is a start but there's a long fucking way to go.

[Winnow]

who cares if they let single app developers submit their games? There is a ranking system on iTunes, you can weed out the bad games easily if you want while there are the few good games that still get through by the smaller guy.

What an ass. I'd much rather give developers an opportunity to create something than shut them out.

The PC has an fuckload of bad games (not to mention the Wii)...you gonna go cry to your mom about the PC as well or have you already determined that the PC sucks because bad games are allowed on the platform?

I repeat. What an ass.

[miir]

You're a fucking idiot.... NOBODY controls how developers develop, compile, distribute and publish games for the PC.
There is no entitiy that decides what games people can give away or sell for a PC.



Apple controls everything that is available in the appstore... why the fuck can't they have any semblance of quality control.
They won't allow a shitty seal clubbing game not because it's a stupid, shitty, waste-of-time but because someone might find it offensive.

[Winnow]

Can't have it both ways! I say let the small guy develop while Apple keeps resource hogging flash type shit and other porn out of the app store.

At least the crap apps on the iPhone won't crash your phone like crap programs on the PC will, including viruses.

Ass

[Winnow]

Some day the rest of you will see the light!

----------------------------------------------------------------
A Final Fantasy writer has boldly proclaimed that the release of Apple’s iPad heralds the end of Nintendo’s dominance of portable gaming, whilst even Square Enix’s CEO seems to have experienced some sort of iPad imparted epiphany…

Game developer/writer Masato Kato, heavily involved with such esteemed titles as Chrono Trigger, Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII/XI, tweets that the iPad heralds the destruction of Nintendo and the DS:

With the release of the iPad, the age of Nintendo has really come to an end, hasn’t it? Though they’ve been digging their own grave with the DS and Wii for some time.

That there are as yet no games of note on the platform does not seem to bother him; nor does the Apple leadership’s well established contempt for gaming and general failure to acheive success in the gaming market seem to weight on his mind.

Apple products seem to have a particularly acute effect on Japanese gadget fans, perhaps a result of their design appealing to commonly held Japanese sensibilities – possibly this factors in to his evident excitement.

Meanwhile, Square Enix CEO Wada has been playing with his newly acquired iPad and reports that he too is greatly enthused by the device:

I’ve been using it since this morning. Damn…

[...]

It has a lot of business functionality, but what really gets me are the possibilities. I was hooked in an instant. This is a platform. I think a lot of good things will come from this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not a serious gaming platform my ass! The only people that throw out negative comments about the iPad are those that haven't used one.

[Animalor]

I've used one last saturday and my thoughts haven't changed. It's an oversized (and overhyped) ipod touch.

[Winnow]

I've used one last saturday and my thoughts haven't changed. It's an oversized (and overhyped) ipod touch.

I've owned an iPod touch. It's definitely not an over sized iPad touch except in the hardware's visual appearance. Size/speed means everything in this case.

The intensely product loyal Japanese don't normally praise western products.

I’ve been using it since this morning. Damn…

Come on...it was so good, it got a Japanese CEO to start talking like a teen aged kid.

iPad Sales Show Little Sign of Slowing

Sales of Apple's tablet are on pace to surpass even the most optimistic predictions put out before its launch.

Jun 2, 2010 5:49 am

Even the most die-hard Apple fans need to admit the company's sales of the iPad are somewhat surprising. It took the company four weeks to sell one million units, and another four weeks to sell an additional million.

This torrid pace would put it on par to possibly surpass even the rosiest predictions put out by analysts before the device's launch in April of this year. It now puts into doubt whether Apple will really need to make adjustments to the price of the device, which it had said it would be willing to do in order to ensure the device meets its sales goals.

If it's selling well now and hard to keep in stock, why make less of a profit now? May not be great for us consumers, but it is surely good for Apple's investors.

Japanese putting iPad to good use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATpSPNIuj3M

[Animalor]

Size and speed doesn't mean shit to someone who has never owned anything with the iPhone OS on it.

The apps are (essentially) the same on both platforms. The look, feel and usage is essentially the same on both platforms. You're still a slave to the iTunes store on the device as well.

Nothing has changed or been improved in the experience. It's just bigger and faster than the last. And that's what Apple always does.

[Winnow]

Size and speed doesn't mean shit to someone who has never owned anything with the iPhone OS on it.

The apps are (essentially) the same on both platforms. The look, feel and usage is essentially the same on both platforms. You're still a slave to the iTunes store on the device as well.

Nothing has changed or been improved in the experience. It's just bigger and faster than the last. And that's what Apple always does.

Oh no! I'm a slave to 100 thousand app choices!*



*Not to mention you can jailbreak the thing in less time than it took for me to type this and do whatever the fuck you want on it.

[Animalor]

Aren't you capped on the amount of apps you can actually install on the thing to 220? 11 pages * 20 apps per.

[Winnow]

Aren't you capped on the amount of apps you can actually install on the thing to 220? 11 pages * 20 apps per.

The App limit is 2,160 apps. If anything, Android has the app issues due to the inability to store apps on the SDHC cards making the average allowable app total on Android phones at less than the 220 you just mentioned. This should be corrected with Froyo finally.