CES 2012: iCade iOS Game Controller Expands to iCade Jr., iCade Mobile, and iCade Core

[markm49uk]

Originally Posted by Les Kern

this crap is getting out of hand.

Why?

Personally I think the more devices that come out boost the ecosystem resulting in even stronger sales of devices, apps and related purchases.

It's all good - after all even the most ardent Apple aficionado has to admit that for some games the touch screen just doesn't work.

[jayducharme]

Those are really cool. So far the only similar accessory I've gotten has been the Magic Pinball mini cabinet. But so far only one table has been produced for it, so the device is relatively useless. At least iCade has more support and functionality. I'm glad to see it's taken off; that means more games will be taking advantage of it.

[mkrishnan]

The iCade mobile looks like it might be fun, depending on how it feels in-hand. It's exciting to see the supported games list continue to expand.

[Hawkeye411]

I'm going to buy the mini to use as a charging dock on my desk. Very cool!!

[tigress666]

Do these work with any games or do the games have to be compatible? I could see that mobile one really being nice for stuff like GTA, Tomb Raider, many Gameloft games (like Prince of Persia), and other ones where having buttons would improve gameplay (while I think those games are playable and fun without the buttons and it's not worth buying a separate gaming system for I do think that buttons on some games definitely can't be beat by a touch screen).

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by Les Kern

this crap is getting out of hand.

How could it be out of hand if the iCade line is relatively unique to the marketplace?

But even with something like "out of hand" iOS speaker docks I've yet to come across anything perfect for my own needs. There are speakers that charge, there are docks that allow you to sync, but finding a decent speaker dock that will independently charge and sync without using the same cable is nearly nonexistent.

So let the marketplace do it's thing. That's how innovations evolve. The junk will be relegated to the discount table soon enough.

[Gasu E.]

Originally Posted by Les Kern

this crap is getting out of hand.

Yeah, too much fun. Let's keep it serious.

----------

Originally Posted by Ed91

This will probably never happen, but I wish Apple would buy these guys out with pocket change and release some standardised game controller accessories for iOS devices. So many FPS style games suffer with touch based controls, and it would give developers a standard external interface to rally behind.

One can dream.

There's a good thought in there. but better if Apple published a specification and let independents compete to see who came up with the best implementation, with the market deciding the winner.

[Boston007]

Originally Posted by markm49uk

Why?

Personally I think the more devices that come out boost the ecosystem resulting in even stronger sales of devices, apps and related purchases.

It's all good - after all even the most ardent Apple aficionado has to admit that for some games the touch screen just doesn't work.

That's what a 3DS or PSP is for?! LOL
These iPhone games are completely laughable really. They are just time wasters. The real games are all on the handheld systems with a real dpads.

[*LTD*]

Originally Posted by dmacdonald

Four years ago I mocked this up. Nice to see something coming to market.
Image

Consult a lawyer.

[pizz]

Not liking the new core unit. The 1st icade looked more authentic

[nazaar]

this just seems really silly now.

And I love playing games, but really.....!

[Monkey Butler]

*Apple ~4 years ago* "physical buttons are dead. Touch is the way of the future!"
*App-makers today* "we can't be bothered making an enjoyable and intuitive touch interface, let's just go back to physical buttons"

[App-Netzwerk]

This is going to be fun using it for playing Apps on iPhone or iPad. I'm looking forward to this.

[ncaissie]

I want an iCade but $99 is just too much. I will buy it around $50.
These new ones are not the same experience. It reminds me of my old table top pac-man.

[smali]

Seems pointless, most of the top games are designed for touch input. Also having to carry that thing around seems a bit stupid, at that point it makes more sense to get a handheld game system.

[ncaissie]

Originally Posted by hinchesk

Why are they still on Bluetooth? If Atari can get a dock connector working these guys should be able to.

Maybe they'll get there once Apple finishes their work on making it easier for 3rd parties to use the dock connector.

Because not all games play vertical. Some times you need to place the ipad in landscape view.

[Akack]

More gadgets to buy.

[APlotdevice]

Originally Posted by Monkey Butler

*Apple ~4 years ago* "physical buttons are dead. Touch is the way of the future!"
*App-makers today* "we can't be bothered making an enjoyable and intuitive touch interface, let's just go back to physical buttons"

Touch certainly works well in many games. But not all. The two biggest problems IMO are that virtual d-pads just aren't nearly as responsive as their physical counterparts and the lack of shoulder buttons means that you have to juggle your thumbs around more complicated controls (such as those for an FPS).

[mkrishnan]

Originally Posted by tigress666

Do these work with any games or do the games have to be compatible? I could see that mobile one really being nice for stuff like GTA, Tomb Raider, many Gameloft games (like Prince of Persia), and other ones where having buttons would improve gameplay (while I think those games are playable and fun without the buttons and it's not worth buying a separate gaming system for I do think that buttons on some games definitely can't be beat by a touch screen).

They (all controller accessories for the iPhone/pad/pod) only work with supported games. Right now, AFAIK, the devices work in one of two or three ways:

- The iCade devices (and those compatible with them) work by emulating a bluetooth keyboard, and the app developers have to offer keyboard controls support (even though they wouldn't offer a keyboard on the screen). The limitation of this is that it's not really easy to program analog controls this way, so the iCade is not likely to be compatible with any game that really needs analog controls. Also unless the device has a dock connector just for providing power to the iDevice, the accessory and the iDevice have to be powered separately.

- The 60Beat works by transcoding controller movements into audio and wiring them through the microphone part of the headset port. I guess in principle this could be done by bluetooth audio too, but I don't know any device that does this / if the data quality would be high enough. The game has to offer custom support for this and can't (AFAIK) need to use the microphone as part of how it works. The accessory is again powered separately, but this can support games that need analog stick

- I think it's possible in principal to license the Dock connector and then have the device wired to the iOS device, but I don't think any controller like this is on the market. If this came out, I think it would address all the issues above at the same time (aside from being wired and not wireless, by definition).

In all the scenarios, though, the device has to be supported by the app. Since every app has its own touchscreen controls, there's probably essentially zero likelihood that there'll be a device that would offer support for games that weren't designed for it (I'd be glad to be wrong, but it would be a Herculean task to design that).

[Number 41]

Originally Posted by mikeoc

Am I the only one who thought it looked like an Atari Lynx?

First thought for me as well.

[nepalisherpa]

It probably means nothing but doesn't that iPhone look different in the picture?

[MR-LIZARD]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Originally Posted by Les Kern

this crap is getting out of hand.

I agree. These have a novelty value but no way should the become a standard or hopefully gain any traction beyond 'quirky gadget' status. *It the price was cheap they might be a fun stocking filler gift or some amusement for half an hour like those £10 *Megadrive and SNES 20-games-i- one controller things for your aTV that were everywhere a few years back. * Unfortunately they're not. Why do I think they're crap...?

1) The iPhone sits in my pocket. I do not want to have to carry around a bag just to keep a daft game (and large) controller in. * This thing spoils the look of the iPhone giving it all the charm of those horrible bargain store handheld consoles.*

2) The size of these monstrosities! *The mobile one must be about a foot long. Look at the video - *It looks ridiculous in use! *The arcade cabinet is a hefty piece of junk that's going to clutter up your house for 90% of its life as I'd imagine your iPad is going to spend most of its time doing what it is supposed to do; ie be a portable tablet computer and *not a docked gaming station.*

3) These game controllers are going to need their own power supply. That's either another device that needs charging or a supply of AA batteries to feed it. Still I suppose I could chuck a few packs into the bag that I now need to carry around (see point 1)

4) The iPad arcade cabinet looks like the very definition of uncasual gaming. You're not going to be sitting on the sofa with that awkward thing wobbling all over your lap. You'll be sitting up at a desk or the kitchen table I expect.Just how I like to relax! *Plus you'll need to have it near a wall socket to plug it into.*

5) These things only help to fragment the app store. At the moment games downloaded from the app store only need the iOS device to play them. An app store with games that you can't play because you need a £50 accessory to play them with would be ridiculous.*

6) Some games are not suited to touchscreen play. However, I've found that whilst on screen controls are difficult at first in some games with a small amount of practice it's not difficult to learn. GTA:CTW uses touch screen controls and at first I found it difficult to use but after a little while it becomes easier. Touch screen SMS writing is slightly fiddly at first but given a bit of practice is now easy. There is not a huge market in 101 character keyboards to plug into your iPhone to make SMSing easier for a reason. Your phone is not a computer; or a games console.

7) The mini arcade cabinet looks cute in a geeky charging station kind of way. You'd probably play one game of Pacman on it for a laugh. Then never do it again.*

8) Apple have created products with minimalistic design and minimum buttons. iOS and OS X are touch and gesture based for a lot of their operations. Are they really going to develop a piece of tat to clip their products into? I doubt it and hope not. It would kind of show their design philosophy to be wrong. "We make products where you don't need buttons. Except sometimes you do; so here's a product to rectify that design flaw."


Disclaimer. *I'm not much of an accessories kind of person. So maybe these woukd never appeal to me. Very few accessories seem to offer any real utility, they often look terrible, and should you change device/upgrade to a new model they're only fit for the bin. The only accessories I've bought for my iPhone are replacement ear buds and a dock with wifi streaming, radio, and Internet radio so perhaps these game controllers were never going to be appeal to me.*

[justjohn025]

As far as the iCade Core, can you turn the ipad in landscape if you want to play Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter for example?

[Fazzy]

*oldman* back in my day, accessories for electronic devices were limited to cases and extra chargers. Kids these days have everything...

[DirtySocks85]

Any word on whether this will work with any emulators for jailbroken iPhones? I'm not sure that I'd get one of these for very many native iOS games, but a good physical controller for my emulated NES/SNES/GameBoy games would be pretty sweet. As of right now I use a Wiimote, which is all fine and good except that it's a separate piece.