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Apple Has Worked on a Physical Game Controller for iPhone
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So I finally see this news (even as a rumor)
I've been suggesting such a controller to come from Apple for a while. But that's beside the main point of this post.
Though people are saying that Apple would probably have few buttons on the controller, I say that it would need to have as much as a PS3 controller. Why?
Well, if an Apple controller for the iPhone ever came to the market, it would pretty much be the system all the developers would flock too. Those 3rd party controllers would become rarely used.
The controller would need to have as much buttons as the PS3 (in fact, it should have the exact layout!) because it would be used by many developers for many types of games. A controller with a d-pad and ABXY buttons may work for a simple racing game, for example, but it would not suffice for something more advanced like an FPS.
I've been suggesting such a controller to come from Apple for a while. But that's beside the main point of this post.
Though people are saying that Apple would probably have few buttons on the controller, I say that it would need to have as much as a PS3 controller. Why?
Well, if an Apple controller for the iPhone ever came to the market, it would pretty much be the system all the developers would flock too. Those 3rd party controllers would become rarely used.
The controller would need to have as much buttons as the PS3 (in fact, it should have the exact layout!) because it would be used by many developers for many types of games. A controller with a d-pad and ABXY buttons may work for a simple racing game, for example, but it would not suffice for something more advanced like an FPS.
The motion in SS is good for the sword fighting, but it has a flaw. You can swing the sword with little wrist movements, but Link will swing the sword all the way. As a result, you can simply spam wrist movements when attacking an enemy, and Link will swing the sword repeatedly with superhuman speed and kill it easily.
Oh, and the batteries die very frequently. Meanwhile, my Gamecube controller has been on the same AAs for 6 years.
And yet it has still has 4 (volume up/down, home, power). And a switch. The reason is that for some uses, a button, or a switch makes sense, even if the touch interface is great most of the time.
Likewise, games that use touch controls or even accelerometer controls makes sense or do the job for many games.
But for some games, more traditional physical controller with tactile buttons that are divorced from the display just make more sense.
It all depends whether Apple (or someone else who would have a much harder job getting everyone on board) wants to bother going after more 'serious' less 'casual' gaming.
Of course that's a generalisation, because iOS devices are capable of games with depth and innovation - but the lack of a standard, established option for physical controls harms iOS as being taken seriously a gaming platform both by the developers and gamers who could be attracted to it who currently aren't, if for no other reason that many games designed for PC/Xbox/PS3 weren't designed for touch controls but were given huge budgets and high production values because the profits are designed to come from multiple formats.
I would love to see, say Skyrim on an iPad 4. But it'd be useless without a physical controller.
I think it's highly debatable whether or not there is a "controller problem". Despite their graphics capabilities I don't see i-devices ever being positioned as portable gaming consoles.
I expect that Apple will be more than OK with letting iCade et al fill this niche.
Neat. But hopefully Apple is working on their own bluetooth solution. They could kill (in the marketshare sense of the word) Nintendo and Sony if they simply perfect iOS game controls...integrate it with the Apple TV (via AirPlay, or apps on the ATV itself), and no one will buy another console again. I know I wouldn't.
I think you're right. Apple doesn't want a fragmented iOS market where some games/apps support one accessory, and others support another; thus confusing users. They'd prefer everyone focused on touchscreen games, especially games that are only really practical on touchscreen devices.
(That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Cook is more open to other options than Jobs.)
The haptic feedback would be the 'holy grail'; a configurable tactile feedback UI. I'd love to see .....errrr..... feel how it works. While the iPad 3 rumour turned about to be false, let's not forget Senseg did seem to confirm they had worked with Apple.
I'm pretty sure this will happen. The app store sells more games than any other type of mobile app. There are already plenty of games that could use such an accessory and by releasing such an accessory and the associated APIs for the developers we would see many more. Modern Combat on an iPad hooked up to your TV via HDMI and controlled by a Bluetooth gaming controller? That would increase the number of people coming to Apple for their gaming fix and as that happens, less go to the likes of Sony & Nintendo etc. making it more cost effective to develop for IOS and creates a snowball effect.
I would quite happily pick up a controller to play Real Racing 2 or Tiger Woods on the big screen via my iPhone or iPad.
How many downloads would a Call of Duty title get on IOS with a proper controller? Quite a few I'm sure and Apple would be quite happy with their 30%.
I would quite happily pick up a controller to play Real Racing 2 or Tiger Woods on the big screen via my iPhone or iPad.
How many downloads would a Call of Duty title get on IOS with a proper controller? Quite a few I'm sure and Apple would be quite happy with their 30%.
Try games that don't suck, perhaps.
There are a number of ios games that took more time (enjoyably) to play out than Arkham City, at less than 1/8th the price.
Sure, AAA titles on a current console will look whizzbang, and more often than not have a mediocre story. There are some compelling exceptions, but $60 letdowns are by far the norm.
I just don't see the need. The iPhone already is a gaming titan.
You can't be all things to all people. Nobody knows that better than AC.
You can't be all things to all people. Nobody knows that better than AC.
But the iPhone/iPad can be all things to all people. Well not all things. But lots of things! That's the beauty of them. It can be an ebook reader, a web browser, an artist's tablet, an audio sequencer, a word processor, an iPod, a Phone, a video camera, a stills camera, a dictaphone...
So if you're saying 'oh but it can't be a gaming machine with physical controls as well as touch or accelerometer controls - that's too many things! I just don't buy that argument.
If Apple can make an accessory to suck photos off an SD card for iOS devices, I can't see why they can't make a physical controller for users who want them. If Apple can support bluetooth keyboards for entering text for people who find that better than the on-screen keyboard, ditto.
I mean I really don't like accelerometer controls generally - I can think of maybe 2 or 3 games where I liked them. So I would just generally avoid games where that was the only option. The point is, any sane developer will always provide the option for appropriate controls, they'd be daft not to. But some games aren't even worth releasing for iOS without a reliable option for a physical controller. And there's plenty more that have been released that would be improved with that option available.
No-one is saying it would become mandatory, it would just expand the options devs and gamers have.
LMAO That is not gaming. That is killing time in the doctors office.
I have a pretty much every consol and iDevice out their and iOS apps are not games.
And to the people who think the iOS devices stole market share from Nintendo and Sony, keep dreaming. Nintendo killed its own market by releasing too many versions of the DS and the scare of 3D hurting the kids eyes. I have three kids and I spoil them so I know what Im talking about. After buying three DS lites then 3 DSis I gave up. I did get one a 3DS but she play the DSi more so I didnt bother with the other 2. Sony has sold a lot of PSPs and will do well with the Vita as long as they keep the crap phone apps off if it. I purchased my Vita day one and there is no comparison between Uncharted Golden Abyss and Infinity Blade. Yes I have an ipad 2 and Infinity Blade as well as hundreds of other Phone games.
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There is a big difference between the $160 3DS and the $500+ (For one with memory to hold games) iPod touch. Touch screen sucks for games even on the DS and PS Vita. I hate taking my fingers off the buttons to use the touch screen and stylus then back to buttons.
I would say that a handcontroller gives a much better gaming experience - the touch screen limits gaming to shorter sessions, e.g. while waiting at the doctors office etc. while a real "PSP-style" controller is much fun to use for a length of time.
And just because the iCade is geared towards clamping the phone to the controller, it doesn't mean that it has to be used that way - I've used the GameTel (www.gametel.co.uk) playing games on my iPad (and even playing Lego Star Wars on the Mac) obviously without clamping the iPad to the controller
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I think Apple should encourage accessories such as the iCade and Gametel and publish official gaming API's for game controllers - from what I understand from the engineers at Gametel that is a problem currently (disclosure: I know a few of the Gametel engineers).
/CX
And just because the iCade is geared towards clamping the phone to the controller, it doesn't mean that it has to be used that way - I've used the GameTel (www.gametel.co.uk) playing games on my iPad (and even playing Lego Star Wars on the Mac) obviously without clamping the iPad to the controller
.I think Apple should encourage accessories such as the iCade and Gametel and publish official gaming API's for game controllers - from what I understand from the engineers at Gametel that is a problem currently (disclosure: I know a few of the Gametel engineers).
/CX
Perhaps the issue isn't that the games are overrated but rather how you define a game. You mention the Xbox which has a very different style of play which in your mind might be the only correct definition of the term. So calling something that is really more of a puzzle, in your mind, a 'game' is like calling 640p 'high def' to a video phile. Technically it might be 'correct' usage but to that person the term means 1080p (perhaps 1080i) and nothing else.
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Actually yeah, and I didn't have a problem with the touchscreen. A problem with the emulator being bad yes but that's an argument for another thread
That's a rather big IF that could prove false. Not only in the sense that they want to go after that market and in the sense that you must have a physical controller.
Consider, sales of the PS3 etc are apparently down. But sales of iOS controller less games are up. Infinity Blade 2 had like $5 mil in sales within the first month. Draw Something has had millions of downloads. The Angry Birds games are so freaky popular there's now apparel, toys and even food products. The latest scored 10 million downloads in the first 3 days just on iOS.
Perhaps the issue isn't the lack of a controller but a change in what the general public calls a game and wants to play. And what they want to play doesn't need a 'real' controller
If anyone is going to use an iPhone/iPod as a real gaming device, you need physical controls. Not only do people laugh at motion/touch gaming (XBOX and PS3 fans), but it's tiring to keep using finger gestures the whole time. Steve Jobs said that he doesn't want to make a touchscreen Mac because it would get tiring. The iPhone/iPod works for browsing, playing music, etc, but you can't keep doing quick finger motions on it without getting tired. This is especially true on the iPad.
People just want to be able to sit back and press buttons to play a game rather than move around. Serious games require a lot of quick reflexes. It only takes a tiny little movement to press a button. Doing quick actions with a finger is harder to do. Besides, most XBOX and PS3 players hate motion gaming (I agree, the Wii is annoying).
The emulator actually has touchscreen buttons, as you know. Would you rather use those or some real buttons (and have more screen space for the game itself)?
That's pocket change in the gaming market. Not even peanuts. The big releases have advertising budgets alone that are 20 times as big.
The reason for needing physical controllers is rooted in biology - operating a non-haptic device in your hands while looking at something in a completely different direction just flat out doesn't work.