Logitech and ClamCase Teasing First Two 'MFi' Game Controllers

[Some guy]

I haven't been able to find much information about this, but will only one set of controls be approved for iOS controllers? I remember seeing this picture floating around some months ago:

It would be a pain in the ass for developers, and thus consumers, if hardware manufacturers start making controllers with different controls.

The GameCase looks great though!

 

[TouchMint.com]

I'm not much of an iOS gamer, but this is interesting and long overdue. I suspect that these sorts of controllers will become incredibly useful when Apple pulls their head out of their asses with respect to the Apple TV and opens it up to 3rd party developers.

If Apple were at all competent at making user interface devices, I'd wish for them to make their own 1st party controllers, but we've all seen how it ends up when they produce things like mice, for instance.
(To be fair, they do make great keyboards and trackpads, but I doubt they'd make a good game controller).

I can't wait to see some reviews of these puppies.

Their devices are simple but pretty good the problem would be the price. I could see them selling a controller for like $80-$120.

 

[Zerilos]

So excited! I wanna lick it!

This one actually had me laughing out loud.

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I haven't been able to find much information about this, but will only one set of controls be approved for iOS controllers? I remember seeing this picture floating around some months ago:

Image

It would be a pain in the ass for developers, and thus consumers, if hardware manufacturers start making controllers with different controls.

The GameCase looks great though!

It's all based on the API present in iOS 7, so there should be some uniformity.

 

[olowott]

This is real stuff up in here

 

[kkat69]

Why is it the form factor of the device in the video doesn't match up with any current Apple device?

Just saying... "Built for iOS7" but not show an iOS7 device or a 'new' iOS7 device?

 

[Pilgrim1099]

Logitech and ClamCase Teasing First Two 'MFi' Game Controllers

At ****ing last! All we need now is the Apple TV to include gaming apps and support MFI and its goodbye Nintendo! Nintendo really needs to start thinking about putting their games on the App Store or very very quickly they are gonna get left behind. For reference look what happened to Sega....and how quickly they made a **** ton of money launching Sonic on iOS. Resistance is futile Nintendo!

Hmm. Games from the iOS platform will not cross over to Apple TV because the OS on A-TV is different. All iOS games are designed for the touch screen. To port an iOS game over to Apple TV, they have to rewrite the code for actual analog controllers.

Plus, since you're fingering Nintendo, I don't see you berating Sony.

And lastly, playing 'hardcore' video games on the size of the iphone is redundant. It's one reason why gamers liked the screen size on the Nintendo DS, or Sony Vita, for example.

So the question is, are you asking for Nintendo to die or asking to play their games on iOS because you can't afford a Nintendo system?

EDIT: I can only see it working on iPad screens for better screen real estate but iPhone and iPod touch? The latter makes no sense.

 

[The Phazer]

Please don't be hideous, please don't be hideous, please don't be hideous...

 

[Bill Killer]

Except he specifically stated: Wii U.

The Wii U is doing dismal business, but it absolutely isn't doing bad enough to bring the whole company down and force them to be software only. They haven't had successive failures like Sega did.

 

[Sol]

I hope there is a good gamepad solution for the iPad Mini that allows headphones to be plugged in. The speaker on one side of the device is a pet peeve when playing games on it without headphones. If only the screen surface could be the speaker on portable devices; the technology is out there today.

 

[jm001]

****** about time! I don't think the lightning port is accessible as the device slips in horizontally into the controllers and is encased on 3 sides. However I'm hoping the designers left an opening for the connector.

 

[smallshot]

I haven't been able to find much information about this, but will only one set of controls be approved for iOS controllers? I remember seeing this picture floating around some months ago:

It would be a pain in the ass for developers, and thus consumers, if hardware manufacturers start making controllers with different controls.

The GameCase looks great though!

Last I heard there were 2 approved control schemes, which will still be annoying - one with dual sticks, one with only one stick and a dpad. Apple also created very specific specifications that all approved game controllers must follow, unfortunately, those specifications said nothing about usability of the controllers, just described the data the buttons will send and how the buttons should be labeled/laid out, etc. the prototypes sucked though. they were terrible to use, buttons even felt fully depressed before they reached the button press threshold, so you had to jam it down to guarantee a button press. I REALLY hope they fixed that.

 

[donutbagel]

Please please please GameCube controller!

 

[bwillwall]

Nintendo is profitable with its current line of 3DS/DS handhelds, and the Wii was the most successful and profitable of all the last-generation consoles.

There's no way the Wii U is profitable though, unless they spent nothing developing it, which wouldn't be much of a surprise considering they didn't even put the work into it to make it a real next gen console upgrade from the wii.

 

[topper24hours]

Why is it the form factor of the device in the video doesn't match up with any current Apple device?

Just saying... "Built for iOS7" but not show an iOS7 device or a 'new' iOS7 device?

I think it's showing that it will be housed in like a little horseshoe shaped mini case kinda thing... I believe it sends data via lightning port, so this is necessary.

 

[icebergx]

The Apple TV will not need to have games made for it. The games will be made for the phone and then simply airplayed to the Apple TV.
Phone CPUs and hardware are getting better and better so, whilst the graphics on the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, etc. might not reach the levels of the PS4 or XBox, do they don't really need too?
If you could get the mobile version of a game for half the price, with 80-90% worse graphics, 90% of people would take that.

With and iPhone/iPad and Apple TV, Apple will make money off the sale of movies, Music and games, that will all be portable and easy to use. They will virtually have sewn-up the whole "mass market" home entertainment space, leaving on niche areas like hardcore gaming left.

 

[embraceware]

The GameCase site is online with more info:
http://gamecase.com/

Developers can also request a unit to test with here:
http://gamecase.com/developers/

 

[apolloa]

The Apple TV will not need to have games made for it. The games will be made for the phone and then simply airplayed to the Apple TV.
Phone CPUs and hardware are getting better and better so, whilst the graphics on the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, etc. might not reach the levels of the PS4 or XBox, do they don't really need too?
If you could get the mobile version of a game for half the price, with 80-90% worse graphics, 90% of people would take that.

With and iPhone/iPad and Apple TV, Apple will make money off the sale of movies, Music and games, that will all be portable and easy to use. They will virtually have sewn-up the whole "mass market" home entertainment space, leaving on niche areas like hardcore gaming left.

hahahahahahahahahaha 90% of WHAT people? Because your dreaming if you think that's 90% of the gaming market! And sewn up the "mass market" home entertainment space! ROFL hahahahahah.

Erm, no. How many Apple TV's get sold again?

 

[SILen(e]

Hmm. Games from the iOS platform will not cross over to Apple TV because the OS on A-TV is different. All iOS games are designed for the touch screen. To port an iOS game over to Apple TV, they have to rewrite the code for actual analog controllers.

Plus, since you're fingering Nintendo, I don't see you berating Sony.

And lastly, playing 'hardcore' video games on the size of the iphone is redundant. It's one reason why gamers liked the screen size on the Nintendo DS, or Sony Vita, for example.

So the question is, are you asking for Nintendo to die or asking to play their games on iOS because you can't afford a Nintendo system?

EDIT: I can only see it working on iPad screens for better screen real estate but iPhone and iPod touch? The latter makes no sense.

1. Both the iPhone/iPad and the AppleTV run iOS.

2. With iOS 7, Apple created an API that can be used to replicate on-screen-button control schemes with real controllers, so while it would be more difficult to use controllers with multi-touch manipulation of the screen - simple games like League of Evil or Angry Birdscould easily add controller-support.

3. The Nintendo DS had 3" screens (smaller and with a lower resolution than the first iPhone) and the Playstation Portable had a 4" screen.

If "hardcore" gaming was possible on those devices - it will be possible on an iPhone 5 with an attached controller.

 

[akm3]

If they update all the apps like Crono Trigger and Final Fantasy to work with these, I'll be set for years.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Their devices are simple but pretty good the problem would be the price. I could see them selling a controller for like $80-$120.

$80 controller to play $1 games, what's wrong with this picture

There's no way the Wii U is profitable though, unless they spent nothing developing it, which wouldn't be much of a surprise considering they didn't even put the work into it to make it a real next gen console upgrade from the wii.

Per Iwata, the Wii U is profitable after one game purchase

 

[apolloa]

$80 controller to play $1 games, what's wrong with this picture

And how much is an iPhone or iPad then? Or even an iPod Touch? Apple accessories are already scaled from dirt cheap to ludicrously expensive. Plus these controllers would no doubt have bluetooth in them, and also controllers can cost anyway, like Playstation or Xbox ones.

 

[WilliamLondon]

I hope there is a good gamepad solution for the iPad Mini that allows headphones to be plugged in. The speaker on one side of the device is a pet peeve when playing games on it without headphones. If only the screen surface could be the speaker on portable devices; the technology is out there today.

I'd definitely planned to get one for my iPhone as it just seems the most perfect size for portable game playing. I've always preferred my mini with game playing but didn't think the controllers would work well, but after seeing this video teaser I'm going to have to get a controller for my iPhone and my mini and I hope there's enough competition that they do it right, including things like the speakers, as you say. Done right these controllers I think will be so much fun I can't wait.

 

[0098386]

At ****ing last! All we need now is the Apple TV to include gaming apps and support MFI and its goodbye Nintendo! Nintendo really needs to start thinking about putting their games on the App Store or very very quickly they are gonna get left behind. For reference look what happened to Sega....and how quickly they made a **** ton of money launching Sonic on iOS. Resistance is futile Nintendo!

I don't know why I torture myself by reading the comments section of any game related article. Always full of people who know nothing about the industry but are very vocal.

Nintendo is going nowhere, the 3DS is the most successful console (outpacing Wii and DS, both broke records). The ones to watch out for are Microsoft, and at a pinch Sony. Nintendo are the ones that have least to worry about in terms of finances, units sold, etc.
I suggest doing a bit more research into Sega.

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If "hardcore" gaming was possible on those devices - it will be possible on an iPhone 5 with an attached controller.

It's also the market itself. Who is the market? iOS games are cheap for many reasons, the big one being how disposable they are, and they know it. So you have free-to-play with nickel and diming DLC. What is considered an art form on "hardcore" systems is replaced by sharktoothed salesmen, trying to siphon as many 69p transactions as they can. There is zero curation so there's an abundance of junk.

For reasons why mobile gaming isn't considered hardcore compare it to the competition (Steam, PSN, XBLA).

I believe mobile has a place but it's not sat beside consoles or handhelds. Where is Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Mario, Zelda? No iOS mobile game comes close to those in terms of design, craftsmanship or quality. Even Sony and Microsoft can't compete with those (but do better in their own thing).

 

[Pilgrim1099]

If "hardcore" gaming was possible on those devices - it will be possible on an iPhone 5 with an attached controller.

Hmm. As for "hardcore" gaming, imagine trying to fit full games like HALO, The Last of Us, Killzone, Zelda, etc. all one one iOS device. There's no room for that when the user has all that music, email, photos and other crap crammed into that storage capacity.

See the problem here?

 

[Namjins]

It may be a bit of a pipe dream, but a port of Halo on the iPhone combined with a dual analog stick controller, would make me very happy.