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Poor Build Quality and High Price of iOS 7 Game Controllers Due to Strict Apple Guidelines
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Apple TV update with iPhone 5 level CPU/GPU and maybe 8Gig or 16Gig of space and ability to link up to four controllers and then roll out the App store for it and you'll have adoption rocket upwards. $200 to $300 price point probably would work with that kind of AppleTV too and hopefully is possible. That's basically in the world of Wii but with a HUGE catalog of games already around and a beautiful deeply embedded app system for streaming/watching movies/tv.
Then if those controllers would be compatible with iPhone/iPad/iPod you could buy one controller and use it on all your devices. It would be nice is games were cross platform but I wouldn't even mind some console only style versions that were a few bucks more, IF they were the level of depth and quality of a Wii/Xbox/Ps game, not just higher res graphics or some jazz.
Then if those controllers would be compatible with iPhone/iPad/iPod you could buy one controller and use it on all your devices. It would be nice is games were cross platform but I wouldn't even mind some console only style versions that were a few bucks more, IF they were the level of depth and quality of a Wii/Xbox/Ps game, not just higher res graphics or some jazz.
Mark Gurman seems to enjoy writing anti-Apple crap for 9to5Mac. This was his tweet linking to his story:
https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/423836963590774784
Why Apple's walled garden means mediocre iPhone gaming controllers that are overpriced http://t.co/a1e7P9glEO
These guys blaming Apple for their cheaply made, overpriced hunk of plastic... that's funny.
I will not even consider a game controller for my iPhone until they are the same price as PS4 and Xbox One controllers. Those controllers are more advanced and better made all while being $40 cheaper. I could care less about the economics from a manufacturing point of view, that ain't my problem. My wallet is my problem and I ain't spending more for a phone controller then I would for a console controller, that's just stupid.
I will not even consider a game controller for my iPhone until they are the same price as PS4 and Xbox One controllers. Those controllers are more advanced and better made all while being $40 cheaper. I could care less about the economics from a manufacturing point of view, that ain't my problem. My wallet is my problem and I ain't spending more for a phone controller then I would for a console controller, that's just stupid.
There's a difference between anti-Apple crap, and valid criticism. I haven't read through the whole thing yet, but what I saw struck me as being far more the latter than the former.
no, because the build quality issues are not pertaining to the underlying pressure-sensitive button.
Price
Unless the cost of the components they are required to use are so expensive it keeps the build quality poor to keep the price down. Better materials might result in a $199 controller that would never sell. Apple already controls the app ecosystem, do they really need to control the accessory ecosystem too? This is why Android is gaining. No restrictions. Heck, I'm even looking at a Note 3. Getting tired of this silly small screen. I'm getting older and my eyes are getting worse.
Unless the cost of the components they are required to use are so expensive it keeps the build quality poor to keep the price down. Better materials might result in a $199 controller that would never sell. Apple already controls the app ecosystem, do they really need to control the accessory ecosystem too? This is why Android is gaining. No restrictions. Heck, I'm even looking at a Note 3. Getting tired of this silly small screen. I'm getting older and my eyes are getting worse.
ideas are easy; if you think nobody at apple thought of it youre deluding yourself. implementation is not easy -- when iPhone OS first came out, they had much more pressing issues to be concerned about: MMS, exchange support, app support, remote administration, etc etc... third-party controllers were not high enough priority.
but, i know, in your mind it's easy.
Really? That's impressive indeed, since the App Store didn't even exist and the original iPhone had no GPU.
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Clearly the push from Apple for analog switches has some ramifications for the App Store. Pressure-sensitive games could be a differentiating feature. Obviously that would not pan out well if the first controllers lacked the analog switches.
...im fairly certain he was asking which MFi controllers were both good & cheap. as indicated by the next sentence: "All MFi iPhone controllers currently have pretty bad reviews".
every device has a job-to-done, whether it's putting out fires (a fire hose) or playing games (a controller). it must do that job well. by your logic any gaming products could be crap, because, hey, it's just games. no.
omg...you do realize comfort & responsiveness *are determined* by the build materials, right?
says you, who is not a manufacturer of controllers or in the business of building goods, right? also, what is reasonable? to me $99 doesnt seem unreasonable, i routinely spend that and more on my hobbies.
the apple tax is a myth. apple makes quality products and charges for that. in multiple cases their products lead in price-for-features (ipods, ultrabooks, high-end workstations). the ROI has always been outstanding.
i think whats happening here is people are complaining because the world isnt as they want it to be. again.
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I did and I disagree. I don't see where Gurman proved that overpriced crappy game controllers are due to Apple's "walled garden".
Give me one good reason why a set of controller that'd be $40 elsewhere is $100 here?
why the rage? the MFi license fee is to pay for the development and support of the numerous APIs third-party suppliers depend on in order to guarantee their customers (you) the products you guy work properly. apple isnt in the business of supplying that support to random companies for free.
Walled Garden in this instance would be about buying the rights to gain access to it. If Apple's charging too much for developer licenses for 3rd party accessories, then that's a cost that automatically raises the base cost of a device, and they have to compensate by releasing sub-par controllers at too high a price.
So companies can't cut corners and release a cheap device and this is supposed to be a BAD THING?
If they want to do things cheaply, go make things for Google/Android...
Like everything else on this planet you buy from a house to some cookies, from a car to some matches from a condom to a flamethrower
You are free as a customer to pick the model you want, for the price you want, with the performance you want and quality you want.
You buy a car for $500 you expect it won't be much good, you choose to buy one for $100,000 you expect it to be better
Do you want all companies to do this for everything you buy?
your own links, which are 50% more than $40, are for first-party controllers, not third-parties dependent on ongoing product/API support (ie, licensing fees). further, xbox and PS have much more massive economies of scale, resulting in lowered raw materials costs, and lower marketing costs-per-unit.
MFi controllers are brand new, first-generation devices, which come with all the higher costs associated w/ a first-gen product. that other controllers for other platforms exist doesnt bear meaning here -- for a new SKU, everything is new. the designing, the modeling, the coding, the electrical engineering, the QA, the marketing, etc etc.. not to mention the rush to be first to market. all of these things get cheaper in time and scale.
ive brought new SKUs to the market before, it's not easy or cheap. there are a million things that go into which most consumers never think about nor realize.
Um make an xbox/playstation style
controller idiots.... Stop making these strangly shaped controllers it will only hurt video game design and development...
The xbox and playstation have come a long way with controller design. Real games are played on those. Think what that would mean for iOS and airplay or hdmi out...
controller idiots.... Stop making these strangly shaped controllers it will only hurt video game design and development...
The xbox and playstation have come a long way with controller design. Real games are played on those. Think what that would mean for iOS and airplay or hdmi out...
I posted a link a couple replies later that pointed towards a Mad Katz controller for $10 less.
There's no more engineering, Q&A, marketing, etc etc. that goes into these controllers than any other 3rd party controller for any other system. No new research were required to produce them. No new ways of thinking needed to manufacture them. The R&D required would cost as much on an iPad as they would on a PS4. They're bog standard controllers, with the only difference being they're Apple sanctioned.
Anywhere else, these would be $30-$40 controllers. And yes, it's true that MFi gaming a new market, and they're not guaranteed to sell as well as they would on other platforms. But that's not an excuse to jack up prices to double the competition in order to mitigate potential losses. In fact, that's an incredibly stupid thing to do, since you're practically shutting yourself out of the market you're trying to create.
Cuz why spend $100 on a janky substandard controller when you can get an entire Nintendo 2DS for $30 more?
Everyone who spends $100.00 or more on a game controller better hope Apple doesn't make any radical changes to the size or shape of the iPhone.
That's just silly. You'll specially program virtual DPads on the screen, but you won't use controller APIs which ARE in the box?!