Poor Build Quality and High Price of iOS 7 Game Controllers Due to Strict Apple Guidelines

[gto55]

with the 100$ you could buy an android console like the JXD 7800B running all the games from the playstore and emulated games (PSX, Dreamcast with the just released Reicast emu which works amazingly well, there's also an emu for GC and WII called Dolphin, 8/16 bits consoles emu...)

 

[BornAgainApple]

Couldn't this be a form of collusion?

 

[neuropsychguy]

If Apple are explicitly telling them to use switches from a certain supplier then it sort of is Apple's fault, by proxy.

I stand corrected; I missed the single supplier issue for the switches. However, most of the high costs are coming from R&D, low manufacturing volume, MFi licensing fees, and MFi specifications and not the few overpriced components.

In any case, my comment was about build quality, which really is not affected by the specifications (even if, as one commenter mentioned, companies seek to cut costs in response to higher switch prices by using cheaper materials). That's still not really Apple's fault. I'm not saying Apple's handling of this is beyond criticism - many of the points are valid, I just don't like the link people are trying to make that Apple is somehow culpable for poor build quality on these controllers.

 

[TouchMint.com]

Apple prices minus apple quality equals a bad product.

 

[Rogifan]

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.

You said "if". I don't think this "investigation" proved that Apple's developer licenses are the reason controllers are expensive and crappy right now.

 

[Renzatic]

I guess I could be wrong about that but I'd be shocked if the components (i.e., pressure sensitive switches) are the major factor in the $99 price.

Pressure sensitive buttons have been standard on all controllers since the PS2 days. The difference between "regular" components, and the "high end" ones Apple wants their developers to use probably make for a difference of a dollar per at the highest of the high end, and would really only match what MS and Sony are putting in their 1st party controllers themselves, since they spare no expenses on those things.

Plus they have rumble motors in them, which I don't believe any of the MFi controllers do, and the PS4 has a gyro installed on top of that.

The only thing I can think of that makes sense is a too high licensing cost.

----------

You said "if". I don't think this "investigation" proved that Apple's developer licenses are the reason controllers are expensive and crappy right now.

It's an editorial, and you're right, it doesn't prove anything. But it's a good, solid guess.

 

[mabhatter]

Apple wanted a pure touch environment for the iphone and iPad. They did not want to support any third party input device that violated that rule. I understand for the first few years, but eventually other add ons needed to develop to expand the reach of the device, rather than limit it.

Apple has no expertise in "buttons" or software that uses buttons.. Even their mice haven't had "buttons" for almost a decade now.

I can see where Apple engineers are trying to be careful they don't copy another controller in any kind of soecifics, so they added a bunch of "differential" components to their spec. Because most of the controllers on the market are knocking off Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft supplies of over produced "industry standard" pieces... But Apple just can't use those because somebody still "owns" that IP. Companies like Logitech and Others can get away with selling derivative controllers because they're not really competing with the big brands... Apple is like a magnet for lawsuits so they have to so something "extra". If companies cannot buy parts off the "overstock" truck, then full price parts for such small runs are going to cost triple what Microsoft or Sony pay for OEM parts.

 

[Rogifan]

It's an editorial, and you're right, it doesn't prove anything. But it's a good, solid guess.

Yes blaming Apple (or the alleged "Apple tax") is always a good, solid guess to some. It would have been nice if 9to5Mac included Apple's side of the story to provide some balance. Then the reader can form a more educated opinion. Perhaps 9to5Mac did reach out to Apple and got nowhere, though I didn't see that mentiond in their story. So I'll make a good, solid guess that they only talked to developers because they knew what kind of "editorial" they wanted to write before they started writing it.

 

[mabhatter]

I'm sorry, but no switch for a game controller is anywhere near that expensive. They are making cheap crap and analysts are blaming it on Apple requiring quality (supposedly) parts. It's backwards reasoning, I can't believe people.

iSuppli puts the cost of a PS3 controller at ~$13, PS4 at ~$18. A button can't be over a buck in that realm. Even assuming Apple's designated buttons are the most expensive ever, it couldn't possibly raise the selling price from $40-99 up to $200.

----------


Hey, what else did I think today?

Maybe just read the words I type, and don't add your own to MY comments in YOUR brain.

But manufacturing follows a "rule of threes" so from that "parts cost" to YOU is about 3x more... Which is right in like with retail. If I add even $3 more bucks because Apple is demanding parts that aren't as cheap, that's $10+ on the retail end before I pay Apple my "license fee". So that takes a $60 to $90 easily.

 

[Gudi]

Jesus, Apple! What were you thinking?

Couldn't you just stick with the traditional button naming scheme?

Just pay Nintendo their royalties.
​

 

[JAT]

But manufacturing follows a "rule of threes" so from that "parts cost" to YOU is about 3x more... Which is right in like with retail. If I add even $3 more bucks because Apple is demanding parts that aren't as cheap, that's $10+ on the retail end before I pay Apple my "license fee". So that takes a $60 to $90 easily.

That's not what other people are claiming. These products are all $99, so they've basically followed what you say. Others were saying that they couldn't handle the cost increase and "only" increased price to $99 by using other cheap parts, instead of raising the price to well over $100.

I doubt very much that any of these have a cost over $20, though. Now, startup costs for new machinery to mfgr products could be an issue, but that is not reflected in the parts cost.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Most games (other than say puzzles like Bejeweled) SUCK with a touch screen. No game controller support = no buying games for my iPod Touch. IPod Touches should have had a built-in controller from Day 1.

 

[JPSaltzman]

If Apple is going to be so picky about the controllers, it might as well just make their own, charge $299 for it, and tell developers they have to use Apple's SDK and that's the only way Apple will let the games into the iTunes App Store.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Apple pull this tactic within a year.

 

[okboy]

Jesus, Apple! What were you thinking?

Image

Couldn't you just stick with the traditional button naming scheme?

Image

Just pay Nintendo their royalties.
​

But that button layout is NOT the "traditional" button layout. The Super Nintendo controller is actually one of the few that does not use the standard layout. The Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast and Xbox all use the same layout as the MFi standard, and so do lesser devices like Onlive and the Steam Machines.

I find it hard to imagine there is anyone on this forum that has not seen a gamepad since the Super Nintendo. That is kind of a funny thought.

Obviously other extremely popular layouts are still in use, like on the Playstation, so it's hard to pick a standard one.

----------

If Apple is going to be so picky about the controllers, it might as well just make their own, charge $299 for it, and tell developers they have to use Apple's SDK and that's the only way Apple will let the games into the iTunes App Store.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Apple pull this tactic within a year.

Yeah, just like how you can only use Apple's $299 headphones with the iPod, and how you can only use Apple's $1499 iMac to sync it with, and how you have to use Apple's $99 iPhone case. Typical Apple tactics.

 

[Nabby]

What is preventing Apple from allowing a PS4 or XB1 controller to pair with an iOS device over bluetooth?

We know it can be done because there is an app in cydia that does exactly that!

I don't have a jail-broken device, so I can't speak to the Cydia app directly. However I do have an XB1, and the controller is not connected via Bluetooth, so I'm pretty sure it won't connect to an iOS device via Bluetooth regardless of how hard someone tries.

Nabby

 

[pgiguere1]

Then...

$40, and it won't sell even a 10th as many units as a 1st party console controller.

Yeah, well, that controller probably sucks just as much as the MFi controllers. My experience with multiple Mad Catz controllers has been incredibly bad. Never again.

 

[robbyx]

I don't really understand why Apple created this program. A game controller API, sure, but why didn't they just produce the controller themselves? If they're going to specify switches and buttons and everything else, why not just make it? An Apple controller would have gotten developers excited.

----------

Jesus, Apple! What were you thinking?

Just pay Nintendo their royalties.
​

Just buy Nintendo and make all of their characters and franchises iOS-exclusive.

 

[pgiguere1]

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.

I agree with you there, a $199 iPhone controller, no matter how good, is a tough sell for most.

Still, I think this article's headline is misleading and should have been:

"High Price of iOS 7 Game Controllers Due to Strict Apple Guidelines"

With no mention of build quality, since it's a direct result of the manufacturers' decision in balancing build quality and selling price, which Apple is not involved in.

Say they could have cut $10 by using the switches they wanted instead of the one Apple forces to use. There's no evidence that they would not have used the same cheap materials but reduced the price to $89 instead of $99.

 

[Gudi]

But that button layout is NOT the "traditional" button layout. The Super Nintendo controller is actually one of the few that does not use the standard layout. The Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast and Xbox all use the same layout as the MFi standard, and so do lesser devices like Onlive and the Steam Machines.

Sega didn't do it.

( Until Dreamcast, which wasn't a big seller anyway. )

So we are now copying a false Microsoft copy of the original Nintendo buttons?
Pathetic!
​

 

[doboy]

So what's the excuse for charging $40-50 for crappy third party cases? I'm sure that's also due to "strict guidelines." I'm sure even without Apple's guidelines these companies would charge way over what they are really worth.

 

[gkarris]

BAM!

BOOM!

Look at the price. $60. That should be the price range MFi controllers are sold in. I'd be willing to pay $60-$70 for a good one, but $100 is just too much. You're paying a ton, and not getting anything in return for the money spent.

.

This one's my favorite and it's only $50:

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Wii-U-Pro-Controller-Black/dp/B009AFLXQQ/

 

[carjakester]

i don't need a controller for my phone. because its well.... a phone.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

i think there is a jailbreak tweak that will let you use a PS3 controller

Yes I would gladly pay $4.99 to use a PS3 controller officially without a jailbreak.

 

[a.phoenicis]

What Apple ought to do to encourage adoption of the MFi controller APIs is provide a virtual implementation, so that developers can develop a game that implements the API, but does not depend on users purchasing an expensive controller. This way, a developer actually is saved the effort of developing their own virtual controls, and Apple gains more adoption of the MFi controller APIs.

 

[springsup]

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.

You don't like that they're so expensive, right? Well this sets out the reasons they are so expensive.

As far as I'm concerned, these controllers are at least double the maximum amount of money I'd be prepared to spend on a controller; attached or wireless.

Playstation 4 controllers come with:

• Rumble motors (inlcuding licensing for related IP)
• Bluetooth
• Capacitive touch panel
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Mono speaker
• 1000mAh battery
• USB port, expansion port, headphone jack

And they have fantastic build quality, and they cost 60% of what these controllers cost.

Whoever is responsible, this programme is going to be a dud unless prices come down substantially. It's Apple's problem, and they're going to need to fix it - whether by lowering licensing costs or diversifying the component supply-chain, or by making their own controller and selling it for $40 (which should still be a very healthy margin).