Smartphone Platforms Continue to Grab Share of Portable Gaming Market

[tigress666]

Of course a touchscreen is better for racing, that's why all F1 cars have touchscreens instead of steering wheels nowadays

Don't be stupid. I'm talking about the iphone as a controller. Touch screen is not it's only control.

The racing games I play have you tilt the device to steer (kinda like using a mini steering wheel). And I've fully admitted a steering wheel is a better controller than all of other ones for racing games, but the tilt is still better than the d-pad and even joystick for racing (it's more like using a steering wheel than either).

 

[diamond.g]

Don't be stupid. I'm talking about the iphone as a controller. Touch screen is not it's only control.

The racing games I play have you tilt the device to steer (kinda like using a mini steering wheel). And I've fully admitted a steering wheel is a better controller than all of other ones for racing games, but the tilt is still better than the d-pad and even joystick for racing (it's more like using a steering wheel than either).

The only thing I don't like about using the phone as a steering wheel is I am turning my screen as well, so it is harder to see what is going on. Plus I am not a huge fan of the lack of analog gas and braking.

 

[tigress666]

The only thing I don't like about using the phone as a steering wheel is I am turning my screen as well, so it is harder to see what is going on. Plus I am not a huge fan of the lack of analog gas and braking.

I haven't noticed the issue (I do notice that the games seem to tilt the screen too so your view stays level . But only if I'm paying attention). I have no issue seeing what is going on honestly.

As for the analog gas and braking, gotta agree. Need for Speed Shift lets you try braking for yourself (I actually let it brake for me), but all of them just do the gas pressing for you. Honestly because here is a weakness, there is no real way to implement a way to easily press gas and do the other stuff which is why they do that. Actually, I could see a way of doing it (all have to be with the right hand) but then I don't see a way of implementing shifting easily if you prefer that (Need for Speed let's you shift if you like, Asphalt 5 does not but NFS is more serious and Asphalt 5 is more arcade style).

Anyways, no, it's not console quality, but it's still fun (and in the end, that is the most important part, is it fun?). I think I'm going to turn auto braking off soon and see how well I do with that (I've unlocked most stuff in NFS at this point).

 

[alent1234]

Over the course of time, mobiles will displace consoles.

We can already mirror the iPad 2 onto HDTVs. Not the best news for dedicated consoles. It's not perfect, but it's a powerful portent. Dedicated devices (as opposed to convergence) are destined to DIE.

iCal this. Then in 2-3 years revisit this comment and be astounded.

not going to happen

Mass Effect 2 is on 2 DVD's for the x-box and a blu ray for the PS3. the iOS version of ME sucks in comparison. a new generation of consoles will be released starting this year and going into 2012 and expect MS and Sony to have blu ray. that's 50GB per disc and hard drives with almost a TB will probably be available to load your games on the console

there is no way iOS can compete with that unless the devices get huge bump in storage

 

[Mahadragon]

I have both a question at a proposition. I don't own a smartphone (I have played with them) and I don't know much about the games on them except that games like Angry Birds are cute to play on it. Are there any games you can play online?

Because smartphone users already have data plans there is a tremendous upside to their use as a handheld gaming device. If someone were to create a gaming network, similar to Microsoft's, and had a slew of games on offer, it could potentially make a big splash. You might not be able to play COD, but for simple games like Connect 4, checkers, poker, trivia, Reversi, etc. a gaming network could be tremendous fun. If I knew a gaming network where I could play trivia games, and maybe even get prizes, I would definitely sign up for that.

This is where my question comes into play because I don't know if a gaming network for smartphones is necessary or even doable. You've got different makers like Apple, Blackberry, LG, Sony, Samsung, etc. and then you've got GSM, and CDMA, different Operating Systems, etc. Lots of different factors to consider. I suppose if Apple wanted to make their own gaming network 'in house' it would be easy, but it would be better if you could reach across platforms.

Heck, the easiest trivia game would be like "Who Wants To Be A Millinaire?" (in Slumdog Millionaire the announcer had trouble pronouncing 'millionaire' and it always sounded like millinaire, hence the spelling) Just have a question at the top and 4 choices at the bottom. Simply press on your answer. If you need to phone a friend, you can do it or you can have others (who are watching) vote their answers. There, I just gave someone an incredible idea, now go and run with it and make some money.

I remember back in the day, when I had AOL. We had little games like Word Scramble: icairfloan We'd type as fast as possible to get the word. So much fun, I had a blast. I'd love to hearken back to those days. A word scramble game doesn't even have to have any graphics! We used to download bots to do the game hosting! I don't understand why we can't do this today. Maybe I should try to do something, but I am not a programmer and never will be (don't care for that stuff at all). I'm here for ideas, not the implementation. Now, will someone please go and make a smartphone gaming network so we can all start balling?

 

[Exhumed]

MahaDragon: That already exists on the iPhone, Apple's Game Center app. Before that there was OpenFeint and one or two others. There are several somewhat competent online FPSes for the device, and at least one MMO. This is just going off of what I saw when I had a 2nd gen iPod Touch, before I stepped on and broke it. I haven't played any of these games recently and I'm sure they've gotten better.

I think portable devices could replace consoles some day, but it's unlikely; phones use touch screens, and next-gen gaming devices might as well, but there will still be controllers with buttons. For every adult gamer who loves the Wii/Kinect/PS Move, there are two more who say "I don't need that motion control BS" and it's likely that they wouldn't be fine with forgoing buttons altogether.

If portable devices replace consoles, it will be 10 or 20 years down the line. Laptops have pretty much replaced desktops for most people.