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they've created their own custom mechanisms for talking to controllers.

I've often wondered about this. A couple years ago, I got in on the first round for the iControlPad. The device was great in some aspects, and disappointing in many others. In particular, the d-pad is just awful. I blame Nintendo.

Anyway, one of the things I thought was odd was that it isn't, out of the box, a standard bluetooth game pad. It uses bluetooth's serial port profile and communicates that way. It supports showing up as a game pad, a keyboard, and a few other things, but this did puzzle me. I just simply assumed that bluetooth's game pad (HID?) profile is... deficient in some way.

Can you shed any light on this for someone not accustomed to reading SDKs?

What percent of the market for iOS games thinks a physical gamepad feels better enough to justify the purchase of a $62 iControlPad for use with a 99 cent game?

I think a bluetooth game pad with a built in holder for a 4-7" phone/tablet would be nice...

You describe http://www.icontrolpad.com/

It can be turned on in joypad mode, keyboard mode, iCade mode, or a few others.
There are detachable side pieces made to fit certain models of smart phone, as well as a generic back bar piece to hopefully fit others, as well as smaller side pieces to snap on and use as a stand alone controller with nothing else attached to it (IE for PC use)

Why not just make a d-pad for the iPhone and Android?

I have an iControlpad and games are very playable. Also works with most other emulators, so you can play snes, arcade, psx and n64 games for instance.

Soon, personal computers will take over as the primary game systems -- Their graphics have reached and surpassed that of the dedicated game console

Yet the console remains ahead of the PC in the number of players that a single machine can service. The PC hardware has supported multiple USB controllers since 1999, and TVs have had PC compatible video inputs (VGA and HDMI) since about 2007, yet major labels remain stuck in the mind set of one player, one PC, one copy of the game.

and are smaller (mobile) and more approachable by the masses

Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are almost as small as a phone.

It's not so much the death of a "game console" it's the death of dedicated hardware.

Dedicated hardware allows the best input device for the job. Imagine playing Mega Man on the flat sheet of glass that is current smartphones. I haven't seen any indication that a lot of people are willing to buy a $62 Bluetooth gamepad to play a 99 cent game.

A Calculator?

The input devices on calculators such as the TI-8x series are intentionally limited to make them eligible for use on standardized college entrance examinations.

A Watch?

If your device is small enough to fit into a wristband, such as the sixth generation iPod nano, good luck getting any sort of good gaming input on it.

I can hook my wireless controller to my Nexus7

You can; how many people who aren't the sort of geek who reads Slashdot actually do?

and my Nexus 7 to my TV

How does this work? The Nexus 7 has no TV output, unlike several other 7" Android tablets.

I do the same with my PC.

You do; how many non-geeks do the same? CronoCloud and others have told me that very few people actually do this.

Anybody who has an iPhone, or an Android phone other than an Xperia Play, will need a separate $62 device anyway.

Who'll buy a $62 joystick to carry around just to play one video game?

Well, there's already one solution available...

The future is in mobile gaming, and those platforms are pretty much wide open to anyone.

The problem with mobile multiplayer gaming is that both to all four players have to have a smartphone. There are lots of people who don't feel the need for their own smartphone because the monthly bill for a smartphone is a lot more than the $7 per month for, say, Xbox Live Gold and MagicJack Plus. If they want to make a call, they use a POTS line, a VoIP line, or the cell phone of the head of household. So I agree with you that the future is in mobile gaming once the price of smartphone service in the United States falls below $20 per month (compared to about $10 per month for a dumbphone). But until then, the present is still in console gaming.

That and even among smartphone owners, next to nobody buys a gamepad.

I've been saying for years that if Android really wants to take the gaming world, what they really need is some kind of standard controller with a simple d-pad and 4-6 buttons. Analog thumbstick might be nice, but probably isn't even necessary. Have some kind of mechanism so that it can physically hold the phone, and make it connect with bluetooth, and you are set.

Something like this: http://gametelcontroller.com/ ?

Or this: http://www.icontrolpad.com/ ?

The icontrolpad has iPhones in all it's images but Android phones are listed on the compatibility page.

You should have spent less time saying that and more time googling for bluetooth control pads. :)

Does stuff like this help? http://www.icontrolpad.com/

If the prices go down and stuff like this becomes popular for Android and Apple stuff I think the portable gaming console market is going to die and be completely replaced by the phones and pads.

http://icontrolpad.com/

They just don't have the controls necessary to allow much in the way of gaming.

A touchscreen has infinite possible variations of controls.

If you must have hardware buttons - buy them.

But frankly even FPS games do not HAVE to have hardware buttons...

Particularly, all phones lacking a physical gamepad.

Well I guess the iPhone is set then.

Being huge means that just about any accessory you could think of, has been thought of by a third party and produced.

This is the most stupid thing I've ever seen. Your fingers still block part of the display and there is no physical feedback. That stupid product is a problem trying to patch another problem.

The iControlPad now supports the iCade API/protocol/whatever, so I'm asking all of you iApp developers to add iCade support right fracking now!

http://icontrolpad.com/node/22
it's not made for general use. They need to make something that's actually supported and usable.
it's also a bit of an overkill on shape. I was thinking of something that just extended off the end, something simpler. This is more of a luxury model.

Why doesn't some company make a wrapper than has a D-pad and 4 buttons on it. Devs could make to it as an alternative input, it would be huge.

http://icontrolpad.com/

I was thinking of getting a Galaxy Wifi 5.0 as a portable internet/app/gaming/media device. (Smartphones/contracts too expensive IMO).

So when I saw the Vita specs and price I was quite pleasantly surprised.

It is amazing HW for the price.

But having something that is locked down pretty much defeats the purpose so I will go for the inferior device that I can run anything on.

I just need some kind of controller attachment like the http://icontrolpad.com/ .

Or I need the Vita to be more open. I think I will have a better chance of getting a controller for the Galaxy Wifi.

Without the traditional set of buttons, a joystick and for FPSers a mouse it's really a non-starter.

Start 'er up then, because buttons are simply something you can buy them

I don't think you or many other people on Slashdot understand the HUGE depth of the third party accessory market based around iOS devices. That "mini cabinet"? Used by the Atari Greatest Hits app. When you get the device count Apple has reached with a relatively small number of devices, a range of really interesting accessories become cost effective to manufacture.

In response to the original article, the upcoming iControlPad (made by the developers of Pandora, no, not the radio) is bypassing the apple patent troll by making it controlled by bluetooth (Source). Also don't buy one until I have bought one, limited supply demands that I'm first.

Software isn't the only thing. When ever someone comes up with something really innovative for iPhone, Apple throws a patent at it.

iControlPad is one of the more innovative hardware addons I've come across. They too are talking to a lawyer because of Apple blatantly patented their design.

It was also on slashdot few months ago.

One more reason for me to not touch Apple products.

that the product is not the only piece of IP being steamrollered? As late as Nov. 09, posts on http://icontrolpad.com/ have referred to the product under the shortened name 'iPad' (or Ipad, or ipad). Apple's iPad announcement probably put a formal stop to that (Jan 2010?)

MadTV also announced an iPad back in 2007 as well.

it's true the issue is to do with hardware, but note this: the iControlPad team are up in arms talking about 'their rights' and how they've been 'ripped off' and 'infringed' yet if you visit their site you will see they are more than happy to promote this - through screen-shots and videos - as method for running pirated games, such as Super Mario Kart and (what looks like) Mario Brothers DS. Could that be... 'hypocrisy'?

Maybe not hypocrisy since they aren't selling the methods of running those games and sometimes those games are more of a 'legal limbo' since if you own the games and the equipment you could format shift it. Their methods, while legally questionable, don't profit them with those games as I'm pretty sure it works above and beyond the few emulator styles they are using (not to mention I doubt they made that PSX emulator). With Apple trying to patent their design, they are most likely planning on selling the device and thus making money and profit off of their work, and Apple is trying to take full credit for their work. Money makes things more complicated as shown in the courts with file-sharing. No money = murky stance and sometimes falls out of court (not always granted). Making money off the piracy = Your screwed.

that the product is not the only piece of IP being steamrollered? As late as Nov. 09, posts on http://icontrolpad.com/ have referred to the product under the shortened name 'iPad' (or Ipad, or ipad). Apple's iPad announcement probably put a formal stop to that (Jan 2010?)

You can see this on their website: http://www.icontrolpad.com/

Looks like the posts date back to May 2008.

it's true the issue is to do with hardware, but note this: the iControlPad team are up in arms talking about 'their rights' and how they've been 'ripped off' and 'infringed' yet if you visit their site you will see they are more than happy to promote this - through screen-shots and videos - as method for running pirated games, such as Super Mario Kart and (what looks like) Mario Brothers DS. Could that be... 'hypocrisy'?

Maybe this would interest you: http://icontrolpad.com/

http://icontrolpad.com/

Absolutely agree! And so do these guys!

It's called the iControlPad.

http://www.icontrolpad.com/

it's an ipod/phone cradle device with gaming style buttons, being made by the same people who are working on the pandora linux based handheld console

Yup, and actually, I think the iPhone will make a pretty good handheld console once control pad addons such as this come out.