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Gaming On the iPad 2 and What It Means For Apple
The Digital Foundry blog took a detailed look at gaming on Apple's recently released iPad 2. While most reviews of the device focus on the tablet's size, accessories and software features, this one puts the new A5 processor through its paces, finding "anything from a 4x to 7x leap over what was seen in the original version of the tablet." The authors suggest that it has boosted mobile gaming to a point where Apple could be preparing for a much bigger entrance into the gaming market.
"Either we are looking at a company looking to consolidate its iron grip on the mobile games market by combining its existing unparalleled developer support with state-of-the-art technology, or else iPad 2 represents the first stages of a plan to expand iOS' reach from mobile phones and MP3 players through to tablets and perhaps in the near future, home games consoles. ... Technical and hardware challenges aside, there's no doubt whatsoever that Apple is extremely well-placed to expand its reach in the games market and launch a new, disruptive assault on the status quo every bit as effective as its mobile offerings have been. There have been plenty of creditable attempts at claiming the multi-purpose set-top box market, but there has been no outright winner. Arguably, Apple has the brand presence, the games, and the music/video services to actually make it happen."
Back to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin
But will do a basic 1080p unlike the like 640p is 720p HD efforts still on sale.
Lets hope the SDK is easy to work with and cheap.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
So the Apple TV becomes your console and the iPad becomes your controller. You wouldn't play your typical games on it but with a bit of creativity I could see some rather interesting games coming out of it. Board games could work really well under this scenario. Especially quite complex ones.
Ryans Tutorials - A collection of technology tutorials.
wow I already see anti aliased angry birds on the horizon!
how rock band like games were the thing not so long ago? I feel like the same hype is brewing again but this time with mobile games.
Gaming boxes are poorly equipped to be a general solution for loads of reasons.
Also, the margins on a machine that is just used for games can't be as high as apple likes to sell its hardware.
The real question is whether people will care about high-performance gaming or not, if so, apple is an equal competitor with an already functioning market.
So, no, a console has too many requirements to behave in the same fashion for a long while to suit apples needs.
Without the traditional set of buttons, a joystick and for FPSers a mouse it's really a non-starter. Pressing virtual buttons on the screen will never be as satisfying or as technically accurate (a big deal for video games) as a physical button/stick/mouse. If you were to add the buttons, a mouse and/or a joystick the lovely touchscreen becomes a regular monitor and is ill suited to deal with the dedicated gaming rigs (laptop or desktop) and won't be much competition for the next gen gaming consoles, even more so when you consider these newer gaming consoles will be running 1080p on a 60" 3D screen. You may have some weekend gamers pick up a bubble buster game or two in lieu of reading a book or watching TV but hardcore gamers will never touch it.
I heard pretty similar comments when the Wii came out first (no HD, no conventional controller, etc.) and yet it was a huge success.
Apple is known for taking a different approach when trying to solve issues. That's the way they succeeded with the iPod (hard disks instead of tiny flash RAM back then), the iPhone (all touch, almost no buttons) and the iPad. I won't be so fast to predict a failure because of the lack of conventional and established controller styles here. Don't forget that there is a huge market with people who are not die-hard players, who do not care about how a PS1 controller looked like, etc.
It's a fairly common mistake to think only the hard core games matter. They only do matter if you have a hard core game. For all the rest it's the casual gamers that count and there ease of use is the key.
Onlive.com works on ipad. The idea of needing a good console or powerful computer to play video games is going to go the way of the dinosaur, if they ever eliminate bandwidth caps.
There have been plenty of creditable attempts at claiming the multi-purpose set-top box market
Apple would have to be kinda suicidal to try a Set-top-box with Sony and MS hogging that spotlight, and the last time they tried it it didn't work so well.
The iPad is not a universal set-top box for playing "traditional" (AKA console controller based) games. The iPad/iPhone have a heavy dose of casual/popcorn/social network gaming, and that has been a huge part of their success. That type of gaming is shooting through the roof while more "traditional" gaming struggles.
TL:DR version: You won't be using an iPad to play Gears of War, but since everyone in the future is playing Angry Birds...
It's excellent on the iPad. No force feedback, but if you mount it on a gooseneck, the iPad does a reasonable imitation of a yoke.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
I'll never understand why apple hasn't released a controller, and either a dock for ipad or grip for Iphone (so the controller holds the phone in place)
They have the critical mass so all game devs will start supporting it. How hard would it be, and not exactly expensive to develop either.
Such an official Iphone grip and a bunch of fps and racing titles and sony/nintendo can kiss the portable market goodbye.
Since we got iPhones, and eventually an iPad, the real loser in my household has been the Nintendo DS, which went from being the usual way to wind down before sleep or to kill a little time on a lazy saturday afternoon, to being basically a paper weight.
Angry Birds and the like are just as compelling, well suited to short play times, offer about the same portability on similar or bigger screens, and way way cheaper. Even if you choose to ignore the many quality and totally free games on the App Store, you can still purchase 10-30 decent games for the price of a decent DS game. And all of this on a device that's significantly useful for a number of things besides gaming.
I still think there's plenty of space in the market for dedicated gaming machines, but that space is tethered to a big TV. I think smartphones are going to all but own the mobile gaming market in a few years.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
The question this is all dancing around is, will this kill traditional gaming platforms?
Short answer is no.
Long answer is no, and I consider your argument ignorant and misinformed.
Nintendo and Sony made roughly the same gains they otherwise would have in the market. Apple being around isn't going to stop Hideo Kojima from putting out Metal Gear on the PSP or Nintendo from putting out Pokemon on the DS.
What Apple IS doing is expanding the market place for mobile devices, they're making the pie bigger and taking that expanded pie away. There's some pull over, but, the types who were crazy for portable gaming before aren't going to stop because they have an iPhone or a Droid somethingoranother.
What is happening is that those who wouldn't have normally been gaming on the go, or even gaming for that matter, are now gaming on their phones in their down time. A few levels of angry birds before bed, a sudoku while waiting at the dentist, etc. I don't think that Nintendo largely has anything to worry about. They're digital crack dealers and just because someone, say Apple, comes by offering digital heroin doesn't mean that their bottom line is compromised.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
I had no response, so i reckon it was close to the mark :D
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
I'll never understand why apple hasn't released a controller,
According to Jobs, buttons are stupid.
"If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy
i think that needs to be taken in context.
In context with day to day ordinary use, Jobs is one hundred percent correct. Buttons suck.
With gaming? Different story.
An official controller stack via bluetooth or dock connector(or both) would really create an actual threat to nintendo and sony in the handheld field. Playing games like Street Fighter and Sonic on the iPhone kind of blew compared to playing it on the PS3 or 360(Sonic 4 ep 1 was a full 5 bucks cheaper on the iPhone; making it worth it for me; plus it was portable).
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Its an addon, devs can use it or not.
If its there then its trivial to say map all those gameloft clone fps and action games across, and you can be sure more will follow.
At say a 100 bucks it will sell like wildfire esp if it fits an ipod touch (kiddie market...).
From what I've seen ipod touch / iphone graphics are on par if not better than psp. 100 buck optional snap on for instant PSP, those who like buttons will devour, those who don't can stay away, Apple wins (and it would be such a tiny outlay that even if it failed to gain traction they wouldn't even notice the money burned, none of the tech is new, how much is a bit of ergonomic design).
I know I would pay a hundred bucks for a good quality droid version, in fact I donated via kickstarter to this guy's project game-gripper, but it couldn't get across the line. I would pay a hundred bucks even if it only worked with emulators lol (entire SNES, MAME and neogeo catalog on my phone with real buttons? sign me up)/
I suspect the iPad 2 is more powerful than the Apple TV. Why would that be your "console"?
Because the Apple TV is wired into your TV - its hard to use the iPad/iPhone as a Wii-style kinetic controller if its got an HDMI cable hanging out of it. Maybe Apple will speed-bump the Apple TV before this can come to fruition - or maybe the iPad will be the console and smaller iDevices the controllers? Or maybe Apple would like you to buy a Mac Mini or an iMac as your home entertainment centre
And if you think there's a big market for board games on PC then.. oh, why do I even bother..
In other news, there wasn't a big market for tablet PCs until the iPad came along. One way iPad distinguished itself from previous tablet PCs was by being "its own device" and not trying to do the things a PC does better (such as running an OS and applications designed for full-sized PCs).
As for board games, PCs are rather solitary devices - best for single-player games or playing over a network with people you can't see, whereas board and card games have a huge social element (which is why there is still a market for board games on boards). Sit a lot of people around a big TV with individual iP(od|hone|ad) controllers and you have a social game. The Wii has already tapped into this somewhat, but each player having an iDevice adds new possibilities.
For example, already, the iOS version of Scrabble lets you use the iPad as the "board" with individual players using iP(od|hone)s as their personal letter racks. The extension to card games and more complex board games (we're not talking snakes and ladders here) is obvious.
Or how about a co-operative shooter where the TV screen showed a third-person view and the iDevices showed individual first-person views?
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Seriously, they've already got all the power they need in the ipad... It just needs a few, rather cheap, pieces to bring it all together.
First off, give it a dock, something nice looking, but small to fit in your stack of electronics. On the front, nothing except maybe a light to let you know there's something docked. On the back, power, video/audio out. Maybe ethernet, but that's not really apple's way.
As for controllers... just make it bluetooth. This way, when you're travelling with your games, you don't need the dock, just grab your pad and controllers and go.
$50 for the dock, $25 for each controller.
So, now, for everyone who already has an ipad, for $75 or $100 they can now have a console that's considerably more capable than a wii. Oh yeah, it's also a damn good web browser. Oh, and facebook. And outlook, and gmail, and maps, and reminders and media player and everything else you can imagine. Oh, and lets add facetime to it. Cisco is now trying to get into home video chat. This may raise the price of the dock a bit because when docked the camera wouldn't necessarily be exposed.
It may not be as powerful as an xbox360, but id has already shown that some good stuff can come out of it. And who needs 55million poly/sec for angrybirds?
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Apple's first attempt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_KxN0Nepus
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.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
...and if an Android gamepad gets sufficient success, you can bet that at least some company will attempt to build a "portable game console + PDA/Smartphone" hybrid.
Something like Tapwave did with their Zodiac (running PalmOS, both usable as a PDA and as a game console).
With proper marketing, this could become a real success among young students. And as a Smartphone hybrid, it could get better subsidized and thus cost less than the next-gen Sony portable console.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
The article suggests Apple may be considering a future Games Console. On the face of it though might sound like a nice idea - However - Im not sure I like the idea of replacing my games console every 6months to keep up with apples upgrade cycle. If i wanted that kind of experience i would go back PC gaming. You can count me out on that one thankyou very much !
N.
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
"It may not be as powerful as an xbox360, but id has already shown that some good stuff can come out of it. And who needs 55million poly/sec for angrybirds?"
You would buy a games console for the promise of playing Angry Birds? ....
Yeah .. The cost of the iPad 2 (plus the accessories you mention) vs the cost of a Wii / 360 / PS3 - Hmm tough choice . Lets see ... a games library of Angry Birds clones / Physics games or a huge back catalogue of content rich engrossing games spanning many different genres.
Nah ... I dont think iPad + dock + controllers is a winner AT ALL. I think you are fantasising some what.
If apple want to create a successful games console they are going to have to "Think Different"(tm) (vomits in the corner).
As far as innovation is concerned Nintendo appear to be ahead of the curve right now - although im not really big on nintendo game library which is a bit too cutesy for me.
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
assuming you'll put down the iPad to hold the controller that is.
Since neither is true of either link I provided WHY are you assuming that?
In fact your comment is exactly backwards because the other way you can go is that the iPad or iPhone runs the game out to an external display, and you are using the device just as a CONTROLLER, not a SCREEN.
Once the the iPad is just a screen it has nothing over any of the other entrants into the arena.
Yes it does. Software.
I don't really give a rat's ass what sort of "third party accessory" Apple makes for the iPad
The very definition of "third party" is that Apple is not making it.
Once you add a 'regular' control surface (joystick/keyboard/mouse) it looses its novelty and becomes another gaming console, but without many games or respect from its developers.
Dude, have you been under a log for the last few years? The iPad/iPhone game market is huge. ALL of the major studios have games out for the systems, including streamlined versions of AAA names like C&C. You might want to read Carmack's post about how he just can't do Android game development yet but the iPhone is working great for development. I'd say that's pretty significant "respect" from the most well known game developer on the planet.
I can only hope that Apple allows a cross platform FPS
"Allows"? It's up to the game maker. Apple doesn't care. Apple has never cared what you made work with what.
You seem more intrested in how much money it will make Apple. I'm only interested in if the thing would make a decent gaming platform, and it would not.
What's hilarious there is your comment about money goes right to failing to understand the term "third party" which makes me think you aren't a gamer AT ALL. "Buying the buttons" sends money to anyone EXCEPT APPLE.
I'm interested in reality first of all, in describing what IS. You frankly seem not just disinterested in that, but as noted seem to have taken an active avoidance to any understanding of what is.
Secondly I am interesting in gaming. On that front, the iPad/iPhone are AWESOME. They have great graphic performance, a good CPU, and really solid SDK's that have made a lot of really good games possible, and touch controls are fantastic when a game is built around them. Are the going to replace computers or consoles for gaming? Of course not, but they are currently tromping on EVERYONE in the hand-held gaming space (including Nintendo).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Missed a closing tag back there... here's the readable form.
assuming you'll put down the iPad to hold the controller that is.
Since neither is true of either link I provided WHY are you assuming that?
In fact your comment is exactly backwards because the other way you can go is that the iPad or iPhone runs the game out to an external display, and you are using the device just as a CONTROLLER, not a SCREEN.
Once the the iPad is just a screen it has nothing over any of the other entrants into the arena.
Yes it does. Software.
I don't really give a rat's ass what sort of "third party accessory" Apple makes for the iPad
The very definition of "third party" is that Apple is not making it.
Once you add a 'regular' control surface (joystick/keyboard/mouse) it looses its novelty and becomes another gaming console, but without many games or respect from its developers.
Dude, have you been under a log for the last few years? The iPad/iPhone game market is huge. ALL of the major studios have games out for the systems, including streamlined versions of AAA names like C&C. You might want to read Carmack's post about how he just can't do Android game development yet but the iPhone is working great for development. I'd say that's pretty significant "respect" from the most well known game developer on the planet.
I can only hope that Apple allows a cross platform FPS
"Allows"? It's up to the game maker. Apple doesn't care. Apple has never cared what you made work with what.
You seem more intrested in how much money it will make Apple. I'm only interested in if the thing would make a decent gaming platform, and it would not.
What's hilarious there is your comment about money goes right to failing to understand the term "third party" which makes me think you aren't a gamer AT ALL. "Buying the buttons" sends money to anyone EXCEPT APPLE.
I'm interested in reality first of all, in describing what IS. You frankly seem not just disinterested in that, but as noted seem to have taken an active avoidance to any understanding of what is.
Secondly I am interesting in gaming. On that front, the iPad/iPhone are AWESOME. They have great graphic performance, a good CPU, and really solid SDK's that have made a lot of really good games possible, and touch controls are fantastic when a game is built around them. Are the going to replace computers or consoles for gaming? Of course not, but they are currently tromping on EVERYONE in the hand-held gaming space (including Nintendo).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The point is, many people already HAVE an ipad, based on it's current merits alone. No one in their right mind would buy an iPad to play angry birds... But if they already had one (and maybe an iphone4/5 as well) and all they had to do was buy a dock and controller, no brainer.
But how many people WOULD spend $500 for a box that plays games, surfs WELL, has TONS of free apps and overall does a lot more than an xbox or 360. Sure those two devices have the hardware to do all this, but they don't have the software, and with the amount of developers between the different platforms, they'll never come close to what apple has.
Huge back catalog of games? No. And worse, it's 99% games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_360_games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_3_games
Wow, that's pretty sad. where are the productivity apps? where's everything that's NOT a game? Oh, I see.
And lets see, prices? If you pay less than $30 it better be used or it's going to suck. Want an AAA game? Yeah, that's $60. So, for the price of two first class xbox360 games I can buy my fictional ipad dock. Or an existing apple tv...
Nintendo ahead of the curve? They came out with weak device that plays cute, yet overpriced, games and doesn't do HD. Have you looked at the wii/ds store? Wow, what a load of crap! My kids have a DSiXL and a Wii... The amount of downloadable content there is a joke. The DS has almost nothing. Yeah, they had a good idea on the controller. I use it on my PC as an extra input. My kids have a DS and about 25 games between them. What do they constantly want to play? my iphone. If I ever can't find my phone, the kids have it. Nintendo is a has-been.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
"a company looking to consolidate its iron grip on the mobile games market"? Nintendo begs to differ.
While having a dual core is nice (and I mean that on a personal level, since my "laptop" is an iPad2), the actual "gaming" iPad will be the 3D iPad (iPad3). The only problem with the alpha of that has been the battery life when you're in 3D mode, and personally I found it hard to play for more than an hour, but then I'm not that young.
I think this version will be the one to attract younger gamers, and will sell like hotcakes.
me, I'm sticking with my iPad2 now - the week long battery life (when not doing video shows or image editing) is a major plus
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I'm sick of my touchscreen phone randomly doing shit while I am taking a call with my ear to the screen... signing up to services, rifling through address books, putting the call on hold - that never used to happen with a phone that had proper buttons.
When the iPad originally came out, we netbook owners were comparing the iPad features to netbooks (which were and still are very limited in comparison) and the Apple crowd on here kept responding with "But the iPad isn't a netbook or portable computer".
However, now you are saying it IS a games console - so I'm not sure I understand where this ever-increasingly complex set of comparitive rules for the iPad actually starts or ends.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.