The iphone has a lot of potential for taking over the handheld gaming industy, but the problem is the controls. There are many iphone games that are pretty awesome but I can't seem to get myself to enjoy them because the controls suck too bad. Examples, Hero of Sparta, Assasin's Creed, RE4, etc... Using the touch screen controls mar an otherwise great mobile platform. I think that the if the iphone had an add on that made games easier and better to play, many people would buy it and they would overtake the DS. While I know that there is already a contoller add on in the works from a 3rd party development team, I saw it and thought that it could be much better. Here is my idea of a controller add-on with a picture of it below. First of all, I think that it needs not one, but two analog sticks. This will set it apart from the PSP, and will also make it great for FPS games, which is probably the most popular Genre. I also think that it only really needs 5 buttons in all; A,B, Start, L, R. Anything else could be done using the touch screen. But most importantly it needs the inclusion of a battery pack. People would not mind using their phone for gaming as much if there was an extra battery pack. Here is a picture of what I think that the controller add on should be (I was too lazy and used paint, instead of photoshop, and only used my touchpad instead of a mouse and so it looks kinda sloppy). The iphone has a lot of things going for it. The graphics are great, and from my understanding, the new ones are even stronger than a PSP. There are already millions of people who own it. And it people who buy it can pretty much get 3 things in one; phone/ipod/game handheld. If Apple makes this add-on, I think that the iphone can dominate the gaming market. What do you guys think? Would you buy this add-on.
Yes! Most FPS's use two virtual controllers so this would help a lot. :0 I found this, but it's just a concept:
No... I would either play my DS or buy a PSP for games that needed that. I bought my iPod Touch for the simplicity.
yeah, I said I saw one of those before but I thought that it could be better. Also, I meant that Apple should make one themselves and pour heavy advertisement on it. That way more people will buy the iphone, more developers will support the add-on, and more game developers will support the iphone.
Does anyone know why after a year there is still none available? The Bluetooth GamePad for PDA/ Smartphone/ Pocket PC Phone has been out for about 4 years. http://www.gadgetizer.com/2005/10/15/gamepad-wireless-fold-up-game-controller-with-bluetooth/ http://www.tangshop.com/bluetooth-game-pad-bgp-100.html
Yeah, that looks pretty cool, but it looks to big to me. I was thinking that it would also be cool if you could fold the add-on in half when not in use for easy storage.
I'm afraid that iPhone controls are too much specific for each game to let a universal pad work flawlessly.
There are more than a few caveats when it comes to creating something like this. First you have to have enough big titles lined up for it to make sense. Signing a deal with someone like Gameloft would probably be a good start. You still might wind up with one Gameloft-compatible controller, one EA-compatible, one Indie-compatible etc. The only way I can really see such a perhipal actually work is if the standard is defined by the mothership (Apple). I also think that if such a product should see the light of day it shouldn't just be a standard controll-scheme "glued" onto the iPhone. I really believe this is something that should be tought through. Perhaps a small gizmo with an analog joystick and a couple of buttons connected to the iPhone with a longer cable, giving a dynamic similiar to the Wii/Nunchuck? This would also make the product more future-proof as it would fit any iPod touch / iPhone with the same port.
there is a video on youtube showing some guy playing wolfenstien with another idevice for a controller. if apple would let you do that or at least let you use the nano as a controller i think that would be pretty cool and they wont have to manufacture anything new or go through any third party to develop the hardware. apple seems like its very concerned with aesthetics usually and although they might allow something like an add on controller peripheral like these i dont see them pushing devs to support it so much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAokTrNklqA
Dude I'd buy this in a sec! Kinda tired of playing my games and having my thumb stick when trying to slide the virtual dstick. Plus it'd leave more room for the hud, and make it alot easier on the graphics for the homebrew emulators, which would be updated in an instant to allow compatibility, knowing the dev. This would be a huge benefit so i hope it goes through.
As has been mentioned already, coming from a variety of third parties this could cause more headaches than cure them. Unless Apple designs, produces, and sells such an accessory exclusively it is very unlikely any would survive as it does need to be compatible with any game that may want to use it. The possibility of having a bunch of different ones with different code requirements would only be counterproductive, not to mention piss off customers.
the way i could see it working is if apple makes one, and all of the rest just require the same coding as the apple one.
apple does not need to make the device, they just need to make a standard api set for controllers that all must use, then all 3rd party controls would work with all controller enabled games
Yeh its touchy. Personally, I don't want add-on game controllers. The iPhone games that are most unique and the most fun are the ones that use its touch screen and accelerometer well. Why lump it in with all the other handheld gaming devices?
Same here, I suppose for people who bought iPhones just for the phone part... this could be an attractive way for them to get more out of the device. But I bought an iPod Touch, and I bought it because it's different... I already own several consoles and a Nintendo DS, so if I start mimicking those it won't be different and unique any more.
