The whole discussion about console gaming vs. iPhone gaming in another thread lead me to think about this topic due to the DS/PSP comparisons in there. My main question is if anyone thinks the iDevices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) will eventually become the portable game devices of choice for hardcore gamers. The iPhone has the market cornered on casual portable gaming. I can't tell you how many hours I've put into Flight Control or Bejeweled 2 since I started playing iPhone games a couple months ago, but it does seem to be somewhat lacking in full high quality games for hardcore gamers. Sure there are a number of higher quality good games on the platform like Inotia 2, the Gameloft shooters, and other various titles, but head to head against the top DS/PSP games and the iPhone titles seem to pale in comparion. The one game that really made me think there could be a future where iPhone titles meet the quality of the other portable devices is GTA:CTW. This game is very close if not identical in quality to the PSP/DS versions and has proven that portable console quality games can be made. Do you think we'll see a greater amount of these in the future? Are we going to see RPG's, shooters, and other hardcore games of the quality found on the PSP and DS? What are everyone's thoughts on this?
No matter how hard you try to convince yourself, the answer is no. iDevices will never be the main source for hardcore gaming. Never, ever.
I'm not trying to convince myself. In fact I don't think that will ever be the case, but I'm curious what others think. All I was saying is that GTA definitely shows that top quality portable games can be done on the platform.
everyone is saying that no it will never be but since i got my itouch i haven't played my psp at all, sure the games arent as higher quality but the cheap prices and ease of getting the apps mean that although the games dont last for as long as their psp/ds counterparts that will be compensated by the fact that you end up buying/playing more games overall. Some game genres also work much better on the itouch, FPS for example. The psp FPS's dont come close for controls, and they wont until the psp comes out with a secound analogue stick or some other enhancement that allows FPS's to work. So for me it already is
Why would any of you be saying absolutely not? Epic Games recently ported the unreal engine 3 to the ipod touch 3g for leasing, they obviously see potential in this system. This engine has been used for many of the best console games out there including bioshock and gears of war. Why do you think they chose to port it to the ipod touch instead of the psp? Also, why do you think Activision chose not to make any call of duty games for psp but instead chose to make them for the ipod touch? What is going through your minds when you see this happening? Not only that but the appstore solves many problems for these developers such as distribution, making hard copies of the game, and much more. The psp and ds have already fallen behind, how have you not noticed this? Activision recently announced that they have sold over 11 million copies of CoD Zombies, that's more than any psp game has sold, just for comparison, Monster Hunter for psp only sold 3.5 million. Open you eyes people!
As the technology of mobile devices continues to grow, it will replace dedicated handhelds. I'd give it 5-10 years MAX before a handheld device that only plays games will seem archaic. Weather or not Apple and the App Store's economic model will remain the leader is another question. I sure hope they do something to make developing AAA titles for the iphone more worth it for the developers, because it bugs me to no end that the technology is there, but the support from all the big devs isnt.
It depends. Piracy scares alot of big name companies away esspecially at how easy it is for iphoners. But if apple stops this, then it could be. Assuming apple won't make the iGame.
That is actually a really good point. It reminds of the old PDA market Palm owned. I actually have a Palm T|X, probaly one of the last big PDA devices released (I got in 2005) and within a year or so, the PDA market was practically dead as everything turned to smart phones. Now, if anyone wants a PDA, they just go with a smartphone. I can see this happening with game devices as well, but you know Nintendo will fight this with everything they can. The PSP is essentially a failure, so I wouldn't be suprised if Sony doesn't fight. The DS is a bigger cash cow than the Wii, and I think their handhelds have always been huge for them, therefore it's in their best interest to keep things as they are. The big turning point will be support from big developers/publishers and attention from the gaming community. I think Kotaku posts iPhone news, but otherwise the gaming community ignores the iPhone and that is how developers/publishers create buzz for their games. Attention to the platform needs to go outside of iPhone specific sites, a few Kotaku articles and IGN reviews that aren't linked on the main site.
I don't see how piracy is such a big deal for the iPhone compared to other platforms. The PSP has massive piracy issues. Pretty much every person I know who owns a PSP has custom firmware installed. It's also always discussed as a reason why AAA PSP titles typically do not sell very well. I'm not sure about the DS, but I have heard about pirated games being put on SD cards, so I imagine the DS can be pirated easily as well (I'm not sure though). If anything, all three platforms can be pirated easily.
Treyarch is the maker of the best selling call of duty series, they make AAA games for the ipod touch, they recently announced they're most likely going to make a full Call of Duty: World at War for the itouch/iphone. As I said before, this system is getting big game developers attention. Expect to see many more hardcore games this year or next. The unreal engine 3 is going to be leased, I don't think many of you understand how big of a deal that is. This is arguably the best game engine out there.
It may be easy for those systems, but it's incredibly easy for the iPhone. I'm not a pirate and never will be....but it's just like an open gate waiting for you. And that scares big companies. But I'm sure as we progress, every app will have some security an every pirate will have a result, you will never be able to stop it.
I wasn't aware of most of what you've been saying in this thread. That's all great news. I hope the big AAA developers can really cash in on the idevice and make this into the most amazing mobile gaming device ever. Personally, I have no problem with the lack of tactile buttons, but that's just me.
Well it's on Apple in how they use DRM with App store downloads. I'm sure there are more anti-piracy methods they can implement and doing more to prevent jailbreaking if at all possible.
Source or it didn't happen Na, seriously, do you have any link that confirms it? 'Cause if it does...im gonna have to kill my piggy again
1) The article on Unreal Engine 3 never specified that they'd start releasing games on the iPhone and iPod Touch platform, they just used it as a testing ground since they're planning on implementing it in many different areas besides gaming, and on many different mobile platforms. 2) Sure, CoD may be coming to the AppStore. Is it going to be an original game, built from the ground up, made specifically for the iPod with a budget over 5 million of dollars? Cuz that's the process for every other console. Porting the game to the iPhone'll be cheap, and people will buy it just because of its novelty. 3) Sure, Nazi Zombies has sold over 11 million copies. It has a larger user-base because the device's primary function is a phone. People are gonna see and go, oh cool. They didn't buy the iPhone to play the game. The game just happened to be on the AppStore. 4) The PSP may have fallen behind a little, but the DSi is still going strong. It's got massive franchises on it that the AppStore can't even begin to touch. Nintendo has Mario, Legend of Zelda, Sonic, Scribblenauts, Phoenix Wright, Crash Bandicoot, among others. What does the iPod Touch have? Eliminate, and Rolando. 5) When you find people that can aim precisely with a touchscreen, I'd like to meet them, because they're probably from some distant planet where they evolved stylus-like fingers.
I've done the math before, 1 in every 10 PSP owners has custom firmware with pirated material on their system, and the DS I'm not quite sure, but the iphone pales in comparison to either of these systems in piracy rates mainly due to the fact that apps have such a low cost to buy. Besides, I'm sure apple will address the issue if they feel it will hurt their market, they are all about security. They did confirm that they will lease their engine out to developers, meaning it will most likely be used in future iphone games. iphone/ipod touch is already blowing both psp and ds away in sales: http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/21/how-the-iphone-is-blowing-everyone-else-away-in-charts/ It even beat out the nintendo wii for petes sake! Why doesn't anyone here back up their claims? You obviously don't take notice to the fact that the iphone is still new and just started picking up big game developers just last year. Last year was like a test run for them, and guess what, it passed with an A+. The only thing to expect for the future is more original games. Besides, why don't you find me ONE game for the psp that wasn't a port from a console game that is a high quality and highly rated game. And while you're at it, why don't you find me a couple of original games for the DS (made by reputable developers) that have sold better than some of the iphone classics made by indie devs. If that's a challenge, then I think I've proven my point. **For those who requested proof of Unreal Engine 3 Licensing for iphone 3gs: http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3695 As for the full Cod: World at War for iphone look here: http://kotaku.com/5468472/dev-eyes-call-of-duty-world-at-war-for-iphone
