Nail on the head. No matter how anyone feels about Angry Birds, its brand recognition is on the level of Hello Kitty, Mario and Mickey Mouse - and this IP spawned from iOS, not from from game consoles. Only on mobiles is it possible to reach an audience of hundreds of millions with a successful product. No hit on XBLA or PSN comes anywhere close to those numbers (obviously, since there aren't even enough consoles in current gen to match that number...) App Store is successful on its own terms and also disrupting the entire games industry in a big way, and it's difficult to see what would motivate Apple to turn it into something that would serve the old console business model.
I think when it comes to mobile gaming we have the advantage that hardware manufacturers are rather creative these days. I'm not blown away by the Vita, but I think it's full of power and rather cheap when it's sold at the same price as the 3DS. The 3DS is a piece of hardware that -like any DS before- isn't really interesting to me. At the moment -when it comes to handheld gaming- the iPod Touch is my favourite device. On the other hand: Nintendo showed Mario Kart 3D at E3, and that will be my reason to buy a 3DS. Nintendo is -when it comes to 3DS OS and hardware- far behind Apple. But what Nintendo can do best is create games like Paper Mario, Super Mario, Zelda, Kid Icarus or Mario Kart. If I'm buying the 3DS I'll probably not buy many games, as I think that 80% of them are way overpriced and mostly not better than iOS iterations or comparable games on iOS. But I'll get some games I can't get elsewhere. Nothing against Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 or KartRider Rush, but Mario Kart is always on another level. I have the strong feeling that Apple is about to do something when it comes to handheld and console gaming, but I think that they're not quite sure what to do yet. The possibility to use an iPad2 to play without wires on a HDTV using AppleTV is great and feels like an early version of Wii U, but I think Apple can do even more if it finds the right strategy.
Iphone 4 battery life now is same as 3ds and (probably) vita.. As of RAM, that's because you're using ipod touch that just have a 256mb ram.. My iphone 4 always has 330mb free RAM and when playing Infinity Blade, I can see the free ram goes down to 107mb.. Those 107mb free RAM while playing IB is not powerful? *facepalm*
I have to say, gaming on my iPad 2 is awesome because battery life, screen size, and multi capability is I dispensable. Sure it's not as portable as a 3ds or has dual analog sticks but I dunno, I bought the 3ds first day it came out and returned it. I can't get used to a 3.5" screen and constant worry about battery life ruins the experience for me. Not only that, prices constantly fluctuate on iOS games and devs still make money when their games go on sale. Seeing updates to old games is something you will see as a whole new game for 60 bucks on consoles. I find it laughable when nintendo said something about how real games need to be priced at 40 a pop or something along those lines. There's usually if ever, any demos to try for handheld games. It's just a gamble and trusting other people's word of mouth and hoping the game is worth however much it's selling for. Anyways enough of my ranting that nobody will read. Glad we have competition, always a win for consumers.
Despite the fact I buy a lot of IOS games I honestly don't play them much at all and they really don't compare favourably to even the first PSP's games never mind the Vita. Their tempting solely because they are cheap but it's definitely a case of you usually get what you pay for. If you like tower defense games or puzzle games though IOS isn't bad, but I don't think the current range of models are very threatening to Sony and Nintendo. Bottom line is I'll be buying the Vita and likely a fifth Gen ipod as well and while I'll continue picking up the odd IOS game I really can't wait to play Wipeout 2048 and DUST.
While the NGP is very tempting, I have two major issues: 1. The size will be something which will prevent me from carrying the device around in my pocket. Therefore, I can not see it as a replacement for my iPod. I mean, I can't exactly fish out PSVita in office for a quick league of evil level or something. On the other hand my on-couch or on-the-plane gaming needs are met much better with an iPad than a vita with it's bigger screen estate. (Virtual controls I am fine with) So while I would love to play on the vita, I don't really know which need will it fulfill. Result being I am on the fence on the other side of buying the vita when it comes (When is it coming in the market btw?) 2. Pricing of games. 50$ per game is a definite no-no for me on a portable device. So if that's the pricing I could either hack the device (which I usually am too lazy to do these days) or I simply don't get the device. And then ofcourse there could be the hardware and software availability issue in my country. But all said... I do think Vita is an exciting gadget. I hope sony goes some distance with it.
Here's an interesting article that pretty much meshes with my own feelings about gaming at the moment... http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-most-ominous-trends-in-video-games_p2/ makes a fair amount of sense really.
Take-Two/Rockstar referring to iOS gaming as not being economically meaningful is them saying the exact thing I've been saying on these forums for the last year. The only indie game that has made a ton of money and become a cultural phenomenon is Angry Birds (and Pocket God, to a lesser extent), which is an aberration. The iOS market is flooded with an over-saturation of extremely casual .99c crapps. Make games extremely cheap and sell them as cheap as humanly possible. It is the only economically successful model to exist on the appstore. The only one for indie devs anyway. As a result, the market has become watered down by a glut of mediocrity. The gaming market itself has become completely fractured. Pretty much everyone here are casual gamers. And that's fine. The so-called "hardcore/dedicated" gamer has long since given up hope and abandoned the iOS scene, leaving only those who are fine with a system that promotes cheap, shallow, minimal-content games sold cheaply. Just so long as people realize that they are no longer getting a bargin. Yeah, you are getting a ton of games for .99c. But none of these games are worth more than .99c. Many of them aren't even worth a dollar. Now, EA, Gameloft, Chair/Epic, and Capcom are still around, granted, but games from these companies are few and far between. We can go months now without seeing one. For those of us who truly take gaming seriously, the newest Sony and Nintendo handhelds are a god-send. I will pay $50 for a portable game. I have in the past. Several prior PSP games have sold for that. I've purchased 5 3DS games at full price. The 3DS Street Fighter 4 sold a million copies in less than a month at 39.99 a piece. Zelda 3D, at 39.99, is flying off the shelves. Clearly, I am not alone. Anyway, a report in pocket gamer suggests a possible PS Vito release on November 4. I can't believe Sony would try to compete with Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty. Anyone who tries to get in the middle of the madness is going to get crushed. I don't think Sony would be stupid enough to release the Vito in November.
I read yesterday that Vita games are going to cost £39.99 in the UK which is a lot for a portable (about twice that of PSP games now) and puts the games in the same price range (higher in a lot of cases) as PS3 and 360. This hasn't really put me off but they had better be up to the same level as the big console games as there is no way I'd pay that for smaller cut down versions. Basicly they are playing a very dangerous game here and if the games aren't PS3 quality in both polish, graphics and length people just won't buy them.
"serious" gamers don't necessarily all want anything more than quick pick-up-and-play games on their portable devices. Its as simple as that. I'm a pretty damned serious gamer owning a PS3, a Wii, GC, a laptop and a PC, a DS and a GBA as well as the Iphone. I enjoy all sorts of different games. But when it comes to portable gaming I never have time to play a Final Fantasy or COD Black Ops or any of the other so-called "hardcore" titles. I have time for a few rounds of Fruit Ninja or Velociraptor or Pocket Half-pipe. See, those sorts of games used to be considered pretty hardcore. I dropped a ton of quarters in arcades playing games like Galaga and PacMan and Raiden over the years and I don't consider that type of game design to be in any way a step down from Zelda. Its every bit as viable as Metal Gear Solid. So frankly I couldn't care less if Rockstar and Take Two and any of the other big devs don't want to put out game on the IOS. It means nothing to me becuase theres a ton of indie devs who are coming up with ideas and games that are every bit as fun and interesting as anything Criterion has come up with in years. They can focus on the 40 dollar a shot hardcore crowd and leave the IOS gaming for me and the millions of other "casual" gamers and we'll do just fine without them...
