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Hmm...

Apple 'as the world's market leader in handheld gaming...'

Never thought I'd see that sentence *ever* refer to Apple.

Good times...

sell, sell, sell. more good news

Nov 04, 08 - 10:02 am Comment from: pastrychef

I certainly hope this turns out to be true. I'd also like to see somebody/anybody come out with hardware gamepad controls for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I think that would seal the deal.

Nov 04, 08 - 10:12 am Comment from: Chuck U Farley

Love my iPod Touch. It has made a few long road trips go by very fast. Best purchase I ever made.

Rubbish. I love my iPhone but to suggest that it is a serious gaming platform is absurd. 1500 games there may be, but about 1450 of those are awful shovelware - mainly remakes of 1980s titles with pretty background pictures (have a look at how many clones of Arkanoid and Chopper there are on the app store - it's ridiculous). One or two games on par with DS games and a decent version of a decades-old title doesn't change the show.

Nintendo has sold millions of DSs purely to play games. Apple have sold iPods and iPhones that can play games as an addition to their core function - there's a massive difference. Many of those iPods and iPhones will NEVER have a game on them, so to report it as if they're selling purely for gaming is as wrong as saying Nokia is the world's most important camera manufacturer, or Ford the most important manufacturer of stereos.

Don't get me wrong - decent games are a great thing to be able to buy for the iPhone, but they're no better than the games on any other phone at the moment, and shouldn't be classed as such.

I have a lot of fun messing around with my touch. My favorite thing of all, though, is just showing people what it can do.

I start with the music — coverflow always impresses.
Then I show them the picture viewer — pinch always impresses.
Then I show them a movie — the clarity always impresses.
Then I show them the internet — picking out a site they frequent and zooming in with a pinch always impresses.
Then I move on to google maps — again, the zooming by pinching always impresses.
Then I show them google earth — they're not only impressed but I think a couple of people may have shit themselves.
Then I show them a video game — I wait until they ask how to control it and then show them, and it always impresses.

The point is that this device does so much so well. There will always be someone out there claming they have found a better MP3 player, a better video player, a better way to do this or that. But first off, they're probably wrong. Second, there is no device that can do all of this so well.

After showing the touch to 10 people, I think 10 more will be sold. One for photos, one for music, one for games, one for pocket internet, etc., etc. THAT's why these devices will be selling tens of millions. Games are just 10 percent of the equation.

@UKOK
Dude, seriously, your version of reality gets in the way of great headlines. Instead of chasing some silly ratiocination, you would do better to ponder - exactly how does it advance the great American politics etc.

Nov 04, 08 - 10:31 am Comment from: disposableidentity

But you can't discount that installed base completely.

I haven't played a hand-held game since the original GameBoy (c1989) and haven't owned a console since my PS2 gave out four or five years ago.

I read one article about a little iPhone/iPod focused company called ngmoco and I plunked down my 99¢ for Topple. Before you know it I bought Spore Origins and Enigmo. My wife is hooked on Trism and a few different Sudoku games.

In a few months our household has gone from non-game-playing to spending more on video games than we do on music. That's a big shift. Nintendo proved there was a market for the casual gamer. But isn't the ultimate casual gamer platform one that isn't strictly a game platform? If you have to go out of your way too buy a DS or a Wii, haven't you already committed to gaming on some level?

The iPhone is Apple's trojan horse into a whole world of other markets, in the same way a PC wasn't just a typewriter replacement.

MidWest Mac,

I agree entirely, having had a similar experience to you with my Touch.

Another very positive aspect to this which I don't think was mentioned is just how well the iPod Touch is selling.
Of course Apple doesn't break down its sales of iPods into categories, but the Touch is the best-selling iPod at Best Buy (by far), and also at Amazon.

I believe the Touch is going to be huge and overtake the iPhone soon in sales numbers.

"...but they're no better than the games on any other phone at the moment"

Is that right? So playing all these games is just as easy on the N95 or the Razr - because they are just like the iPhone/iTouch, right?

You are a complete f**king idiot.

Nov 04, 08 - 11:01 am Comment from: Cubert

First handhelds, then desktops/laptops. They're getting into gaming through the backdoor. (hehehe)

I'd like to see Apple come out with a SDK specifically for gaming.

iPhone are great for certain games, like Texas Hold 'Em and the like, but action or racing games are another story. I own both De Blob and Crash Bandicoot, and while I like them as games using the iPhone's motion sensor to steer/direct the characters is quite annoying. As the both the iPhone and the Wii prove (I own one and Mario Kart), there are usability limitations to motion sensor gaming. Personally, I think and add-on gaming pack with buttons for the iPhone would sell likes hotcakes and make playing games like Crash Bandicoot way more fun/user friendly.

@ @UKOK
Controls are just one part of the equation. I would personally prefer a D-pad when playing most games. I think UKOK makes valid points. I have yet to see any games that are the same quality/production value of something like Zelda, God of War, or Final Fantasy. It's going to be a while before major game developers start to put some serious effort into iphone/touch platform that rivals the DS and PSP. Until then, I don't think Sony and Nintendo have a lot to worry about.

We were outraged when some cell phone nut said iPod only had 32% of the market because virtually every free cell phone with a 2 year contract was a hand held music player.

Let's not get carried away here.

The iPod touch is an iPod capable of playing hand held games.

The iPhone is a phone apable of playing hand held games.

They are better at it than all other digital music players and cell phones.

That's it.

Some games for the iPhone are cute, but nowhere near the quality of Nintendo DS or PSP games... The iPhone is the king of casual gaming, but for anyone who appreciates real quality games with proper graphics/animation, gameplay, etc. there is no comparison with a Nintendo DS or PSP. There is no proper fighting game for the iPhone, there is no proper movie license game for the iPhone (except Star Wars), there is no proper Japanese blockbuster game adaptation for the iPhone, etc... it's just not gonna happen.

just you wait... John Carmack of iD said at quake con 2008 in august that the iphone/ipod platform's graphical and processing power is on par with Sony PS2, Sega Dreamcast and the original Xbox and that it blows away the DS and PSP.

I've only bought one driving game for my macs over the last 20 years, but already 3 games on the iPhone - and I'm not much of a gamer... it's just a really easy impulse buy on iTunes and a lifesaver when you're subway is stuck on SloMo.

When EA and iD come out with big titles, this changes everything. I've tried PSP and DS and I find the iPhone to be much more of an immersive experience because the sound is richer and the graphics are so much better and smoother.

I think most of the commentators here are missing the key point of the article.

Apple is on the *threshold* of becoming the major player in the handheld gaming market. As in, yeah it isn't there yet, but very soon.

PSP is really the only competition out there and they have almost the same format for their hardware. It will come down to the buttons vs. no buttons argument again probably.

LOL, I'm sorry. I was laughing so hard, I didn't read this article beyond the headlines. Apple and gaming... Ha ha ha ha. See there I go again.

Did I mention I don't own either an iPhone or an iPod? Can't afford them, really. In these hard economic times mom & dad have had to cut back on expenses.

While many games on the iPhone right now are older games ported to the platform, keep in mind that these games were originally designed for controllers with buttons, not motion sensors.

As new games are developed specifically designed from the start to use the motion sensors and OS X's capabilities, we'll see more and better games than for PSP or DS. You can always have virtual buttons on the screen, but you can't add motion control to a DS.

I'm sure Nintendo is hard at work with their next-gen DS having motion control, since they already have the Wii. They also don't want the iPhone to leapfrog them.

Finally, one advantage the iPhone has is that it is not targeted at kids. How many adults own a DS or PSP? Now how many own an iPhone? Very different demographic, and one that Sony, Nintendo, etc. have struggled to penetrate for years. Apple got there in less than 18 months total, and really less than 5 because the app store and games weren't really available until the 3G iPhone. That's pretty amazing.

Most people get it here.
@UKOK, you must be from the UK. Shit kicking is a popular pastime there. The point about Apple, with music, then shows, then apps and now games... is the same. More for your money. Only the songs you want at a fair price. The same with shows. With apps and now games too. Look at the price and see how little people have to part with to have good old simple fun. No creaming fans like Sony, MS and Nintendo. It's such a deal, such a giveaway that most people who buy, never played a handheld game before. The App store is less than 6 months old and you're expecting classic-quality games already? eeesh. And the upside is that the form can change any way that enough people want it to. things can only get better for owners of this platform.
Get over it. Miracles take a little longer.

I've said it before... I love the games, but I'd gladly give them all up just to be able to stop apologizing to my clients for having to repeatedly call them back. >20% of my calls are being dropped from the 3G network. Apple's tech support solution was to turn off 3G and use the Edge network which is supposedly more reliable. You can imagine my disgust about being told this after spending so much money for a new 3G phone.

I'll believe it when Apple announces a separate, gaming Touch unit.
This is just a novelty, not even in the "hobby" category.

It won't eat into console or PC gaming. Like my DS but my eyes can only take so much of the small screen.

Besides, even those living in Appalachia deserve to be elevated to the 21st Century. How about it Apple, let's get those repeaters installed in the Smokeys? Oh, and the possum is not an endangered species.

Nov 04, 08 - 01:56 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

Mike "there is no proper Japanese blockbuster game adaptation for the iPhone, etc... it's just not gonna happen."

It might not exist now, but to say it's not going to happen when the SDK has been out less than a year, was only finalized last June, and still in its infancy now, with a rapidly growing installed base, stupid easy distribution system set up, and piles of cash to be made, it's only a matter of time.

Already the big guns of gaming have been eyeballing the platform and dipping their toes into it. Both Sony and Nintendo make a lot of their top games in house, something Apple currently does not do, but they certainly could. They do have 24 billion in cash with a depressed cash starved market that could go a long way.

Nov 04, 08 - 01:59 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

" Oh, and the possum is not an endangered species."

I hear they are delicious fried up with some melted butter.

Nov 04, 08 - 06:05 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Want a control pad for your iPhone or iPod touch?

Look what's in the works:
http://www.icontrolpad.com/

Cool.

The iPhone is the new Pippen portable :D

ZOMG! I R UBERLEET PRO GAMERZ!!!!11 IPHONE IS TEH LUSER. NO BUTTONZ!!!!!111 GIB <◊> + FIRE BUTTONZ!!111

The iPhone is for people who are not that guy. Phone, iPod, PDA, camera, and it plays games too. Fits in dad's breast pocket, doesn't make mom's bag weigh a ton. Its a game platform for people who have jobs and don't want to carry multiple devices.

@ krquet - what??
@ @ukok - you totally missed the point. I'm not saying a touchscreen game will work as well on, say, an N95 (or for that matter an N95 game will work as well on an iPhone). I'm saying they're *all* still just mobile phone games of a similar quality - on the whole simplistic knockoffs/ports of old arcade games or limited quality originals designed for a quick play, *not* designed to be what you buy the device for in the first place. At least try and grasp the argument before flipping out, eh?
@ Chano - you've hit the nail on the head without meaning to. 6 months in, and there are no platform-exclusive killer games on the app store. Sure, there are some tidy enough little games on there, which is great (though the real quality stuff is a lot more than one or two dollars), but f it was a serious gaming system, and Apple wanted it to be seen as such, there'd at least be one big hitter - and Monkeyball doesn't cut it. I can't think of a console launched in the last 10 years or so that hasn't had a major AAA title at or in the pipeline (and heavily advertised as such) within 6 months of launch. More choice for less money is not necessarily better when the majority of what you're getting is mediocre - just look at how that worked out for Windows PCs.

And adding on control pads? Come on - that makes the iPhone/Touch look like a Sega GameGear. Clunky in the extreme. It does make a point though - if the system needs add-ons just to let you play games more comfortably/properly/accurately, it's a pretty big clue that the system isn't suited to being a major gaming format and never will be.

I'll say it again - I love my iPhone, and love there are games available as an optional distraction, but I don't see a system where one of the most popular games is still PacMan being "on the cusp of becoming a world market leader in handheld gaming". It simply *isn't* a platform ideally suited to games and the gist of the article MDN linked to - that somehow it's going to be a threat to Sony/Nintendo as such based on overall sales *not* on game-specific sales - is disingenuous. It'll wipe the floor with the N-Gage ecosystem and rightly so, but the dedicated games consoles are easily safe.

People buy games for iPhones/iPods - they don't buy iPhones/iPods for the games. There's a big difference.