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Resident_Hazard said:
I've heard this rhetoric from Apple before, a few months back. There was a snippet article in an EGM where their ego came through on this.
Here are the major problems with the iPhone competing with gaming:
1. Limited userbase. Anyone can buy and enjoy all the benefits of the DS and PSP, because they're portable gaming machines. The iPhone? That's right, it's not for everyone. Especially if you factor in all the millions of people that have phone plans with companies that don't offer the iPhone. Who is it, just AT&T? Already they've grossly limited their potential fanbase.
I have a simple answer: iPod Touch, starting at $229 with 8GB of storage.
2. Buttons. Like it or not, a touch-screen and tilt functions are not enough to make all variety of video games. You need buttons--external buttons that aren't going to interfere with gameplay by your greasy fingerprints clouding up the screen after a hectic half an hour of gameplay.
This is true, tilt and touch screen don't fit all types of games. Then again, we're bound to see games that ONLY fit multi-touch and tilt. And in my experience, the screen doesn't collect fingerprints enough to be a problem, unless perhaps you're eating something greasy while playing.
3. The iPhone is not designed as a game machine, and not really built for larger, hardcore-style games. It's not made for First Person Shooters or RPG's or platformers or any more complex game genre. The Wii and DS both target the casual audiences as well as the hardcore gamer. The iPhone? Don't count on it. The games are meant for pick-up-and-play casuals who have a few minutes to burn on the bus or transit system or whatever. It's not condusive to lengthly, detailed, hardcore gaming. I've played iPhone games. They're cute and exist only as a minor distraction. Some are pretty clever. Some, not so much.
True, iTouch/iPhone are not designed to be primarily game machines, and that does limit them to a degree. FPS and most platformers being prime examples of genres ill suited for the control paradigm. But why not RPG's? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't be suited for it. In fact, there are a number of genres that multi-touch suits better than buttons-only controls.
4. Prone to interruption. You can actually see this nuisance on the commercials. Some guy is playing what appears to be a Crash Bandicoot cart racing game, then some wanker suddenly calls him and interrupts the game. Now, I'm sure there's a built-in pause feature to the phone that automatically holds the game until you resume it, but still--is this really a hassle you want to have during your gaming? Could you imagine a worse fate playing a game like Burnout on this thing, or a real-time strategy title? Burnout titles require an awful lot of concentration and focus. Interruptions to this kind of gameplay can be devastation on a gamer's performance.
Again, I present to you the iPod Touch. No interruptions . And regarding the iPhone, devs can make their games "pause" for the incoming call, and if they don't, blame them for it.
5. Motion controls do not necessarily benefit handheld gaming. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to play a portable gaming device if I can't see the bloody thing. Tilting and tipping, or shaking the handheld gaming device means that I'm blurring and shifting the focus--the screen.
Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried any of the tilt controlled games? Sure, there are better and worse implementations of the concept, but generally speaking you have no trouble whatsoever seeing the screen.
6. Price. The iPhone is hellishly costly compared to the PSP and especially to the DS (though the DSi will be on the same level as the PSP price-wise). Sure, you get a lot of other functions, but you get a wide variety of functions on the DS and PSP as well, and for a much lower cost.
For the third time: iPod Touch.
7. Unnecessary power. Apple tries to brag about how much graphical and processing power and harddrive space the iPhone has. That's all well and good, but since the only games readily playable on the system are no-depth casual titles, who really cares? That power won't be pushed. You're not getting Final Fantasy or Disgea. You won't see Grand Theft Auto or Moon. No Dragon Quest or Need For Speed. No God of War. No Phantom Hourglass.
How can there be unnecessary power in a handheld? And I guess for example John Carmack isn't known for pushing the boundaries, so why would he do so for the iPhone? That was sarcasm in case you missed it. Your entire point is meaningless since the App Store has only been around for a few months, and the SDK for a whopping 8 months.
8. Apple's history with gaming. Apple has never been a gaming-friendly company. When you talk PC gaming, you don't mean a Mac. Computer gaming is the realm of Windows, or maybe Linux. Anyone can list off several popular PC titles and franchises. Doom, Quake, Half-Life, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, etc. What can you list off-hand that Apple had? Marathon? A weak Doom-clone? And what else? Do you remember the Apple-Bandai Pippon? Apple's one game console, during the 32/64-bit generation. A 32-bit CD-based system not even as powerful as the Saturn or Playstation--but it sure cost a lot. $600 at a time the Playstation was half that. Apple is simply not considered where gaming is concerned. And that's industry-wide. The N-Gage had almost no games, but it did have it's own attention and channels and sections in gaming media before it's hasty death. Apple has quite a few games on the iPhone, but no gaming media coverage or real respect. They aren't even considered a contender.
True, Apple has never been big in gaming. But the real trick this time around is that they don't have to be. Apple has built a distribution model for 3rd parties that is quite simply lightyears ahead of anything else that is available for game developers. Well, actually I don't know how it compares to Steam etc. but at least with regards to handheld devices Apple is clearly on a whole another level. Apple just needs to sell their iPhones and iPod Touches, a feat that they excel at, and the rest is up to the 3rd parties.
The one advantage--perhaps the only one--to the iPhone is that the games are cheap and can be downloaded quickly. But again, you're not getting a major quest with a deeply involved storyline. You're getting very minor rhythm tap games and old stuff like a version of Breakout (or Arkanoid if you like) that is a little more cumbersome to play because you have to slide your finger across the screen to move the paddle.
Apple is out of their minds.
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