greenmedic88 said:
From a memory standpoint, the iPad 3 has the advantage but the amount of RAM doesn't really tell the whole story with non-upgradable memory devices as the OS footprint varies. Seeing as how no games have yet to be released that take advantage of the A5X chipset, there aren't any valid comparisons to be made. Infinity Blade 2 (playable on the previous A5) is on par with UE games on consoles, but that is one standout example in a sea of titles that may well have been developed for the Nintendo DS. The thing to note is that the iPad gets annual updates, so the biggest hardware issue is less of an issue of how advanced the specs are, and more of an issue of which new games will be developed to also run on previous hardware versions with less processing power. If installed userbase is the key issue for the typical developer, there will be fewer games that actually take advantage of the newer specs. If it isn't, developers are faced with selling to a smaller userbase with no built in element beyond the minority user who is content to buy a new tablet every year. But since this whole OP addresses bleeding edge game development, assume such developers aren't concerned with making games that run on older hardware (even if older means a *whopping* 12-18 months old). So in 2013, when the Xbox 3 and PS4 presumably release, the market will have an iPad 4 that will arugably be better hardware than 7th gen consoles with an iPad 5 with greater specs around the corner in March 2014. It will be a lot harder to engineer a reasonably priced console that can maintain a significant hardware lead for the next 4-5 years without stepping into PS3 $599 pricing. It's pretty clear from the alleged HD6670 in the Xbox 3 that MS isn't even bothering to play the "futureproof" game with their next console. Same for Nintendo with their HD4850 based console. It won't take more than 2-3 iPad iterations before the hardware allows developers to match or even exceed what's capable on the Xbox 3, PS4 (which remains the unknown factor spec wise) and Wii U. At that point, the only advantage consoles have is the merit of being cheaper which won't matter if iPads are still outselling consoles or are at least selling well enough to steal major developer dollars away. But the only way I can see a significant push being made for iOS game development as a leading edge platform would be an official Apple Bluetooth game pad controller and the ability to wirelessly transmit the video signal to the iTV. Naturally, the problem with such a system (which would essentially be an Apple brand controller and a $99 iTV box in addition to an iPad) is that games still have to be developed to function without the gamepad/HDTV combo, which is severely limiting from a UI perspective. That is unless Apple brands gamepad/iTV games as being something separate from the standard tablet/touch/swipe games all iPad users have become accustomed to. Whether that would even be worth Apple's trouble for a potentially less than successful endeavor is up in the air. It depends on if they're really pushing for control of the living room entertainment market or not. |
Battery life is an issue. The new iPad will have similar battery life to a PS Vita when playing graphically intensive games.
With a new iPad release each year, battery life can only go down. The iPad3 is already getting fatter instead of thinner. This is because this was necessary to maintain similar battery life to the iPad 2 despite the big increase in power.
