iPhone needs buttons for games to be taken seriously
At today's Apple event, the company devoted a generous amount of time to various charts and numbers declaring that the iPhone and the iPod Touch offer much more in terms of gaming than the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS.
iPhone and iPod Touch games have a lot going for them. The titles are cheaper, they offer tilt functionality, and the graphics are better than what the Nintendo DS can display. All that aside, it's tough to consider the iPhone as a legitimate gaming platform until Apple can offer some sort of tactile button functionality.
But how do you plan to accurately deke?
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)First, let's get a few things straight. In terms of casual gaming, you cannot beat what Apple has to offer. There are countless quick and easy games that fit well on the Apple platform. No one is booting up a PSP game for the 15 minutes you'd sit in a waiting room or the time standing in line at the deli counter. So while that section of the gaming market seems sealed up, the same cannot be said for the more hardcore action/adventure and shooter games.
The way it currently stands, controlling such games on the iPhone or the iPod Touch is a frustrating mess. Players must navigate using a virtual D-pad, which isn't able to provide the accuracy or physical feeling an actual control pad offers on the PSP and the DS. We're delighted to see franchises like Madden and Assassin's Creed head to the platform, we just wish there was a better way to control these titles. Until that day comes, iPod Touch and iPhone games will be stuck under a glass ceiling of shake, tilt, and tapping.
There's no denying that Apple has the upper hand here. No one wants to carry around three devices when one can handle everything. As we've written before, Apple can easily take over the portable gaming market with just a few moves. The first step toward that goal--whether it be an add-on or hardware change--is to add buttons.
Before covering games and gear for CNET Reviews, Jeff Bakalar dabbled in film and video production. An avid writer, reader, and gamer, Jeff is also an obsessive New Jersey Devils hockey fan. Catch him live every day as the co-host of CNET's infamous podcast, The 404. 
the ds isnt that good, and the psp needs a second analog stick to have any real gaming qualities
the ipod touch can get annoying sometimes, when you press something in a game, and it doesnt work or the fake analog stick display can get frustrating as it is not as easy or accurate to use as a typical xbox or ps3 controller
Guess it would depend on how ungainly those add-ons are going to be. The big attraction of my Touch is its sleek form factor. Suppose if the peripheral on the Touch makes the combo about the same size as the DS Lite, then maybe it might work.
And if you think about it, what hardware is hidding under all of that glass. Apple did the same thing with the OS 3 update, why not do the same with all of its new devices. They can make nice profit to make people upgrade there software to unlock hardware that is on there devices. I think all companies should adopt this, at least from a business stand point. I would be a little mad at the companies that did this but i think in the end I would cave.
You know? Back in 1998 I recall saying that there was no way a first-person shooter would be worth a damn on a console ...unless there were a way to plug in a keyboard, a mouse, and a means to get some keyboard bindings together. And yet, folks seemed to get on just fine with consoles, enough to expand it well beyond anything it ever had before.
Same story here - I think they'll get on just fine as they are, since a PSP or DS can't do everything that an iPod Touch can do (let alone an iPhone), do it in that small of a form factor, with that level of graphics, all at the same time.
Also, let's think about this for a moment.
The main demographics for the DS and PSP are looking forward to one day graduating high school.
By contrast, the main demographic for the iPod Touch and iPhone doesn't need to ask mommy for cash before they get a new game for the thing. ;)
Its mostly teenagers that have the touch buddy. Most of them didn't pay for it themselves.
You mac users make it so hard to not follow the stereotype of "holier than thou" mac mentality.
Apparently most adults you know live in a cave if they have never heard of an iPhone or iPod touch.
My mom is not very computer savvy and know what an iPod touch is. The autistic children she teaches know what one is too. I plan to buy my own iPod touch once i get a job. I will pay for it, just like I pay for my phone. by myself.
Back to subject. 3rd party case esque controller. make it al la gameboy advance. the original one.
...and your evidence for this is based on... sheer assertion that goes against established facts? Umm, sure.
"Most adults I know don't even know what a Touch is. "
You live in the Ukraine or something, right? ;)
Lookit - I'm not going to bust your chops, but let's get real here. The majority of PSP and DS users are kids, pure and simple. The reason why is that the devices were built and marketed primarily as portable game platforms - something to keep little Johnny quiet and busy while mom drives him to soccer practice. The iPod Touch OTOH was built and marketed as a new-generation portable entertainment center (video, music, games, apps of all kinds, etc.) for folks of all ages, but it's usually the adults who buy them.
To be fair, the DS has been trying to break out of its self-imposed mold (ads featuring adults using it, games such as Brain Age, etc), but the majority of its market is still too young to drive, buy alcohol, buy smokes, etc. The PSP tried briefly to break out of the demongraphic (featuring young adults being cool while carrying or using one), but it too is still stuck. After all, the two devices have "grown-up" versions in the PS3 and (to a good extent) the Wii. It simply is what it is.
The iPod (touch included) is a bit more universal, given what it was built to do and how it was marketed.
It's pretty simple, really...
Then again, maybe the touch screen is just a gaming gimmick (*cough* Wii Remote) that, while entertaining for a while, will eventual lose it's novelty and require hard core gamers to return to the tried and true controllers.
Having said that, as a traditional gamer, I would whole-heartedly support a third party peripheral that would add buttons to the iPhone's gorgeous screen. Alas, the iControlPad looks as though it will be vaporware :(
OK, lets look at the title.
"Gaming Platform".....buying an Iphone...for gaming...??...doesn't sound rite does it.
Now lets say someone does buy it for gaming....what in the world does steve jobs thinks powers his Ipod's.....NVIDIA???..
And that's exactly what i said...people won't buy the touch for gaming..so it makes no sense for steve jobs to try to say the touch was better than the ds or psp.
Personally, I'm content with a keyboard and mouse to get the job done, and can't stand using a console controller. That said, I'm not going to sit around and proclaim that it's impossible to play it in ways other than my preference, y'know?
I agree buttons would be nice, but the on screen controls are getting better. I'm playing madden as we speak(type).
LOL
The DS' growing library full of random little kid games and lame graphics
The PSP has better graphics but they haven't really come out with anything good for it plus it has a long load time for most games and can lag while in game
I just got Resident Evil 4 for the touch and I can't put it down, it has smooth graphics and it even gave me a few scares and chills on the very first level. If they start making games like that, than apple dominates in the market.
- by donsynstelien September 9, 2009 7:06 PM PDT
- Um. Author... I think that the proof is in the numbers of games sold and you appear blind to them. If the iPod is no gaming system, then the XBox, PSP, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii are all in the same boat.
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- by carbine68 September 10, 2009 9:28 AM PDT
- Agreed.
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (72 Comments)In your opinion, my box of tabletop "games" are apparently not games. My cards? Not games. Let go of your button fetish, you will not miss it.