Decaflon Thread: The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:20:03

I only hope you are right and if so mad points on me.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

ebernet — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:25:41

How can I be sure? I cannot, but assume consistency. Currently, Apple is unique in that you do NOT lose ringtones, music, etc. unlike other phones.
Games purchased on one machine for the iPod can be moved to another
Applications are wrapped with fairplay and encoded to your account, so no worry about them being given to another user
Updates are automatically pushed to you once you purchase an app
Since all those things are the case, why would you lose an app when you switch phones? I don't lose any of that when I switch an ipod or lose any of the exisiting purchased services when I switch an iPhone. Again, I assume things to continue the way they are rather than change to a model that Apple does not currently follow.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:32:36

How can you be sure? Have you read that is how it will work with Apps you buy from the App Store?

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

ebernet — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:18:20

Just like when you buy music over the iPhone, the apps get synched back to the desktop. What made any of you think you would lose music/apps with an iPhone? This is a problem with the OTHER phone platforms, not with the iPhone....

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:03:56

Well when we look back at the launch of iPhone 2 we will see what it is classified as. Being a phone it will always be considered a phone first, but that won't take away the potential it has a gaming platform. Because you can play games, listen to music and watch videos will definitely turn enterprises off because I'm sure not many companies will enjoy what their employees are doing with their enterprise devices.

Then again Blackberry seems to be on their way to adding the same capabilities.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

fuscom — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:54:39

I think it would better to classify it more as a next generation multimedia device. Tying it directly to a gaming system label pretty much kills the in-roads to the enterprise. However, if you look at the possibilities w/mobile presentations and training in addition to gaming and then you have something.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:53:22

Good point so are we going along with the line of thinking they will do computer lock-in instead like they do with music? You can authorize your iPod to only one computer (I might be wrong on this one) and if you get music from another computer it erases them?

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Mike — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:32:10

Apple has said that certain downloads that are larger than 10MB will need to be made at your computer and then side-loaded into your iPhone, so I see no reason why you can't "deauthorize" your old iPhone and "authorize" a new iPhone once you have it, just like you can do to iPods and music purchased via the iTunes Music Store. I really don't think there will be a lock-in scenario.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:24:41

This is a current problem with Java games on cellphones. There is no buy once, play for life. You have to keep on buying the games if you wish to play them, but I can see Apple going around this with the App Store and hopefully they do.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Tyme — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:53:01

I had no idea the iPhone stacked up this well against the other portables. I just has a thought about the gaming. The Super Mario game is $9.99, which is a good price point. Purchase 10 more games like that, a person has sunk $100 into the phone.

Upgrade the phone, the $100 is lost.

Pictures, messages, email, etc. can be exported if someone upgrades their phone. Even ringtones and wallpapers can be exported on some phones. With this, it is an investment that leads to a dead end.

Imagine if you have a battery problem with the phone, they replace it. Now, a replacement would make most people happy - problem solved. On the 3G phone if someone invested money with games, invested time in the games (which is more important than money), if the phone has to be replaced can the games be ported with you? Or your calendars? Or all these wonderful apps that are being created?

I'm not saying Apple shouldn't go in this direction - it's brilliant. I can see people hesitating to switch phones because they don't want to lose their games lol.

The Next Great Gaming Platform: Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch

Scrivs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:00:24

By now you have read about Apple's iPhone 3G announcement and maybe even decide dto start putting aside money to quench the bloodthirsty AT&T beast, but are you willing to devote your effort into making the iPhone the gaming platform of the future? When we think of the iPhone (and herein the iPod Touch as well) we think about a great WiFi device with some slick functionality. Not until Apple announced the App Store in March though were we aware of the potential of this platform.

This is what makes the iPhone such a big deal. It isn't just a smooth device, but a full-fledged platform that many developers will get behind. In 2007 they sold 4 million iPods and if you follow the example of the gaming industry, you know that developers flock to the platforms with large install bases. This is why Sony hasn't been releasing as many platform-exclusive titles as they are known for because Nintendo and Microsoft have bigger audiences.

Looking at the iPhone as a device you have the touchscreen capabilities of Nintendo's DS along with the motion controlled interactivy of Nintendo's Wii. Both are considered the most popular devices in their market and Apple has combined them into one device probably without even trying. This is what makes the iPhone platform so dangerous is that Apple wasn't planning (at least not showing signs of it currently) of entering the gaming market, they just happened to have the device and tools to allow them to do so now.

With Apple planning on selling over 10 million iPhones this year, that gives developers a platform with the type of reach that any gaming platform would consider a success especially when you consider the Xbox 360 just recently hit the 10 million console milestone. Add to that, developers don't have to worry about distribution through traditional means since they can simply upload their game to the App Store and allow Apple to handle payment processing and distribution.

This works similar to Microsofts Xbox Live Arcade which has been extremely popular with developers who don't have big budgets to produce epic titles such as GTA IV, Halo or Gears of War. However it works even better than Xbox Live because you can add games at the touch of a button and buy them from the same place that you already buy your movies and music. The Apple monopoly is about to grow stronger.

Now I am not trying to suggest that the iPhone is going to damage Nintendo's market because parents aren't going to buy a $200 phone for a kid when their is a gaming device meant for them that offers the games they want. But how many of us play games on our phone when waiting around in an office or restaraunt? Phone gaming is the casual market that Nintendo has been going after with the Wii and now Apple is primed to become the mobile casual gaming platform of the future without developing a single game themselves.

If you are unsure of the iPhone as a gaming platform because the hardware behind it keep these numbers in mind:

Sony PSP
- Processor: MIPS CPU @ 222 or 333MHz (selectable)
- Screen: 480x272 pixels
- Input: D-pad, analog stick
Nintendo DS
- Processor: two ARM CPUs (67MHz and 33MHz)
- Screen: two 256x192 pixel screens
- Input: D-pad, touch-screen
iPhone (not sure if the iPhone 3G changes these specs)
- Processor: ARM CPU @ 620MHz
- Screen: 480x320 pixels
- Input: multitouch, accelerometer

Thanks to iPod Hacks for the numbers.

Now these numbers caught me off-guard more than they probably did you, but looking at specs alone the iPhone is a beast. The differentiating factor of course here is what kind of games can be produced with the limited input mechanism. Some games simply need a D-pad or analog stick so you have to figure that is a restriction developers will be fighting against. However, some of the greatest applications and games have come about exactly because of the restrictions being displayed here. Add to that the fact you can use OpenGL on the iPhone and you have a mobile platform that is capable of playing the games that developers have already been producing for years. Let's not forget the amount of storage on these devices and the gaming possibilties become even broader.

Of course none of this makes any sense without some great games being made, but you have to figure a good number of developers will now turn their attention to the iPhone platform and start producing the type of games that they have dreamed about doing for the mobile market. You already have a great development platform with Xcode and the iPhone SDK so jumping in right away to start developing is not something game companies have to worry about. With the release of iPhone 2 and its inclusion of enterprise support Apple has already created the mobile platform that is most relevant to consumers and business owners and in doing so have also opened the door in making them the next competitor in the mobile gaming market.

And they didn't even have to try.