Nintendo is currently the king of console and handheld gaming. Despite boasting notably less powerful hardware than its competitors in both areas, Nintendo’s own brand of unique innovation–the touchscreen in the case of the handheld DS and the “Wii-mote" in the case of the Wii–has given the company an impressive come-from-behind victory and placed their consoles on top.
Nintendo’s luck may well be about to change, however. There’s a new kid on the handheld gaming block, a company who a few years ago also came back from behind in a rather impressive fashion: Apple.
During Monday’s World Wide Developer Conference keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be further demonstrating, and possibly launching, the iTunes App Store. This one-stop-shop will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to download games and other apps with a simple swipe of the finger across a clean and friendly interface. From anywhere. It’s a far cry from the unwieldy process of downloading apps on any other handheld device out there today.
Combine this seamless distribution model with beefy gaming hardware–a CPU that’s over six times the combined clockspeed of the DS’s processors (and nearly twice the clockspeed of the PSP’s) and a screen with 50% more area than that of the DS’s dual screens combined–and you’ve got a winner, right? Forbes points out that, beyond all this, it may actually be the very things that put Nintendo on top that will enable Apple to steal their gaming crown.
…Apple is the first to master a pair of tricks that have made Nintendo’s latest products so compelling–a touch-screen interface and the ability to pick up on motion. The key difference: Unlike Nintendo, which has created a gaming console with a motion-sensitive controller and a touch-sensitive handheld gaming system, Apple has crammed both capabilities into its iPhone and iPod Touch.
It may come as a bit of a shock, but iPhone and iPod touch users, you may well be carrying around the ultimate game console in your hip pocket.
The constant thump moving the block around seems like it'll be irritating, but it looks like a good diversion, especially if it has 80 levels and progresses in a difficult manner throughout. The price seems decent, too.
Man, it sucks that the app has gotten such a low review at the actual app store. Apparently at one time the title included the price, which caused it to list at the top of the directory. This created a huge backlash and probably 80% of the reviews are that of angry app junkies who haven't even tried the game, but instead choose to berate the developer for trying to "cheat the system" and "cut in line." Kind of sad, really.
I'd like to see the app rating reflect the quality of the actual game, not something as arbitrary and meaningless as a bunch of disgruntled waffle eaters throwing a poo-fest cause it seems like the cool thing to do.
Hmm, nice concept, that thump sound seems like it could be annoying after a while (maybe a softer sound and have the phone vibrate as an option, if it doesn't already).
After watching the first two levels, especially the 2nd, it wasn't so appealing as it reminds me of having to navigate and move furniture in tight places. Like figuring out how to get a couch into a room, stand it up this way, back it up into that room so we can turn it, twist it that way, etc, which as you know, isn't pleasant.
But further levels look a little more complicated, challenging you in different ways.
@Jeron Moore:
I think it's great that the app got such a low score - trying to 'work the system' by naming your app in such a way as to have it appear before everyone else's is pretty lame. While I love the app (I beat the JB version and am just getting started on this one) I think the developer absolutely deserves the crap score (just like those Jirbo clowns - I swear, I'd rather chuck my shiny new iPhone 3G out the window than have any of that Jirbo garbage installed!!) ... Anyway, a great game. :)
Like the game, hate the sound. Turn it off and listen to music and you're all good. I was expecting the puzzles to not be as good as the ones in Bloxors, but they're pretty decent... the difficulty per level is definitely not linear though.
I would love to see more levels in the next update