When I first got my iPod, I thought of it as a media device with the addition of a few games. After the tremendous growth of iPod/iPhone gaming and the app store however, I now use and think of it more as a gaming device.
Hmm...lots of votes for the iPod Touch as a gaming device. I guess that's what Apple markets it as. More voters!!!
Well I definetly play more games than listen to music or watch videos... so i'm going with gaming device.
Technically it's a Music device with gaming capabilities but most users now treat it as a gaming device with music capabilities.
Yeah, I bet if you go on a forum dedicated to just Apple or just the iDevice in general it would be a bit more unbiased.
Music + Screen + Internet = Why I got it Games are just a plus. I can't legitly call it a gaming device because that's really not what it is. It isn't a dedicated gaming console. Even if they had amazing game in the AppStore, my statement still hold true. It's just a media player, and a damn sexy one at that.
People don't really realize that "word" games and "puzzle" games really don't constitute "gaming". The iPhone is incapable of being a "gaming" device because of the way it is. It is non dedicated, has a horrible set of controls, and many other things that keep it from being a real "gaming" device. Sure, I like many other play more games than listen to music. But I don't play games more than I do many other things, such as use Mail, IM, and other things. It isn't a gaming device at all. It can play games, sure, but are they real games that can even come close to the DSi, and unfortunately the PSP? No.
I consider mine, first, as a PDA to organize my life...etc. It is better now that quickoffice is out. Then, I am a musician, so I listen to music. Finally, I also like to play some games I actually have many of them.
for me it's first off an internet device, then an email device, then a games device. i dont use it for video or music.
I'd say you're the one lacking in the realization department. Puzzle games have been a legit genre of the video game industry for years. The only ones that would deny this are those raised on the teet of Playstation. That's why it isn't a gaming device or system but a mobile platform, one that is viable for games. Just about everything you mentioned, btw, applied to PC as a viable platform for games. And DON'T argue that PCs are "game systems", because I will inundate you with the history of the platform, and the whys and hows of it NOT being a game system. Again, correct. It isn't dedicated primarily to game software. It is a mobile platform. One that has become viable for games much as PCs did once upon a time. But neither are gaming devices as they were not dedicated primarily to such software when designed. Hate to break it to you, junior, but games are games are real games. Every game on this platform falls within an already defined genre within the game industry. The genres, btw, were developed decades ago in most cases. Are they portable game system style games? No. It's not a portable game system. It's a mobile platform. There's a distinct difference. You should view mobile platforms now as one viewed PC as a platform decades ago when it became viable for game development and playing said games. Many of the same exact "points" you bring up applied to that platform segment once upon a time, and is the basis, btw, of why even now the game industry makes a distinction between the home video game console market and the market for games on PC.
Wow, close poll. The iPod Touch was made to be a media device ('iPod', hint, hint). Although it does seem that it is becoming a games console to many people including me (well, my iPhone is). And I disagree with anyone that says that the iPhone: A- can't be a gaming device because the controls don't work (since when did you ever need 2 analogue sticks and 10 buttons to play tetris?) Also, other, better games work well, i.e - 2XL supercross, Wolfenstein 3D, BIA, Hero of Sparta etc, there are plenty more. B- Doesn't have te power to handle high quality gaming with advanced graphics. I have 2 words to say to them: '2XL SUPERCROSS'. And many excellent games, that will be BETTER than the PSP are on the way. So yeah, the iPod Touch/iPhone is essentially a media device, However, since the launch of the App store it is becoming a gaming device for some people. But the beauty of the device is it lets you chose what you want out of it.
It's a mutimedia device. It can play mp3s, mp4s, ipas, check your mail, browse the web, etc. etc... Ipas don't have to be games either. There's more to the app store than games... IMO, anybody who puts gaming first on their iPod hasn't really began to use the majority of features on it.
For what it's worth, I have an iPhone. I got mine to be a phone/PDA first and everything else second. Does anyone even say PDA anymore?
I suppose I could be considered a hardcore gamer (WoW, RTS, shooters on PC. Everything else on console) and I really enjoy my iPod touch. The iPod touch and iphone are a little more "internet tablet" than game device (PSP games are great but all the other features suck. The psp's browser as an example is flat out unusable) but some really great games have come out on the device anyway and some are games that IMO couldn't be done on a DS or PSP unless they are drastically redesigned.
