I'm curious to know how you all think apple should respond to the next gen handheld gaming consoles. Nintendo has a proven history of success with the DS and the 3DS seems to be an interesting device. The upcoming PSP2 or 'NGP' seems to be a real powerhouse and a hardcore gamers dream come true handheld. I'd love to think that the iOS will continue to get a growing platform of quality games like Dead Space, but these new platforms seem to be much more well suited to deep hardcore games that can sell at a high price. For me, I'm no longer interested in spending that amount of money on another handheld device that has $40-$50 games. Im pretty happy with what the iOS platform has been offering, although I would love to see the platform continue to grow and thrive with quality titles.
I'll add that It seems like the NGP has really raised the bar on the quality and horsepower of a handheld gaming device. This is going to make for a stellar gaming experience for sure, although it completely foregoes one of the most important things to me - portability. This thing aint gonna fit in anyones pants pockets, nore can it come evern close to the iphone's other capabilities! I think apple needs to do 3 things to truly compete and not become a trash bin of cheap .99 games. 1- Continue to increase horsepower (Im sure they'll continue to do this, and it's already speculated that the next gen iphone and ipad will get a sagnificant increase) 2 - Give the iOS gamers some kind of option or device with physical buttons!!!!!! with the amount of $$ they make on games i'm baffled why they wouldn't give us what we want. 3 - Fix the 'dive to the bottom' pricing structure and anarchy of the app store. We need a section dedicated to QUALITY FULL FEATURED games that can successfully sell for $20-30 or more.
The iPhone five will have two A4 processors based on the A9 architecture that can be safely clocked to 1.2 GHz, but it's doubtful Apple will do that for battery reasons. They will also have the same GPU as the NGP in a two or four core version, so the iPhone will be equal or close to the NGP by the next generation.
Yea the NGP looks good, its thin & its quad core (wtf), but one thing I doubt is if this will sell, the PSP GO basically messed up the PSP line & why does a gaming device need all this stuff. When I saw the specs I thought about a phone or a good computer, they didn't need an accelerometer or a gyro scope or a GPS & 3g for what these stuff they added are not needed & most people don't want these features for a gaming platform except to show off.
i comepletely agree with all those points but they should also increase the battery life a lot and add a premium store
I do not think that it is in Apple's interest to compete with the dedicated mobile console market. I am not expecting them to be changing their strategy. They will try to up their hardware game against other smartphone devices, but that's about it. Apple could try selling a "Pro" model of the iPhone or iPad with quad core chips, if there's demand for it.
Scotty You are not going to get Star Trek type gaming devices in your lifetime! However the Iphone is the beginning of tech magic. I am sure the US Military have stuff light years beyond Iphone but lets face it, We aint gonna see it!
Apple should do nothing. Sony and Nintendo are pursuing a different market, the so called "hardcore/dedicated" gamer. Apple has gained a foothold with the casual gamer, and I don't think that will change. There's not really anything Apple can do to steal the dedicated gamer away from Sony and Nintendo. The tech itself means little, unless third-party devs are motivated enough financially to do what is neccessary in order to maximize said tech. The software is never truly going to catch up with the hardware when it comes to iOS development. While there is money to be made in iOS game development, there just isn't ENOUGH money to be made. Major developers/publishers will continue to invest monetarily in Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, much more so than Apple, because, simply put, the grass is much greener over there. 82 major developers have already signed on with Sony. Apple can never hope to approach that. 82 Indie devs, yes. 82 major devs, forget it. But Sony and Nintendo will never be able to compete with Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja, and Angry Birds. So Apple will always have its place, as the king of the .99c app/game.
They shouldn't respond to the next gen portable game systems, because they don't have to. Why? Because Apple doesn't make portable game systems, they are not in the portable game system market, and are not in direct competition with portable game systems. iOS is a mobile platform in the mobile platform market. I know here on toucharcade we're all gamers, and so we seem to think that everyone who owns an iOS device uses it for gaming, either solely or primarily, but this is NOT the case. In fact, we're just a percentage of the iOS consumer market. So why, then, should Apple put in physical game controls if only a percentage of the market would put them to use? Are gamepads shipped with every PC or MAC sold? No. Why? Because only a percentage of the personal computer consumer market plays games. It's a large percentage, but it isn't everyone. Same deal with mobile platforms like iOS devices, which again are NOT game systems (they are not dedicated solely or primarily to game software). Only a percentage of the market would use those controls, so why have everyone else pay for that? Apple doesn't have to respond to NGP or 3DS. They have to respond to upcoming Android offerings and WM7 offerings and whatever HP has cooked up for the Palm brand.
Some Thoughts I understand the desire to be state of the art and continuously update the hardware; however to answer the original question: I think Apple needs to maintain some sort of strategy wherein if a customer purchases an IPod Touch 3rd Gen it will still be able to play the newest games for at least 1-3 years. They have to make a commitment to the platform. If every year they are releasing new devices whose software does not support the older devices - how viable a gaming platform can it become? Same with the IPad. I purchased the original Ipad and almost returned it because the day after I bought it there was the announcement from Apple regarding the imminent release of the IPad 2. I decided to keep the IPad because the new features (cameras?) just do not seem interesting to me. Apple could make a hugely successful game system. Just stick to a platform for a few years...
I too would like to see an Apple approved game controller. It is the only way to get something standard enough for mass adoption. Several genres are too compromised by the touch screen. Part of the problem is the varying sizes of devices, so it would be difficult to get something to one design. Bluetooth devices would solve that, but then you are no longer holding the device, which isn't great either.
Apple should do what they are doing. This device will sell no better than the previous one. When developers figure out it cost just as much to develop for as the PS3, they will abandon it.
There isn't much way to respond except bumping up the power, and maybe adding a bit of accessories. Maybe the new iPod could have a 3G/4G connection to compete with the mobile age of gaming. They could also come up with a cheaper price to balance the massive horsepower of the NGP.
I think Sony has completely nailed it to be honest I expect the next gen iphones will probably be about roughly half the power of the PSP2 which is still substantial but because of their size and battery limits will never be able match it. Casual games will still go to apple mostly but real games with depth and graphics NGP is going to be the portable of choice. Anyone else think NGP is really short for Nintendo gets pwned.
Apple's market is Indie devs making games like Cut the rope and Angry Birds for a casual mobile audience who just want to make swipe gestures on a touch screen. Nintendo and Sony's markets are hardcore gamers who want the feedback buttons give and games made by developers who are pouring millions into their games for a full 3D and polished experience. Currently everyone who owns an iPhone is cheap and wont pay must above a couple quid for a game. So developers wont be poring millions into each game because they wont make any profit. Where as games for the 3DS and PSP2 will be like 40-60 and can sell much less to make massive profit. The iPhone is a casual all in one experience and will never be a serious gaming machine until it gets buttons and the attitude of people on the app store changes. That will never happen though because if anything Apple want to dumb down the experience even more and get rid of all buttons because they believe people are too stupid to know how to use them. Even though they're the most natural thing in the world seeing as we all grew up with a remote control for the TV lol. Saying that I believe the PSP2 will flop like the PSP and the 3DS will be another Nintendo hit. Sony's market are the people who are switching to Smart Phones and don't want more than one device in their pockets. Smart phones offer the all in one device and the PSP2 isn't that and it's so big that you probably can't fit it in a normal persons pocket. Nintendo's market is like the family and kids who don't care for a mobile. So they always sell well because mums get them for their kids who like to play Pokemon and that. Also Nintendo have a dedicated fanbase and the Japanse love them... not to mention 3D is the in thing right now and seen as the future where as the PSPs 2D screen is a thing of the past.
What should Apple do? Exactly what they have done since the iPhone 3G. You have to remember the iPhone came first and gaming only took off after the success of the App Store. The iPhone does everything, the PSP2 only has to focus on gaming. You should expect the PSP2 to be able to provide a better gaming experience as that is it's intention. Sometimes we forget that the iPhone is in fact a phone, that's how good it can be as a gaming system.
