First off, I love playing my ipod touch games. Games like Peggle, CoD: Zombies, Canabalt, I could go on forever, are a blast. The ability to use the tilt feature and virtual joystick and buttons is very unique. However, I can't help but think to myself: Imagine if they could create a peripheral with actual usable buttons? It would take the iphone/ipod touch as a gaming device to the next level. As for the practicality of how it would work, something like this (http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/12/iphone_game_grip12092009.jpg) but with usable buttons would be a start. Maybe I'm just trying to turn a casual gaming device into a hardcore one, but if they did this...wow, imagine the possibilities... [Update: Oops, wrong forum, please forgive!]
here's my idea for an ipod controller add on thingy. perhaps instead of a dpad, there could be A and B buttons, or a joystick WHO KNOWs?!? but yeah i suck at paint, so please. EDIT: yikes, sorry for such a huge picture. my bad.
Hmmm, I don't think the iPhone/iPod Touch needs an extra controller. I think it is fine the way it is. I mean, try to imagine playing a FPS with buttons. It is much better with a touch screen as you can move your finger around like a mouse. For example the PSP is crap for FPS games, unlike the iPhone. Also racing games are better because there is the option of accelerometer steering, which is more immersive than using a D-pad for example.
Sevral jailbrake emulators have bluetooth support for the wiimote. It's an existing product that works and is cheap.
Adding a peripheral controller kind of defeats the point, you might as well just get a DS or something.
No, no, and no. A mouse you can control perfectly on a 2D plane. Your mouse isn't covering the portion of a screen where the player that's about to put 20 clips in your chest is hiding. But if I really want to play an FPS, I'll play on my 360. If I can't, eh, NOVA, while not perfect (sniping in it is kinda cumbersome), works.
Yeah, for FPS a touchscreen is certainly a worse solution then dual analog sticks which in turn is not as great as a keyboard and mouse. You can get a surprising amount of versatility out of a touchscreen but in most cases physical controls are going to be far better.
Wanting to play games with buttons is the reason other platforms exist. They're all filling different corners of the market, if every platform did the exact same thing there wouldn't be any room for innovation and the App Store would never have taken off in the way it did.
Nobody is saying the trade offs of gaming on a device without physical controls isn't worth it, just that in most cases it's not the ideal control scheme for certain genres of games. I certainly don't mind virtual dual stick games or tilting the device around for a racing game but the difference between using those methods and buttons is night and day.
Well I disagree. As long as you have the sensitivity turned up to high, and the controls are placed to the side of the screen, then there is no problem (unless you have fat fingers )
It's not a bad idea but to me technology for the iPhone or iTouch needs some improvements before I could ever consider going hardcore with a controler like that. Maybe in the future though.
i posted earlier but thought to join this, i think that apple should let this happen, since the games are evolving into really good for what they i think they need some more in terms of controls. while i guess they work i find they ruin the game, i got cod zombies right and was like yeah cool but he whole time was frustrated with the controls. again with N.O.V.A i was playing the game is so friggin good especially to be played on an mp3 player yet i felt i couldnt enjoy it since my finger was covering the screen most of the time this is what id want (although more refined) and it would be i keeping with apples sleek look. id totally pay upto 100 bucks for an external controller (provided it was good)
