Here, I talk about getting an Ipad for gaming from a user perspective... http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=314528 However, I'd like to hear from devs about their views of supporting iPad, and if things have changed over the years. From what I knew, the Ipad was a big enough market to support on its own. Support as in you "optimize" for it. You do stuff like adding a combo of the following --a layout and resolution to support the full screen --extra content and/or features Either done through iOS universal app, or a version of your app that also supports Ipad (in which many places, they charge $1 to $5 more vs. the iPhone OS version). Nowadays, I hear that the work to optimize for Ipad is simply too much for not enough gain. With users wanting iOS universal, you can't really charge more to the Ipad users. Games that are Ipad only? Even more of a stretch, as it behooves you to gain access to the larger iPhone OS market as well.
It depends on what you mean by optimized. In current AppStore climate, you should make universal apps with responsive UI regardless, because as a developer you're already accounting for several iPhone aspect ratios and resolutions. Cover all your bases to capture as many sales as possible. There's a catch, though - iPad owners very often have a smartphone as well, so implementing cloud saves so players can play between devices is expected. It's not terribly complicated to support iCloud, so don't get frightened off (best practices). Apple always wants you to utilize whatever the new shiny iOS feature is, especially if that feature is device-specific. However, the days of Apple pushing for extra features for iPad as a platform are over. All Apple's devices are "HD" now and it's a well-established product line that has been losing relevance since the introduction of phablets. The current hotness is iPhone X feature support. I agree that iPad-only games are a mistake. The primary exception is with ports of PC games, where the iPad version is not your only source of revenue and the UI is dense enough that putting it on a phone isn't viable without a complete redesign. Depending on your resources, that might not be an option. Good luck!
I think it really depends on the type of game. If it is a driving or combat/FPS (or even Oceahorn type RPG, etc) game, then it's ridiculous to go Ipad-only. But if you go for a bulky boardgame (with lots of small texts on cards for example) or BG-type RPG, then playing on anything other than an Ipad is crazy. I know "phablets" are a current trend, and they could mainly be good because you don't have to have 2 gadgets, but even so, an Ipad is an Ipad.
