I just don't get it. I am playing lots of iPhone games on my iPad in 2x resolution, and obviously I consider that acceptable even though things are "out of whack". It would be better, not worse, if I had the same scaling but with improved graphics. Why can't you do that?
We are doing exactly that with Go Native!... but that is because we have no plans to make an iPad specific or universal version. Since we had the retina graphics, we just added the ability to see those graphics on your iPad in 2x mode.
That's something I noticed (and really appreciated) that the developer of Trainyard did, and one of the reasons I went on to buy his full version. Just that small touch is very appreciated by an iPad owner like me. Even just upgrading the graphics to iPhone 4 graphics on the iPad makes a dramatic impact. —When games are scaled up, they're just barely playable. But when it's displaying the retina graphics, it makes it 90% an iPad game. So it's just that little touch, but it makes a huge difference. Only thing that does concern me when developers do this is I fear they're missing out on iPad owners not seeing the game. On the iPad App store, you're shown only iPad & Universal apps and it requires some digging to find iPhone apps. So while you might be supporting iPad owners with retina graphics in 2x mode, a lot of them may not see your app. A solution to this could be following what the Pocket Frogs devs did, where they went the same 'retina-graphics-on-iPad approach', but they added a graphical border for the remaining 10% of pixels and released it as a Universal app. Meaning the app appeared in both iPhone and iPad charts. It is not the best solution, as you still get bigger buttons than necessary, and you do miss some of the other abilities the iPad's larger touchscreen offers. But if you're not doing an iPad app but you're still making retina graphics, it's definitely better than basic 2x mode. So thanks!
itt what? well i personaly don't see much of a benefit for a "retina" version of an game on the ipad.. i rahter have a native version or a universal build. an optimized gui would be great to take the screen estate into account.. from developer perspective.. such version can be even dangerous to your ipad sales if you have such an version.. for example you price it higher due to whatever reason you have.. and people stick to the iphone version.. at the end there would be a reason why apple didnt included that function automatically.. what i find interesting is what id is currently doing with rage.. have an sd version for 3g/3gs and a hd version for retina/ipad devices. this would also allow to compile for the new a4 processors instead being compatible with the old devices.
So you're going to make something that you know provides an inferior value to your customer just to save a little work? As a developer I find that point of view profoundly disappointing. As a consumer, it means no sale.
since when is being universal some indicator for great success? if a developer puts alot of work into an iphone app and then puts alot of work into optimizing it for the ipad why should he not sell it seperatly? at the end the ipad and the iphone are two different platforms with their own customer base. a huge part of the ios user out there are teens who are using ipod touches. the number or customer who have an ipodtouch/iphone and a ipad is slim. and if someone is able to pay for two ios devices i can't see what the problem is with buying seperate versions for your different devices. there is already so much flexibility with app on ios devices, you can for example buy the game once and have it on several devices without the need to rebuy it.. try that with other software or games on different platforms etc. at the end the problem is not the "greedy" developer... most deloper earn barley nothing from the appsotre its the "cheap" customers.. if you like an app on iphone and want it for ipad, go buy the ipad version.. support the evelopers.. if you don't want to you don't need to.. go back into your closet and continue moaning...
Enough double dipping!!!!! I am the owner of both an iPad and an iphone 4, and love both devices, but I have to say, nothing makes me more frustrated than having to buy both versions of a game when there is no difference between the two. This I will refer to as double dipping. As an iPad owner it feels like I am being punished or something. Look at Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus. The only difference between the two is the screen resolution. Why couldn't this game be universal? Why do I have to pay twice for the same game? To me, when I am in the app store, I look for universal games specifically, and feel more inclined to purchase if they are universal. Some say if you can afford both, you can afford to buy the same damn app twice. To that I say this. The iPad is expensive, and so is the iPhone 4. Maybe if the hardware was cheaper, I would have more money left over to buy the same app twice, but as is, I would rather buy universal builds. Come on devs, throw us pad users a bone already. Thank you in advance
I think you really should be complaining to Apple, not the developers. I think most developers who publish two versions would be happy to give the iPhone version free to anyone who buys the iPad version. Or to give a discount on the iPad version to anyone who already owns the iPhone version. The obstacle is just that Apple doesn't support such arrangements. This would get you what you want, without creating extra work for developers who have to bundle the two together, deal with download size limits, etc.
I have an iPhone and an iPad. Universal support is one of the many factors that I consider when I make a purchasing decision. To be honest, though, there are not too many games that I use regularly on both devices. Usually one form factor or another is ideal, and that is the platform that I use. I will buy an app on both platforms if it makes sense to do so, but I am much less likely to buy the app at all in that scenario. I think it is up to each individual developer to consider how his or her users' purchasing decision will be affected by the Universal vs. two versions decision, and how it affects the value proposition of the app. There are so many different ways to provide value to users, that I don't think there is really a cut and dried answer here.
Hehe you quote it the wrong way pal.. What you say is most ipad owner have an iphone But that doesnt mean most iphone owner have an ipad. I hope you see the huge differences between thoose two. At the end the demographic user is quite different between a ipad user and an ipodtouch user for example. The ipad user usualy don't see their ipad as a gaming platform.. Its a multilmedia platform. They read books, browse the net, watch movies on it and sometimes they play a game. This all is more comfortable on the bigger screen. So the usage is quite different and so it the buying habit. I have one ipad app in the store which is ranked higher than the iphone version, but due to the lack of visibility, because sub categorie ranking means jack on the ipad i have roughly 1/10 of the iphone sales. As long as apple dont change the way the ipad appstore is presented an ipad version of a game is always secondary even if i personaly think the ipad version is better. Currently all 3 projects im workin on are first iphone only, because the ipad market is not compareable to the iphone one.. And its a pretty clear calculation.. If the iphone version returns money an ipad version may be doable. and the volume of the ipad is one of the reasons why ipad games are priced higher. this is normal if you consider the sales of thoose devices.. they are what 40 millions iphones/touches against 4 million ipads? something along that line.. at the end its what the market wants.. and the markets are not single users who have both devices.. thats the sad truth.. give the ipad time.. its a young device and the market will change... in 2 years with the ipad 3 everything will look different..
What you asserted is that the number of people who have both iPhone and iPad is "slim". But Apple has sold about 10 million iPads. If most of those people are iPhone owners, then there are indeed a whole lot of people who have both iPhone and iPad. If making a separate iPad version appeals to people who only have an iPad, while making a universal version appeals to people who have both iPad and iPhone, and there are considerably more of the latter than the former, then that would seem to make the latter a more attractive approach.
thoose numbers a different http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/18/apple-sells-14-1-million-iphones-ipad-sales-disappoin/ at the end it is a different demographics.. for example who are you? what is your job? what is your income? do you own a ipad and an iphone4? if yes thoose both exceed hardware costs of 1000$ ... do you play regular? do you play on both platforms? etc. etc. etc. at the end the ipad is not a home console.. its is more.. and because it it used more widely it is used less for gaming.. that also means less sales for games.. pretty easy logic.. sure an universal build is optimal for the customers.. but it is the worst choice for developers.. and thats not the fault of the developer.. its just the crappy visibility on the ipad appstore.. for example show me the #75 strategie game on the ipad.. its not possible.. on the iphone appstore it is.. so if you are interested in stategie games you can browse that subcategorie.. that makes a huge difference in visibility.. but the fact is there are alot fewer ipad apps, in some ipad subcategories there wouldnt even be 100 products to fill the ranks.. possible this is a reason why they did how they did it.. its just guessing. at the end the market will regulate itself.. if universal build will rocket up the charts.. developer will adopt of they want to stay in business. if not then.. well not
I am independently wealthy. I'm hardly a typical customer so extrapolating from my position isn't likely to be useful. We were discussing HD apps vs. universal apps. Obviously, neither one matters if you don't have an iPad at all. Among people who do have iPads (the only ones who matter for this discussion), a large number of them also have iPhones and so that gives them a reason to prefer universal apps over separate HD apps (which force them to choose one, or the other, or pay twice). If Apple made the app store more flexible so that developers could sell the iPhone version and HD version together for one price, a lot of this would be moot. But you can't say "the market will regulate itself", because the choices that Apple makes in how they design and operate the market, have a huge impact.
everyone adopts to the market even apple.. if all ipad user would like to use only universal apps because then they are compatible with their mobile devices, then its up to them.. if the top sellers on the ipad would be all universal app and you see a clear trend of customer bevahoir catering for them.. developers will follow the money.. most are here to make money.. if hobbiiest or serious developers.. they are all here to make money in the first place.. so the biggest out there is you, the customer.. you guys are millions, how many developers where there? 10-20k. but the wallet needs to talk.. this time being vocal doesn't on the (german) ipad charts i see one univeral app in the top10.. in the top20 its 3 ... i see alot of known "faces" from the iphone.. with their "special" ipad version (always priced higher) ... and well thats the way it works at the moment.
If you are claiming that developers and users will all act in exactly the same way, regardless of how Apple structures the market they participate in, then I just disagree. I don't think that's very logical, and I think there are obvious reasons why the structure of the market affects the decisions that publishers and buyers make. There are several different reasons to make a universal app, one of which is to give people who have both iPhone and iPad both versions for a single price. If Apple let publishers do that in another way, then the motivations would be different and so people would act somewhat differently.
from a developer standpoint there is not a single reason to make an universal app.. because the currently thoose thing apply 1) less visibility for universal app 2) more income with 2 different app 3) easier distribution especial for iphone versions (stupid 20mb limits) 4) the tiny market the ipad currently is and yes the customer is the driving force behind everything.. because you decide what you want to buy.. no one forces you to buy an ipad, an iphone, a non universal or a universal app.. you decide that on your own.. if no one buys there is no market.. and if no one buys something usualy the seller thinks of strategies to change that.. ad more value to the product? that invloves work.. lety try making it cheaper first etc. if someone earn comfortably his money why should he change..? at the end the universal build will be always a picky point people will debate over.. because there might be no good way todo it.. currently i'm thinking about different strategies for future products.. one possible solution for me would be to make an universal build that cost more and support all devices and a cheaper non universal build for mobile devices only. but at that point the ipad user will moan again that they need to pay more.. at least the vocal ones will do that
