I know, and that's what I'm most disappointed about it. I have an iPod Touch 4, and I still have battery problems for larger games like Infinity Blade, even after going through measures to prolong my battery life (turn off WiFi when not in use, lower brightness, the usual). Even Angry Birds (while listening to my music) drains my battery quickly, which is to be expected with IB but not a simple and small game such as Angry Birds. I've heard the battery is much better on iProducts than on Android phones, so I'm at least happy for that.
So, I went through this whole thread and MAN what an emotional and different opinion encounter it is. That I like ! Ill try to add something to this discussion. This will be an opinion of a 27 year old guy that started his gaming adventure in primary school, played probably hundreds of games on different platforms (Atari 65XE, SNES, Sega Genesis, the first Game Boy, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1,2,3, Xbox 360, and PC of course), keeps himself updated with whats going on in gaming industry and even had a couple of articles published in one of the magazines (humbleness aside). Currently Im limiting myself to PC and iPhone games, I have a life you know, and games are just one of my many passions. PC because for me keyboard + mouse (and a steering wheel from time to time) is the best input way, it was always more suitable for me than a gamepad in any console I had. iPhone because I need a multifunctional device, phone + internet + multimedia + utility apps + games. Simple, stable and brilliant iOS that is like a tailored suit for iDevices and makes 100% use of the hardware inside + quality of the available apps, thats all I really need, and all in one device. And Im not what you call an iFan, I dont have a bitten apple logo fetish or anything like that. If companies like HTC, Nokia, LG or whatever would be able to give me a device that would be better in every single area (+ available software of course) than iDevice has to offer, I would be the first to change the system. But they cant do that, so iPhone is my device of choice. First of all saying that iPhone is criminally underrated as a gaming system is rather a big exaggeration. The fact is that iPhone is the main reason of Nintendo DS and PSPs sales collapse (around 50% down IS a big collapse). There are many reasons for that sales drop and I dont want to go OT to point out all of them. Facts are facts. Plus the vast amount of quality games, and sales of them going very often to millions of copies makes it hard to call it underrated, dont you think? And people shouldnt give any attention to the fact that it is ridiculed here and there because this device was getting the biggest amount of useless trolling I have ever seen, very often by people (and Ive met many of them in person) who have never even had and iDevice in the palm of their hand. The other problem is that you cant say that iPhone is a full-time gaming system, because it isnt. It is a smartphone, and games are one of the FEATURES that this device has. Brilliant feature I admit, but still it is not the main reason of its existence. Probably it would make more sense to call the rumored upcoming PSP Phone a gaming system, because apart from the obvious phone function it is a PSP a gaming machine made from the beginning for playing games. I will compare this situation with something else. I am a happy owner of a Canon 5D Mark II dslr, which has a nice feature shooting videos. Yes, the videos are good, the quality is ok, but it will never be as good in shooting videos as a full time video camera. Dslr is for shooting photos, shooting videos is a nice bonus. And with iPhone it is the same story. Many people say that touch controls is all they need. This is a matter of what games youve played. Yes, many games have brilliant touch controls and buttons are unnecessary and could make the game even worse, but there is a big group of games on iPhone that would be a much better gaming experience if we could play them using buttons. For example Im currently at the end of Crimson Gem Saga, it took me over 30 hours and my god how many times I was thinking I could really use buttons now Going through menus in this game is a joke and because of that I cant call it a great port. There are some attempts to fix the no-buttons problem for iDevices, like this > http://www.22moo.com.au/GameBone.html , but I think most of the devs will not be interested in making their games compatible with it, so problem not solved. When it comes to the subject of graphics, it is all a matter of taste and expectations. As I said before I started playing games in the early 90s, so for me great graphics is not a priority (the best games Ive played in my life are Elder Scrolls: Morrowind and Deus Ex, so games that doesnt look very fresh today). Some of you pointed out that we have brilliant looking, console quality games like Infinity Blade. Really? You call that a good argument? Yes, it has probably the best looking graphics on mobile device, but what about everything else? Where are all the other features that make the game a complete product? Exploration is limited, so is the replay value. Linear game that gets repetitive, it is more like a great tech demo. There isnt as many console quality, complete, deep games as it could be in the Appstore. Majority of the bestsellers are casual games the area that iPhone is doing the best job. It is great to have other, more complex games, and I do have many of them, but there are moments that remind me that Im playing on a phone and it lacks of that something, that only a full time portable gaming machine could give me. So for me iPhone is a great device to enjoy games, but with some obvious limitations in some areas it looses the battle with full time portable consoles. This is my humble opinion, which turned out to be quite long, for that Im sorry If you want to read more about the sales collapse google for it Here is a link to one of many articles. http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/10/05/14/nintendo.and.sony.see.handhelds.drop.61pc/ Sorry for any grammar mistakes btw.
The biggest problem with iOS games is that there are hardly any middle ground games - you have mostly the 99c game (very simple game) or the Gameloft clones/Real Racing affairs that cost a bit more. What I'm trying to point out is that you don't see any games types that have the same design flavour and production values of say a Megadrive/Snes game - I'm sure if there was a game like Donkey Kong Country on the iPhone with the same production it would do very well. Unfortunately the race to the bottom on pricing has destroyed the production of those games. Games like that cost money to make and developers are not willing to spend it because they know a large proportion of buyers will not spend 5dollars on games like that and will complain about the pricing. So really the App Store is really in a mess now with 99c games that have no replay value or the buyers are falling in the trap of Graphics Candy and buying more expensive just for nice graphics but still simple gameplay - Rage springs to mind. In a potential way these middle ground games are the type of games where developers make money and the buyers have a fuller rewarding game experience. But until some proper price structure happens then this will not happen. When I think back to the 8bit computers where games cost more (in the UK around 5 pounds) and the App Store of say 59p (UK comparisons) then things seem very wrong. If you were like a company with EAs finance behind them then it would be easy to take the App Store over. All they have to do is allocate a large chunk of money (some seed development), ramp up the quality of production to churn out a load of middle ground games. Then sell at 99c - these 99c games would be of higher quality than what we perceive a 99c game is. This would drive out the Indies because they cannot compete, then when EA have a large proportion of the App Store market they ramp up the prices. Then if anybody tries to do the same thing they put a sale on. For the Indies this means going back to the old business models and doing the work for hire for the bigger publishers. All I'm doing here is pointing out why the iOS platform is not considered as a true gaming platform - the only thing that is holding it back is the pricing structure on the App Store. Edit: I would like to add that if you are an Indie dev right now, then you should be worried about the pricing structure on the App Store - going 99c is a bad idea because it is destroying creativity and rewards. If you are a games buyer and complain about the pricing and at the same time complain that that are no games that give a fuller experience then you cannot have it both ways - you need to encourage the developers and reward them to make better games. If non of the pricing structure gets sorted then EA, Gameloft will take the App Store over - the Indie scene will collapse (no interesting ideas will happen) and the publishers will turn the App Store into a marketing wet dream of sequel after sequel of the same game and of course charge for it. There are companies like Firemint, who are self publishing now, and are doing very well at the moment... They will find it hard to compete with EA and the like because they have only produced 3 games so far. They don't have a large back catalog to do the sales ploy that the bigger publishers do. For instance when Real Racing 3 gets done then all the bigger publishers have to do is put a sale on for all their games that happen to be the racing game type. For instance Real Racing 2 has cost 2 million to make and is currently at 99 in the US charts - that's not very big sales numbers for that position but at 10dollars they need to get a user base of 200,000 to break even. But higher up in the charts is the Fast and Furious, selling at 99c, it's not making the same amount of money as Real Racing 2 but it is shifting more units and keeping RR2 down in the charts. Also Real Racing 2 was launched before Xmass to get the sales over the holidays but at the same time EA but on a massive sale over that period - launching a game over Xmass was a bad thing on sales for new games. I've used Firemint here as an example of a company perceived to be one of the best developers and what they faced this Xmass due to the sales. Something needs to happen about pricing because I feel in the next couple of years there will be a crash similar to what happened to the arcades in the 80s.
I agree that pricing is a big issue in the app store right now, but I don't agree about the games. If a nintendo game was ported, for example Mario Kart (I realize nintendo would never let that happen it's just an example). The game was priced at $10. That is at the very steep end of prices for games in the app store right now. But you could get the same game for 30 bucks for a DS, assuming the consumer has both an iPhone/iPod/iPad and a DS. People know of the price difference and will buy the game despite the "big" price. Just look at COD: Zombies. Activation priced the game at $10 and then added two maps for $5 each. Many people bought the game + maps for the total price of $20. Why? Because it was a game on the ios platform like no other, that's why. Despite the steep price. I'm just saying, if a game is good enough then people will no doubt buy it. And no doubt the prices will keep increasing, Because the companies aren't going to price the game of a sequel at the same price as the the previous game, especially if the game was way better. You get what you pay for. You want quality, get out your wallet. No doubt games are going to start reaching prices of $10 or even $15 in the next year or so. But that is if the new iPhone will be loaded with new hardware that is capable of playing these top notch games that will be expensive. If you think about it there are alot of "ifs" and alot of factors come into play. But anyway, I personally think that If apple comes out with an iPhone/itouch capable of running good quality games, then no doubt alot of developers such as Crytek will take advantage of that and whatever the price, we shall see games of top notch quality that could rival with the psp and 3ds.
I cant wait till I can pay a premium price for a truly premium game. That doesn't mean all these dime a dozen casual games should jack up their prices to stay in line with everyone else though. You'd have to pay me to download the majority of the apps available on the AppStore right now, so I hope it finds a balance for pricing soon. Give big name devs a reason to give us high quality games. They listen with their wallets though, so someones gonna have to bite the bullet and make one of these premium games, and charge a premium price for it, and hope it gets the attention of all those studios. I don't think one dev could do it though, it'd take one starting a trend. Besides the reluctance of people to pay more than .99 for something, they have to worry about demand. Being on a site like this makes it seem like everyone is interested in having better, longer, high quality games, when in reality, TA users are a drop in the bucket. When you really think about it, it seems less and less likely to happen, as much as I'd love for it to. There's no getting around the fact that the majority of people who own iOS devices have very little interest in gaming. iPhones and iPads are business tools, or status symbols. Big companies see this, and don't find iOS a viable platform for making them money. End of rant
Interesting thread so I'll pitch in my 2c worth. I dont think the iPhone4 is an underrated gaming device by any means but it is certainly limited by a few factors which diminish it's overall appeal in the handheld gaming market. Firstly, and for me the biggest issue... it lacks conventional controls. Although this doesnt write it off completely it is something which should probably be addressed by Apple officially if it wants to establish itself in the gaming market. The main question though is whether Apple wants to do this? At the moment the best games on the system are ones which dont require conventional controls, or more specifically make best use of the interface options available. Infinity Blade is a brilliant example. Secondly... and tieing into the first point. It isnt just a gaming device. Though it may do gaming extremely well for the most part it isnt a dedicated gaming device. It's a smartphone that just happens to offer a platform for gaming. The thing is Apple has attempted to make roads into making it a proven gaming platform with the introduction of Gaming Center. Unfortunately for me it's been a half measure where a full measure was required... but its something. Really what they need is some full blown Xbox LIVE type design but as with anything Apple version 2.1 is usually a signicant increase of functionality on 1.0. Lastly. Because of those two main issues the waters are muddied somewhat on the system. You get your 99c popcorn games with some instant attraction and you get your full blown $10 games from proven developers... plus a lot of pretenders in between. So for me it isnt really underrated... in fact I think most would "rate" it as a gaming system but for many owners it isnt a gaming system, its still a phone that does gaming. In order to alter perception I think its up to Apple to change things but it remains to be seen when or how that will happen. What is of interest though is how much revenue is being made out of gaming on the device. I reckon its safe to say gaming on iDevices in general will only improve in time and hopefully that will mean they'll evolve into something more feature complete.
equal or superior? i choose not to compare apples to oranges. it makes me feel like an idiot even partaking in this conversation, but i'll do what i said i would and list for you 20 games with professional polish, intresting design and hours of gameplay. tilt to live silverfish trainyard aquaduct infinity blade aralon lego HP GoF 2 phoenix wright space miner spider LASW game dev story peggle pvz osmos eliss edge real racing 2 jcs labyrinth 2 flick kick football bug panic espgaluda ddr max adventure wispin sf iv that's probably more than 20. i'm not counting them. i think my point has been made. for what it's worth, i just looked at my phone and listed some of what is on it. i'm sure there are hundreds of games on iOS that fall under the stipulations listed above. dedicated handheld gaming devices are impressive indeed, but dismissing iOS as a contender in the race is foolish. i'm not saying which is better. i know which i prefer, but it's just apples vs oranges.
True. I can think of plenty of iOS games that I'd consider to be "real", some even more so than PSP/DS games. And physical controls are not necessarily better, it's all a matter of preference. There's no way I'd rather have the PSP or DS controls. I'd rather have the versatility, accuracy and convenience that I get with touch controls. If in the unlikely event that Apple ever adds physical controls onto a future generation iPhone then I wouldn't buy it and I'd probably switch to an android phone.
That's like saying consoles are better than PC because they only play games? Last time I checked my desktop churns out graphics and frame rates higher than any XBOX/PS3 could dream of doing. Mmmm Crysis at 1920 x 1080 with 8X AA All settings Enthusiast. Very smooth frame rate. Now go tell me how this logic works here? No iGames are laggy, and if they are it;''s because of Apple's bad OpenGL driver. Same situation here. iPhone is an all-purpose device, with more power. iPhone can push out better graphics as well.
I think theres a decent chance that the 3DS might be Nintendo's biggest failure since the Virtual Boy. I don't think its going to do very well at all... I've got a GBA, a DS and my Iphone3GS. We picked up the DS about 6 months ago and I was expecting it to be a great portable machine. I've been very dissappointed. Compared to the 3GS the games look like crud ftmp and I can't really find many games at all that I"m interested in enough to pay upwards of $20 for. My 9 yr old boy has no interest in the DS and only wants to play games on my phone. He has no problem with the virtual controls at all...nor do I. When I first got the phone a year ago I thought virtual controls were awful, but within about 2 weeks I started to get used to them and now they are almost a complete non-issue. The iphone is a great portable gaming device - the best one I've ever owned. Its loaded with games that are perfect for what I want it for - quick play. If I want to slog my way through a 25 hour long campaign I'll do it on my PC or my PS3 (or my Wii or even the Gamecube). Frankly, if I have a choice between spending an hour working through a turgid, monotonous campaign (say Black Ops, Final Fantasy, MGS) or spending an hour palying Fruit Ninja, I'll take the later every time. Screw "depth." I prefer fun. The best thing that happened to the COD games in the past 5 yrs is Nazi Zombies and I have a great version of that on the iphone. And the suggestion that its not a "dedicated" gaming machine so it can never be taken "seriously" is hilarious. The only people who believe that are the ones who can't stop giving themselves handjobs about how "hardcore" they are. I've been playing videogames since the late 70's and have owned at least one console from every generation as well as a bunch of PCs and handhelds and I take the iphone very seriously as a portable gaming device for one reason - its got tons of great portable games...
Quoted for truth. Whenever someone askes me what do you like to do when your bored and when I say play games on my ipod touch they're like "what the hell?" lol.
