# Apple's iOS developer guide hints at dedicated MFi game controller



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 13, 2013)

Apple looks like they're gearing up to take gaming more seriously:









> Coming on the heels of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, and the subsequent seeding of iOS 7 beta, the company has updated its developers website with a brief guide illustrating what it has in mind for the future of iOS gaming peripherals.


 
And now they're working with the likes of Logitech (great choice if you ask me, the following image is a mock up):






If I were Microsoft, Sony and especially Nintendo I'd be bricking it.


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## editor (Jun 14, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> If I were Microsoft, Sony and especially Nintendo I'd be bricking it.


With that tiny iPhone screen?


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## Fez909 (Jun 14, 2013)

It's a good move if they can have a standard set of buttons. The problem with Android gaming is there's so many different peripherals you can have that most developers don't bother making it compatible with any of them. The notable exceptions being the emulators, but I suspect that's a hangover from the PC versions they've ported (the emus get around it by having you configure the buttons when you set it up - something Apple would never go for).


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## Silva (Jun 15, 2013)

editor said:


> With that tiny iPhone screen?


 
The iPhone 5 screen is 4 inches. The PSP is only a bit larger than that, and is still perfectly fine, and it's larger than the top screen on the 3DS. I just doubt people are willing to carry a huge gizmo around just to play a bit during commute. Maybe a joypad that connects to the iPad (and other Apple devices) at the push of a button would be a better choice at this point.


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## editor (Jun 15, 2013)

Silva said:


> The iPhone 5 screen is 4 inches. The PSP is only a bit larger than that, and is still perfectly fine, and it's larger than the top screen on the 3DS. I just doubt people are willing to carry a huge gizmo around just to play a bit during commute. Maybe a joypad that connects to the iPad (and other Apple devices) at the push of a button would be a better choice at this point.


 
But there's a reason why phones with big screens have become MASSIVE sellers...


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## Silva (Jun 15, 2013)

editor said:


> But there's a reason why phones with big screens have become MASSIVE sellers...


 
Yes, the PSP managed to dent Nintendo's handheld monopoly in part thanks to the lush screen, but even at four inches, the iPhone 5 is perfectly fine for gaming, as long as there's good software for it. If screen size was everything, the PS Vita, with a lushier 5-inch screen would be selling like hotcakes, but the sales have been terrible, even when compared with the slow-selling 3DS.

If anything, what Sony and Nintendo should be careful with is pricing. People won't be spending £30 when they can buy 10 or 20 games for their mobile phones for that money that collectively might last longer than that single purchase, particularly with kids, that sometimes spend hours with really rubbish games and get bored in minutes with an age-appropriate good game.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2013)

Silva said:


> The iPhone 5 screen is 4 inches. The PSP is only a bit larger than that, and is still perfectly fine, and it's larger than the top screen on the 3DS. I just doubt people are willing to carry a huge gizmo around just to play a bit during commute. Maybe a joypad that connects to the iPad (and other Apple devices) at the push of a button would be a better choice at this point.


 

There are more iOS devices sold that handheld games devices (which hardly have massive screens anyway), the key thing here is clearly that Apple are going to target the console market more intensely and that's going to wipe out Nintendo and probably hurt Sony and Microsoft too. But you know it's been a long time coming...the console market has basically been three companies deciding what it should be for the last two decades. About time some disruption happened...


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> It's a good move if they can have a standard set of buttons. The problem with Android gaming is there's so many different peripherals you can have that most developers don't bother making it compatible with any of them. The notable exceptions being the emulators, but I suspect that's a hangover from the PC versions they've ported (the emus get around it by having you configure the buttons when you set it up - something Apple would never go for).


 

Indeed. Android is a nonstarter for living room gaming (even with people getting mistakingly excited about Ouya)...it's just not going to happen. I reckon Valve with its Steam Box will do better than any Android attempt.


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Indeed. Android is a nonstarter for living room gaming (even with people getting mistakingly excited about Ouya)...it's just not going to happen. I reckon Valve with its Steam Box will do better than any Android attempt.


 
I was talking about mobile, rather than living room gaming. I don't think Android living room gaming is dead, but it's certainly not anywhere near good enough at the minute for anyone to seriously consider it.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I was talking about mobile, rather than living room gaming. I don't think Android living room gaming is dead, but it's certainly not anywhere near good enough at the minute for anyone to seriously consider it.


 

I didn't say it was dead just that it ain't going anywhere given all the other players who are better at this. Ouya will probably find a few thousand poor bastards who'll waste money on it but it's not going to disrupt the big video game players. Sadly only Apple is positioned to have any chance of doing that.


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> I didn't say it was dead just that it ain't going anywhere given all the other players who are better at this. Ouya will probably find a few thousand poor bastards who'll waste money on it but it's not going to disrupt the big video game players. Sadly only Apple is positioned to have any chance of doing that.


 
I think you're wrong. Apple is in decline. They're not going to challenge Sony/Microsoft. Android won't either, on their terms, but I think it's best placed for casual gaming. The openness of the platform and it's ever increasingly popularity means it's far better placed for this.


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## Silva (Jun 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> the console market has basically been three companies deciding what it should be for the last two decades. About time some disruption happened...


 
Except there has _always_ been a lot of disruption. Sega marketed the Mega Drive/Genesis to teens, helping to dispel the idea Nintendo pushed so hard during the 80's that consoles were toys for kids. Sony joined the race on a flying start, and aggressively marketed the console to everyone under the sun, from kids and teens to sports jocks, petrol heads and ravers, and with the PS2 DVD playback ability, a way of saying "it's not just for games anymore". Microsoft, first via their partnership with the ill-fated Dreamcast and then on their own, brought mainstream on-line gaming to the console world. Then Nintendo, who always marched to the beat of their own drum (ie, as if the market didn't change) was quickly becoming the third player that would have gone under if it wasn't for Pokemon, Mario and Zelda pushing systems, until they tapped the casual market with a console that replaced the 10-button, dual analogue + d-pad monsters with a very simplified and intuitive controller that sold a bucketload on what was technically five-year old tech (or even more) at the time of release, and then were followed by Sony and MS with their own motion-fueled contraptions.

I think Apple has a pretty good shot at entering the market and taking a big chunk out of the unreliable casual market, but they're hardly the first ones doing any sort of disruption. If the market was so stagnant as you suggest, we'd still have an almost complete domination by Nintendo, with 5 or 6 minor players releasing consoles with poor worldwide distribution with the biggest threat coming from personal computers. Just because there were just 4 major players in the console business on the past 25 years, doesn't mean they weren't disrupting the norms of the previous generation to tap new markets.


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

Apple hasn't even made any serious attempt at the console market yet, has it? The hand-held stuff, yeah, along with Android phones, it has a very good chance of killing off. But proper sit under your telly consoles? It's not even made moves. Unless you count Apple TV? I _think_ that can have games on it now can't it?


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## Silva (Jun 16, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Apple hasn't even made any serious attempt at the console market yet, has it? The hand-held stuff, yeah, along with Android phones, it has a very good chance of killing off. But proper sit under your telly consoles? It's not even made moves. Unless you count Apple TV? I _think_ that can have games on it now can't it?


 
There was the Apple-Bandai Pippin, but that was a huge mistake and I'm not sure how much of it was Apple.
And dedicated handheld gaming is being slowly killed off. I guess once Nintendo lays their cards on the table and Vita has something going on, we'll see how far down the crapper it is. But the signs aren't pretty.

With cloud gaming, any powerful enough broadband-connected multimedia device can have games.


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## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

There's been rumours that Apple are working on a console for a couple of years now, I certainly think it is possible and would not be surprised. Wether it be a dedicated under-the-tv-box or something like the above I don't k now but it will happen IMO.


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## sleaterkinney (Jun 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> If I were Microsoft, Sony and especially Nintendo I'd be bricking it.


 
What?.



> the console market has basically been three companies deciding what it should be for the last two decades.


 
What?.


Nuts. Apple have no history in games.


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## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

sleaterkinney said:


> Apple have no history in games.


 

They don't need to have a history


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## beesonthewhatnow (Jun 16, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I think you're wrong. Apple is in decline. They're not going to challenge Sony/Microsoft. Android won't either, on their terms, but I think it's best placed for casual gaming. The openness of the platform and it's ever increasingly popularity means it's far better placed for this.


Apple is in decline? Errrrr, no.


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

Silva said:


> There was the Apple-Bandai Pippin, but that was a huge mistake and I'm not sure how much of it was Apple.
> And dedicated handheld gaming is being slowly killed off. I guess once Nintendo lays their cards on the table and Vita has something going on, we'll how far down the crapper it is. But the signs aren't pretty.
> 
> With cloud gaming, any powerful enough broadband-connected multimedia device can have games.


 
A Nintendo phone, similar to the Xperia Play, might be interesting. That'd maybe save their handheld business and challenge Apple and co.


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## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Apple is in decline? Errrrr, no.


 
Some people have suggested it.
IS APPLE IN DECLINE? THE GREAT DEBATE CONTINUES
Sunday Slant: Once a top innovator, Apple might be on the decline
Bloomberg survey finds Apple reputation in decline


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> Apple is in decline? Errrrr, no.


 
I'm not saying they're finished or anything, but they no longer have the 'cool' factor, nor the best OS. They now play catch up in most areas, where previously they led. Their market share has shrunk massively. Even in tablets, where they were the only game in town, it's not looking as rosy. Their stock price is falling. For the first time in over a decade (longer?) there are regular news articles about their issues, and questioning their direction.

It's undeniable they're in decline.


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## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I'm not saying they're finished or anything, but they no longer have the 'cool' factor, nor the best OS. They now play catch up in most areas, where previously they led. Their market share has shrunk massively. Even in tablets, where they were the only game in town, it's not looking as rosy. Their stock price is falling. For the first time in over a decade (longer?) there are regular news articles about their issues, and questioning their direction.
> 
> It's undeniable they're in decline.


They'll still make a fucking shedload of cash for themselves though.


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## Fez909 (Jun 16, 2013)

Yep.


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## Silva (Jun 16, 2013)

Firky said:


> They don't need to have a history


 
They don't, but it helps. Sony had no previous history, but was deeply involved with Nintendo developing the PlayStation when it was a Super Famicom CD module and was already an established publisher as Sony Imagesoft, likewise Microsoft worked with Sega with the Dreamcast, and already had about 10 years of experience in the Microsoft Entertainment division publishing for PC and developing a API oriented for games.
Apple has a very successful walled garden in mobile devices where it challenged the established consoles by introducing free/freemium and cheap games in a very attractive mobile phone... and that's it as far as gaming goes. Releasing a console is much more complicated than throwing a bunch of parts together. The companies that are on the market now all had previous experience in publishing and developing software and hardware (Even Nintendo, for instance, started by distributing the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan before venturing into pong clones).
I can see them successfully implement some cheap, casual games in Apple TV well enough, but a console... nope, not seeing it.



Fez909 said:


> A Nintendo phone, similar to the Xperia Play, might be interesting. That'd maybe save their handheld business and challenge Apple and co.


 
Don't see that happening a bit like the reasons above. They are not a mobile phone (or for that matter, anything electronic that isn't "video game") company, and the market is already as cutthroat as it is. Maybe they'd partner with someone like Sharp to develop a Japan-only Nintendo-branded cellphone, with exclusive access to retro titles in their e-shop. But trying to battle iOS and even Android on their own field would very likely end up in a complete massacre.


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## Firky (Jun 17, 2013)

I think saying Apple are in decline is a bit of a misnomer; every big corp peaks and starts to fall eventually given enough time. It is inevitable.


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## Fez909 (Jun 17, 2013)

Firky said:


> I think saying Apple are in decline is a bit of a misnomer; every big corp peaks and starts to fall eventually given enough time. It is inevitable.


 
Agreed, but that doesn't change the point I was trying to make. Companies which currently have no foot in a market don't shake things up once they start to "fall". They do it when they're at their peak. Google could do it now, Apple can't. Sony et al have already peaked but they're established so it matters not. They'll just carry on doing what they're doing.



Silva said:


> Don't see that happening a bit like the reasons above. They are not a mobile phone (or for that matter, anything electronic that isn't "video game") company, and the market is already as cutthroat as it is. Maybe they'd partner with someone like Sharp to develop a Japan-only Nintendo-branded cellphone, with exclusive access to retro titles in their e-shop. But trying to battle iOS and even Android on their own field would very likely end up in a complete massacre.


 
I meant it could be an Android phone that plays Nintendo games; not that they'd compete against Android.


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## Firky (Jun 17, 2013)

Tom from MySpace is working on a console.


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## Silva (Jun 17, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I meant it could be an Android phone that plays Nintendo games; not that they'd compete against Android.


Wrong choice of words. I've meant going against Apple and Samsung/HTC/even Sony on the already crowded Android market. 

But I doubt Nintendo would go along with that. They are extremely territorial and to protect the image of the company they'd be willing to gimp most of the phone. They'd have a better shot of surviving with a Game Boy Touch if the Vita vanishes and Sony quits the handheld market to focus on PlayStation phones running high-powered android games.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Jun 17, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I'm not saying they're finished or anything, but they no longer have the 'cool' factor, nor the best OS.


 
The cool factor is the one thing they still have in spades, way more than anyone else out there. Just look in an Apple store on a weekend for proof.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19692371

http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/Best-Global-Brands-2012-Brand-View.aspx

http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/Apple



OS - I'd argue that for the average consumer iOS is still the leader, in terms of both day to day usability and app availability. Android is still my personal choice for a phone, but I like to tinker. For tablets the iPad still has no serious rival IMHO, simply due to the app situation (especially if you are in any way music minded). Android is catching up, but it isn't quite there yet.

As for desktop OS, Microsoft will always be number 1 in terms of volume and with Win7 they had a genuinely great product that was in many ways superior to OSX. But with Win8 they've done the usual Microsoft thing of taking something good and making it worse.

As for hardware, Apple still make the nicest bits out there. Yes, it's expensive compared to the rivals. That's kinda the point. They're a luxury brand.


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## editor (Jun 17, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> The cool factor is the one thing they still have in spades, way more than anyone else out there. Just look in an Apple store on a weekend for proof.


Err, no thanks. And you think the people in there are 'cool'? Oh, OK.


beesonthewhatnow said:


> OS - I'd argue that for the average consumer iOS is still the leader, in terms of both day to day usability and app availability.


Not really, but you're entitled to your opinion.

There's a far wider choice of apps when it comes to iPads (even though there's equally good tablets out there), but tech mags like T3 put the iPhone way down the list behind Android phones in their top 10. The iPhone doesn't even appear in their top 5 list of top five phones.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Jun 17, 2013)

editor said:


> Err, no thanks. And you think the people in there are 'cool'? Oh, OK.


I don't, but I'm about as far removed from what is considered cool as you can get 



> There's a far wider choice of apps when it comes to iPads (even though there's equally good tablets out there), but tech mags like T3 put the iPhone way down the list behind Android phones in their top 10. The iPhone doesn't even appear in their top 5 list of top five phones.


 
But that's just it - tech mags are for us, the nerdy geeks. I'm not sure they really represent what the general view is.


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## editor (Jun 17, 2013)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> But that's just it - tech mags are for us, the nerdy geeks. I'm not sure they really represent what the general view is.


Well, do you want to look at what high end phones the public have been buying for the last two years?


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## elbows (Jun 17, 2013)

iOS and Android already changed the casual game & mobile game landscape. Thats had an impact on the wider games industry, but it doesn't really disrupt the hardcore gamer and big tv screen gaming situation yet. So long as the budgetary requirements of the studio game industry doesn't cause them to impose, the next generation of consoles will do fine. There is after all room for both, since the causal gaming phenomenon increased the total number of gamers rather than utterly cannibalising the existing pool of gamers that consoles need to survive.

When looking at the likes of Apple standardising & supporting 3rd party physical controllers for mobile devices I would therefore restrict the implications to the mobile efforts of the traditional console makers, e.g. the PS Vita and Nintendo's somewhat lacklustre Wii U strategy.


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## fen_boy (Jun 17, 2013)

elbows said:


> iOS and Android already changed the casual game & mobile game landscape. Thats had an impact on the wider games industry, but it doesn't really disrupt the hardcore gamer and big tv screen gaming situation yet. So long as the budgetary requirements of the studio game industry doesn't cause them to impose, the next generation of consoles will do fine. There is after all room for both, since the causal gaming phenomenon increased the total number of gamers rather than utterly cannibalising the existing pool of gamers that consoles need to survive.
> 
> When looking at the likes of Apple standardising & supporting 3rd party physical controllers for mobile devices I would therefore restrict the implications to the mobile efforts of the traditional console makers, e.g. the PS Vita and Nintendo's somewhat lacklustre Wii U strategy.


 

Do you mean 3DS rather than Wii U?


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 17, 2013)

Anyway, moving on from the Editor's breathtaking lack of understanding about the games industry, roll on the blurry cam 'leaks' of the first controllers to play to Apple's criteria:







A little bit PSP like ain't it (assuming this is true)?



> We already know that Apple has added support for game controllers in iOS7, but it appears that these plans are further along than first thought.  According to Kotaku, the above image shows an early  iOS gaming controller prototype made specifically for the iPhone 5 by gaming giant Logitech. While they weren’t forthcoming with details of where the device was seen or who showed it to them, Kotaku is standing firm that they believe this photo to be absolutely authentic.  The decision to support integrated gaming accessories is in stark contrast to Steve Jobs’ stance that such products would ruin the “elegance” of Apple devices (even though he got his start at Atari).
> 
> A reader reached out with this image from one of Apple’s WWDC sessions, which appears to show the same Logitech controller.


 
And here is that slide:


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## editor (Jun 17, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Anyway, moving on from the Editor's breathtaking lack of understanding about the games industry


Sorry. I didn't realise you were the self-proclaimed expert. 

Oh, and it's a fucking Logitech accessory, not the Second Coming.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 17, 2013)

I like to think I have a reasonable understanding of the games industry and this announcement prompted a "meh" from me.

It's obviously not going to hit consoles any more than mobile gaming has already hit consoles, and all games will need to have touch screen support anyway for the potential purchasers who don't have a clip on button set i.e. the majority. At the price points that iOS games sell, you can't afford to cater to small markets, you have to sell to everyone.

Also, iOS games have generally moved away from the traditional D-pad control paradigm anyway. A few still use them but they're usually conversions and/or boring. Touch screen device games should have UIs that use all the possibilities of a touch screen, not limit themselves to imitating mobile gaming from the 80s


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## elbows (Jun 18, 2013)

fen_boy said:


> Do you mean 3DS rather than Wii U?


 

Indeed I should not have mentioned the Wii U in the same breath as mobile. However I think the Wii U is still an example of a traditional console that has got itself in more potential bother from mobile & casual gaming alternatives. For much the same reasons as the original Wii, lack of power & perception that its more about casual than hardcore gaming. Only this time around there is no innovative controller to capture the public imagination, support from games studios seems even weaker, and the touchscreen built into the controller invites further comparisons with the 'tablet or phone hooked up to the telly via a box such as apple tv' that hasn't exactly taken the world by storm so far.


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## elbows (Jun 18, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It's obviously not going to hit consoles any more than mobile gaming has already hit consoles, and all games will need to have touch screen support anyway for the potential purchasers who don't have a clip on button set i.e. the majority. At the price points that iOS games sell, you can't afford to cater to small markets, you have to sell to everyone.


 

True, although given that one of the problems making money from iOS games is from all the titles that don't get momentum and get lost in the shuffle, I expect some will try to carve out some profit from this sector anyway. There will be a bit of a chicken & egg situation while sales of add on controllers remain low, but I can still imagine things gradually reaching a point where this stuff takes off enough not to be a complete dud.

And yes, while game types that are designed around the touch screen make most sense, I still think there are plenty of popular game types that will benefit from physical controllers and will appeal to enough people to make money. Not on the scale of the biggest hits on iOS to date, but enough for some to bother with developing all the same. Even if they are boring or imitations that lack innovation as far as some are concerned.

Personally I want physical controllers for the ipad, and games to go with them. For a start I like pinball, but I would like to press some physical buttons for the flippers. I don't confuse this personal desire with claims that this stuff will revolutionise the industry and change the game, but I don't write it all off either.


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## fen_boy (Jun 18, 2013)

elbows said:


> Indeed I should not have mentioned the Wii U in the same breath as mobile. However I think the Wii U is still an example of a traditional console that has got itself in more potential bother from mobile & casual gaming alternatives. For much the same reasons as the original Wii, lack of power & perception that its more about casual than hardcore gaming. Only this time around there is no innovative controller to capture the public imagination, support from games studios seems even weaker, and the touchscreen built into the controller invites further comparisons with the 'tablet or phone hooked up to the telly via a box such as apple tv' that hasn't exactly taken the world by storm so far.



The threat of mobile gaming to the 3DS that was predicted at its launch has failed to materialise in the 3 years since. The 3ds is selling very, very well, it's currently the biggest selling console. It seems that mobile gaming, for the most part, serves a different audience. The Vita has failed primarily at the hands of the 3DS.

The Wii U is struggling because Nintendo has so far failed to convey what it is effectively. It'll turn around though, just like the 3DS did, it's a great console.


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## Callum91 (Jun 18, 2013)

fen_boy said:


> The threat of mobile gaming to the 3DS that was predicted at its launch has failed to materialise in the 3 years since. The 3ds is selling very, very well, it's currently the biggest selling console. It seems that mobile gaming, for the most part, serves a different audience. The Vita has failed primarily at the hands of the 3DS.
> 
> The Wii U is struggling because Nintendo has so far failed to convey what it is effectively. It'll turn around though, just like the 3DS did, it's a great console.


 
I hope for my own sake that you're right about the Wii U, mine's been sat gathering dust for several months now. It's spent a longer time being switched on when I had the enormous ball ache that was trying to set it up with my home wifi than it's been used for playing games etc. If I didn't know that Pikmin 3 was very close to being released I'd be listing it on ebay about now.


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## fen_boy (Jun 18, 2013)

Mine is on all the time, but that's mostly me and the 6 and 8 year old playing it. They love it.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 20, 2013)

fen_boy said:


> The threat of mobile gaming to the 3DS that was predicted at its launch has failed to materialise in the 3 years since. The 3ds is selling very, very well, it's currently the biggest selling console. It seems that mobile gaming, for the most part, serves a different audience. The Vita has failed primarily at the hands of the 3DS.
> 
> The Wii U is struggling because Nintendo has so far failed to convey what it is effectively. It'll turn around though, just like the 3DS did, it's a great console.


 

Lol it aint about marketing Nintendo have panicked and tried to force a tablet into a joypad as an absurd attempt of seeing off the hundreds of millions of iOS and Android devices which are now also gaming machines.


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## fen_boy (Jun 20, 2013)

.


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## fen_boy (Jun 20, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Lol it aint about marketing Nintendo have panicked and tried to force a tablet into a joypad as an absurd attempt of seeing off the hundreds of millions of iOS and Android devices which are now also gaming machines.


 
You know you're becoming a fairly reliable barometer for predicting trends in the gaming industry.


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## skyscraper101 (Jun 20, 2013)

It looks cool but I'm be more interested in an ipad mini controller. iPhone is just too small to interest me much.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 1, 2013)

Is this the new Logitech gamepad for iPhone?


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## Fez909 (Oct 1, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Is this the new Logitech gamepad for iPhone?



I was about to say based on the headline, no. But it's you who has editorialised the headline to make it seem less likely


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 1, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> I was about to say based on the headline, no. But it's you who has editorialised the headline to make it seem less likely



I know how to write a headline to get you to click.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Oct 4, 2013)

well it will make people  with emulators on their iphone happy.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 4, 2013)

Yup.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 28, 2013)

Looks like this is really becoming a thing, one of the two designs are real:


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## Yata (Oct 30, 2013)

do you own stock in apple or something? cant see nintendo caring at all tbh.
 this thing is gonna have to be ridiculously cheap for it to take off at all and even then its still just a gimicky addon to a phone. how many people are that serious about gaming on a phone that they'd buy one of these? and do those same people already have a DS? this may find some people but challenge nintendo? convince developers to develop games specifically to use it? what planet you on?


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 30, 2013)

Nah I own stock in YataIsABoringWanker.com.


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## sim667 (Oct 31, 2013)

editor said:


> But there's a reason why phones with big screens have become MASSIVE sellers...


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## skyscraper101 (Oct 31, 2013)

This is more my thing..


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 31, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> This is more my thing..



I have one of those and it is AWESOME.


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## elbows (Jan 7, 2014)

I was kind of disappointed that no iPad controller was available in time for Christmas.

However I see a bluetooth controller that will work with all modern iOS devices has now been announced:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/steelseries-stratus-ios-7--bluetooth-gamepad/


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## editor (Jan 7, 2014)

elbows said:


> I was kind of disappointed that no iPad controller was available in time for Christmas.
> 
> However I see a bluetooth controller that will work with all modern iOS devices has now been announced:
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/steelseries-stratus-ios-7--bluetooth-gamepad/


Pricey at $100. 

I can't see that thing catching on.


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## elbows (Jan 7, 2014)

Depends what you mean by catching on. I don't see any single iOS game controller selling millions and millions of units at this point, but they will have their niche.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 7, 2014)

i think  it will definitely appeal to the people  with  emulators on their phone if they are compatible  but  beyond  that i really don't know.

also  you have been able to buy something near to this for a while	it's  just they only sold to a niche  market


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 7, 2014)

elbows said:


> I was kind of disappointed that no iPad controller was available in time for Christmas.
> 
> However I see a bluetooth controller that will work with all modern iOS devices has now been announced:
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/steelseries-stratus-ios-7--bluetooth-gamepad/



Yeah this area is taking off, dismissing it on price is foolish and shows how little people don't understand gaming...


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## souljacker (Jan 7, 2014)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Yeah this area is taking off, dismissing it on price is foolish and shows how little people don't understand gaming...



Sizeist!


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 7, 2014)

Looks like we're going to see as many controllers for iOS as we are SteamBoxes!







You know all Apple need to do is get game apps on Apple TV and you have a cloud based gaming system with a massive installed user base to exploit...


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 7, 2014)

I kinda feel like  all this  stuff   will end  up like the ouya


as it is  basically  mobile  ouya


i have an ouya... it's  not  terible...	but the only  game i ever play  is the  final fantasy III  remake.   it's  the only  game  which doesn't  feel like a phone game.


not  played it in a  bit   so it  might  have had a  blossoming  period   but  i think the mobile  market  faces  the same issue

you either  develop  for  the	touch screen  or  you develop  for a game controller.   the two are so diffrent  that  fundamental game mechanics need to be diffrent.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 7, 2014)

I'm not sure it will fail like Ouya...Apple doesn't do things without a wider plan from what I can see. Imo this is something like a seeding strategy ahead of a new product line or revision...


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## editor (Jan 7, 2014)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Yeah this area is taking off, dismissing it on price is foolish and shows how little people don't understand gaming...


Dwarfist.


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## elbows (Jan 20, 2014)

Apparently its not just the price that people are moaning about, but also the build quality and feel of the buttons/sticks of the controllers available so far.

This article takes a look at some of the reasons why the price sucks. Well surprise, surprise its another tale that involves apple control freakery seemingly backfiring.

http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/16/insid...urrent-crop-of-controllers-arent-up-to-snuff/


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## editor (Jan 20, 2014)

elbows said:


> Apparently its not just the price that people are moaning about, but also the build quality and feel of the buttons/sticks of the controllers available so far.
> 
> This article takes a look at some of the reasons why the price sucks. Well surprise, surprise its another tale that involves apple control freakery seemingly backfiring.
> 
> http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/16/insid...urrent-crop-of-controllers-arent-up-to-snuff/


Yep. The price is all wrong, and the build quality is crap.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 20, 2014)

It was a crap idea last year and it remains a crap idea now.

I like this quote:


> App developer Massive Damage compared the controllers to Kinect: “An optional piece of equipment with relatively low market penetration that a developer has to program and design for explicitly.” It won’t introduce controller support in any of its games “until iPhones come with controllers out of the box.”


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## beesonthewhatnow (Jan 20, 2014)

How plausible is the idea of Apple taking the Apple TV and making it a games platform? Cloud based (presumably using iTunes in some way) using iPhones/iPads for control?


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## Sunray (Jan 20, 2014)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> How plausible is the idea of Apple taking the Apple TV and making it a games platform? Cloud based (presumably using iTunes in some way) using iPhones/iPads for control?



You can take any computer and make it a games console, but you'd be up against XBox and Playstation and perhaps Nintendo. 

They also have huge studios working to make games for them. iOS has lots of games for them, but its been the realm of small indie casual play type games with an emphasis on touch interfaces that has grown organically.  

If I were Apple, leave well alone, work at continuing being strong at what they are well known for and strong at, industrial design, user experience and customer service.


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