Michal Ždanský Despite the enthusiasm that accompanied the initial announcement of support for game controllers in iOS 7 and the first announcement from hardware makers, the impression of the current range of controllers is not exactly positive. Overpriced accessories of varying quality, lack of support from game developers, and a lot of question marks surrounding the future of iOS gaming, this is the result of the first few active months of Apple's MFi (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) program for game controllers.
Jordan Kahn from the server 9to5Mac so he polled controller manufacturers and game developers to find out where the dog is buried and whose side is to blame for the failure so far. In this article, we will therefore convey to you his findings in the search for the real cause of the problems that accompany the game controllers so far. Kahn focused on three basic aspects of the problem - price, quality and game support.
Price and quality
Probably the biggest obstacle to greater adoption of game controllers is their price. While quality game controllers for Playstation or Xbox cost $59, controllers for iOS 7 come at a uniform $99. The suspicion arose that Apple dictates the price to hardware manufacturers, but the truth is even more complicated and several factors lead to the final price.
For drivers like MOGA AcePower or Logitech Powershell, which additionally contain an integrated accumulator, the price can still be partially understood. On the other hand, with Bluetooth controllers, such as the new one Stratus by SteelSeries, where the price is twice as high as other wireless gamepads for PC, many just shake their heads in disbelief.
One factor is Apple's mandate for the MFi program, where manufacturers must use pressure-sensitive analog sticks and switches from a single approved supplier, Fujikura America Inc. That way, Logitech and others cannot use their regular suppliers, with whom they have long-term contracts and probably better prices. In addition, they have to adapt their drivers to different components than they normally work with, which is another added cost. In addition, the mentioned components are often criticized elements of the final products by customers and reviewers, so the problem with quality may partly lie in Fujikura America's monopoly on key parts of the hardware. Manufacturers have mentioned that they hope to get additional suppliers approved by Apple, which could significantly reduce costs.
There are several other costs behind the controller, such as MFi program licensing fees that range between $10-15, research and development for iPhone case-type controllers, extensive testing to meet the terms of the program specifications, and of course the cost of individual components and materials. A representative of Signal, the company that at CES 2014 announced the upcoming RP One controller, commented that the cheaper Bluetooth controllers that the iOS controllers are compared to don't involve nearly as much engineering and design development. And while they can't compete with Sony and Microsoft on price, their RP One should be on a similar level in every way, be it processing, calibration or latency.
Game developers
From the developers' point of view, the situation is different, but not much more positive. In May, Apple asked Logitech to prepare a prototype for game developers to test their games on at the upcoming WWDC developer conference. However, test units only reached a handful of well-known development studios, while others had to wait for the first controllers to go on sale. The implementation of the framework for game controllers is said to be easy, but only real testing with a physical controller will show if everything works as it should.
Even the developers are not very satisfied with the currently offered drivers, some of them are waiting to support the framework until better hardware appears. One of the problems lies, for example, in the inconsistency of the sensitivity of the joysticks and the directional controller, so in some games the software needs to be adapted for a specific controller. This is noticeable with the Logitech PowerShell, which has a rather poorly executed D-pad, and the game Bastion often does not register sideways movements at all.
Another obstacle is the existence of two different controller interfaces, standard and extended, where the standard lacks the analog sticks and the two side buttons. Developers are instructed that their games must work for both interfaces, so for example they have to replace the absence of controls on the phone's display, which is not exactly an optimal way to play because it completely negates the advantage of physical controllers as such. Game Studio Aspyr, which brought the game to iOS Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, according to him, spends the most time implementing the framework to make the game playable with both types of controllers. Additionally, like other developers, they didn't have access to the developer prototypes of the drivers and therefore couldn't add driver support in the last major update that came out before the holidays.
Other studios like Massive Damage don't plan to support it until Apple starts making its own controllers, comparing it to the first Kinect as a gimmick for a few enthusiasts.
What will be next
For now, there is no need to break a stick over game controllers as such. Manufacturers may be able to convince Apple to approve other suppliers of critical components for their devices, and we still haven't seen everything other companies have to offer. ClamCase has its iPad controller still in development, as well as other manufacturers likely preparing further iterations and new drivers. In addition, some shortcomings will be solved by updating the firmware, which is one of the requirements of the MFi program.
As for game support, according to MOGA, the adoption of game controllers is already higher than Android (which has no unified framework), and if Apple does come out with a new Apple TV that allows third-party apps to be installed, game controllers, at least those with Bluetooth, expand quickly. The first batch of drivers was more of an exploration of the waters, and with more experience from manufacturers, the quality will increase and probably the price will decrease. The best thing controller-hungry gamers can do now is to wait for the second wave, which will come with support for more games.
Tested with PS3 controller on iPhone 5 and iPad Mini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_-jouC58xE
If you have PS or xBox, it's definitely better than buying another useless thing.
Requires JailBreak