Michal Ždanský Games have always been a hot topic on the Mac, namely the absence of titles against competing Windows. With the advent of the iPhone and iPad, these devices have become the new gaming platform and in many ways surpassed competing handhelds. But what does it look like on OS X and what potential does Apple TV have?
iOS today
iOS is the platform that is currently on the rise. The App Store offers thousands of games, some of better quality, some of less. Among them we can find remakes or ports of older games, sequels to new games and original games created directly for iOS. The strength of the App Store is primarily the strong interest of development teams, both large and small. Even the big publishing houses are aware of the purchasing power of iOS and many of them have it as the main mobile platform on which they release their games. No wonder, according to Apple, more than 160 million iOS devices have been sold, a number Sony and Nintendo, the biggest players in the handheld field, can only dream of.
The words of the director of Capcom's mobile division are also telling:
"Casual and hardcore gamers who used to play on handheld consoles are now using smartphones to play."
At the same time, her statement came at a time when both Sony and Nintendo are preparing to announce new versions of their portable consoles. However, it is difficult to compete with prices in the amount of several dollars, when PSP and DS games cost as much as 1000 crowns.
We can't be surprised that this is why many developers are switching to the iOS platform. Not long ago, we saw the first games using Epic's Unreal engine, which powers AA titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Unreal Tournament, Bioshock or Gears of War. He also contributed his bit to the mill id Soft with its rather playable tech demo Rage based on the engine of the same name. As you can see, the new iPhone, iPod touch and iPad have enough power to drive such graphically excellent pieces.
The iPad itself is specific, which offers completely new gaming possibilities thanks to its large touch screen. All strategy games are promising, where touch can replace working with a mouse and thus make control more efficient. So can ported board games, by the way Scrabble whether Monopoly we can play on iPad today.
The future of iOS
It's clear how the iOS game market will move forward. Until now, in most cases, rather shorter games appeared for casual play, and simple game puzzles dominated (see the article 5 most addictive games in the history of iPhone), however, over time, increasingly sophisticated games appear in the App Store, which are equivalent in processing and length to full-fledged games for "adult" operating systems. A clear example is a company Square Enix famous mainly for the game series final Fantasy. After porting the first two parts of this legendary series, she came up with a completely new title Chaos rings, which was released exclusively for iPhone and iPad, and is still one of the best RPGs on iOS ever. Another great example is gaming Lara Croft: Guardian of Light, which is identical to the console and PC version. But this trend can be seen with other developers, for example i Gameloft managed to create a fairly extensive RPG Dungeon Hunter 2.
In addition to the evolution in game time and gameplay, the evolution in graphics processing is also evident. The Unreal engine, released for free, can provide developers with a great opportunity to create graphically excellent games that can eventually compete with big consoles. The great use of this engine has already been shown by Epic itself in its technology demo Epic Citadel or in the game Infinity Blade.
Where the iOS platform lags behind is the ergonomics of the controls. Despite the fact that many developers have had a good fight with strictly touch controls, the physical response of the buttons cannot be replaced by touch. Another thing is that on the smaller iPhone screen, you cover a large part of the display with both thumbs, and you suddenly have two-thirds of the 3,5-inch screen.
Several individuals have tried to fight this ailment. Already two years ago, the first prototype of a kind of cover appeared, which strikingly resembled the Sony PSP. Directional buttons on the left and 4 control buttons on the right, just like the Japanese handheld. However, the device required a jailbreak and could only be used with a few emulators of older game systems (NES, SNES, Gameboy). However, this device never saw serial production.
At least that's true for the original concept. The finished controller has finally seen the light of day and should go on sale in the coming weeks. This time, the new model does not require a jailbreak, it communicates with the iPhone via bluetooth and uses a keyboard interface, so the controls are mapped to the direction arrows and several keys. The problem is that the game itself must also support keyboard controls, so it mainly depends on the developers whether this controller will catch on.
Apple itself brought some hope to this concept, specifically with a patent not dissimilar to our prototype. So it is possible that Apple will one day offer such a case for iPhone and iPod in its portfolio. The second thing is the subsequent support for developers who would have to integrate the control commands of this accessory into their games.
At that moment, however, a contradiction would arise between touch control and buttons. Thanks to the limitation provided by the touch screen, developers are forced to come up with the most comfortable controls, which are the basis for more demanding pieces of action adventure or FPS. Once physical button controls came into the game, developers would have to adapt their titles to both ways, and touch would be in danger of suffering as it would only be considered an alternative at that point.
Another Apple patent related to the display is worth mentioning. The company from Cupertino has patented the use of a special layer of the display surface, which de facto enables the creation of a raised surface directly on the display. The user could thus have a smaller physical response that a normal touch screen does not allow. It is speculated that the iPhone 5 could have this technology.
Apple TV
Apple's TV set is such a big question mark. Although Apple TV offers performance equivalent to game consoles (for example, it easily surpasses the current best-selling console, the Nintendo Wii) and is based on iOS, it is still mostly used for multimedia purposes.
However, this may change fundamentally with the arrival of a new version of the operating system. For example, imagine such AirPlay used for playing games. The iPad would transmit the image to the large screen of the television and would itself serve as a control. The same situation can be for the iPhone. At that moment, your fingers would stop obstructing your view and instead you could use the entire touch surface.
However, Apple TV can also come with games tailored to the TV device. At that moment, it would become a full-fledged console with huge possibilities and potential. For example, if developers ported their games for the iPad, suddenly Apple's "console" would have a huge market with games and unbeatable prices.
It could then use one of the iOS devices or the Apple Remote itself as a controller. Thanks to the accelerometer and gyroscope that the iPhone has, games could be controlled in a similar way to the Nintendo Wii. Turning your iPhone as a steering wheel for racing games on your TV screen seems like a natural and logical step. In addition, thanks to the same operating system, Apple TV could use the available Unreal Engine, for example, and therefore there is a great chance for titles with graphics that we can see, for example, in Gears of War on Xbox 360. We can only wait to see if Apple will announce the SDK for Apple TV and at the same time opens the Apple TV App Store.
To be continued…
Nice article, thanks.
Great article, the reflection at the end is excellent..
Just a small correction, PSP is not handheld but handheld :)
erm DS sold more than iPhones
yes, but they didn't sell more than all iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) combined. So far, around 130 million DS handhelds have been sold, but they have been on the market since 2004. On the other hand, 2007 million iOS devices have been sold since 160, and it should be noted that the first games did not appear in the App Store until 2008.