The introduction of native application in iPhone and iPod touch made me wonder. With such revolutionary breakthrough in game controlling, will this device finally redefines portable game market?
In pre-iPhone era, portable game market is led by two big names, Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Both have high resolution graphic display, but that is. There is no revolutionary improvement for their control. Players still use the same buttons used in old portable game consoles. Judging from that, even that the devices also have WiFi connection, we can safely say that both consoles are created merely for gaming.
iPhone and iPod touch came through different road path. Both devices are created not for gaming. They have superb audio visual capability but as we can see before, there is no game available for the devices. People used the device as mobile phone or as music/video player.
Together with the new iPhone SDK introduced by Apple several months ago, people saw the new prospect of the device. No less than 43 games are introduced in the first day of the AppStore. Their revolutionary touch control and tilt sensors are just perfect for portable game device. Depends on the game, the whole body of the device can act as steering wheel, as tilting table, as music instrument etc.
In my opinion, this will somehow redefine the portable game market in the future. The only advantage that PSP and DS have right now is the fact that the game industry is in their hand. They have more games and the device itself is already associated directly with game.
For Apple to catch them, it needs to introduce more games (and quality ones) to the devices. Sega with its Super Monkey Ball is a great sign for the future of the device. But more games are needed before it can take significant portable game market.
So what do you think? Will Apple redefine portable game market?
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Apple could redefine the portable game market if there are seasoned game developers that find it worthwhile as far as making money on the iPhone and iPod touch. If the iPhone and touch have the processing and graphics power of the PSP and DS, then they’re a third of the way. Get enough games on the iPhone that people already enjoy and some new ones that no other mobile device has, that’s two thirds of the way. Sell enough iPhones to grow the user base to about 30 million users, then it’s a lock. I’m afraid the iPod touch is going to have to cost less and sell well, because there’s almost no way most pre-teens are going to have their own iPhone.
Your article fail short the moment you says “Nintendo DS” and “no revolutionary improvement for their control”. You can at least take a look at the hardware that you mention in you article
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As aaulia said, Nintendo DS is actually using both conventional button and touch screen (with a stylus) in one of its two displays.
Thank you Habib and aaulia.
I’ve seen several review about Nintendo DS in Youtube, so CMIIW. I saw that there is touch screen in the bottom screen but it’s used mainly for navigating through the menu. I can’t say that revolutionary… but please offer your opinion. Combining button and touch screen made is kind of exchangeable instead of complementary.
Hmmm that is why I would strongly suggest you buy one
. Touch screen in DS is not just an eye candy, take for example BrainAge (this is VERY addictive game), DS use it as a handwriting and drawing recognition (yes you heard me right). And for some other game the stylus is used for attack pattern, just like Wii does with it’s Wiimote, I even think that the reason we have Nintendo Wii (and it’s massive success on making XBOX360 & PS3 suck a*s, pardon my rude language 
) is Nintendo DS success. And not only you can use stylus control (instead of just button) you even can use voice control (yes again you heard me right) for the example of game that uses this is Pheonix Wright DS, a hillarious attorney game where you can (even must) SHOUT “OBJECTION” to your DS ! 
. And also I once played a platformer (mario like) game in GameBoy Advandce (GBA) where you control your character movement by tilting your GBA handheld, instead of using the direction button (D-Pad). So I think it’s fair to say that Apple doesn’t really have much to offer to the gaming world in terms of control technology and as for Graphics, it’s no better than the PSP (in handheld area). But then again, the fanboyism and near cultism in Apple’s Mac (OS and HW) might prove me wrong 
. But I will still buy Nintendo or Sony’s PSP even if that happens 
, since I’m not stupid enough to buy an overpriced (it certainly will be, we are talking Apple here 
) handheld that I can buy (and have more games) cheaper with DS or PSP.
I’m just curious now, do you have an iPhone/iPod touch yourself?
Hahahaha, good question.
I don’t have an iPhone, but a lot of my work mate have one (product of Apple, either MacBook, iPod (most of them have this), iPhone, iMac, etc) that is why I know very well about their cultism
. I have tinkering with iPhone before, MacBook, and well iPod, I dunno why these people obsessed with it tho 
. Mac OSX is just like linux in it’s core and Compiz Fusion is so much better with the eye candy and productivity effects, yet they keep on arguing about it :p . iPod is just that, a MP3 player, I myself is not that much of an audiophile so forgive my “average” judgement about iPod, but the way I see it it’s just an overpriced MP3 (and movie???) player with lots of add-on, propably the only reason these people buy it is because of the bitten Apple logo behind it :p .
I give Apple a props on their marketing and packaging tho, they are really good at it.
Hey you don’t have to trust me on this (I don’t ask you too). What I do ask is, your article is lacking, because of what I write above (my 1st post)
. Yes Apple is now reaching out to game dev world, that’s a good thing, but giving something new and revolutionary ? Wow now that (IMHO) is some overestimation over Apple iPhone/iPod 
. They provide a platform, a good one I might add (famouse you might say), but not new.
Iya saya juga setuju dengan aaulia, artikel kamu ini terlalu membesarkan fitur gaming di iphone/ipod yang notabene cuman sekedar tambahan saja untuk pemilik ipod, saya rasa agak susah melakukan komparasi ke suatu alat yang memang dikhusukan untuk game dibandingkan dengan alat multimedia.