While Apple continues to market the iPhone as a 3-in-1 device -- web, phone, and iPod -- it's clear that Jobs has a 4th market clearly in his sights. It's no accident that EA and Sega were both selected to demonstrate their skills with the
iPhone SDK during last week's press event. Now Gameloft, the worldwide number one mobile game publisher in terms of revenues -- has committed to developing games for the iPhone. "Over 15 titles" are expected in 2008, in fact. Oh iPhone, is there anything you can't do with your 3D processor, multi-touch display, and 3-axis accelerometer? Oh right, GPS, 3G data,
corporate Exchange, A2DP Bluetooth audio, MMS, ... you get the idea.
Update: John Carmack -- co-founder of Id Software -- just
commented that, "We (Id) have put in our application like everybody else." So yeah, it'll
play Doom... officially this time.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mat @ Mar 10th 2008 7:00AM
well obviously the ability of this iphone isn't important as this is a foot in ready for the next generation portable consoles that inculdes a new iphone.
Herb Br
yukky
i was left hanging!
11:57
Sam Luckkins
therell be more posts about the new reading..
webon @ Mar 10th 2008 8:03AM
WHAT?
Ty @ Mar 11th 2008 9:59AM
It's John Carmack, not John Carmac. Minus 50 geek cred points for Thomas Ricker.
Magnulus @ Mar 10th 2008 7:10AM
Clearly in his SITES?! Come on.
a @ Mar 10th 2008 8:28AM
sights. as in gun sights. as in what you aim with. you do aim, don't you?
Dan S. @ Mar 10th 2008 9:24AM
Me fail english?! That's unpossible!
Stephen @ Mar 10th 2008 1:18PM
Magnalus-
The 'paid writer' of the item you cited is perfectly right in saying "sight." Why the libelous indictment?
Magnulus @ Mar 10th 2008 1:28PM
Because the article said "sites" before, not "sights".
David @ Mar 10th 2008 7:13AM
Its limitations are well-known but what it does, it does extremely well, and in most areas, much better than any other phones on the market.
It's the interface, integration and display and presentation that have all the other manufacturers scrambling to play "catch-up", don't you think?
I agree with you about the MMS though. Why? Still, it can easily be added in the near future, no?
Azayzel @ Mar 10th 2008 12:07PM
Actually the iPhone stands little chance of usurping the PSP or Nintendo DS-Lite, mainly due the poor gaming interface. Sure, it might garner some users in the PDA/phone games market, but just try and play a game that required a joystick and buttons, you'll be left SOL. So, we'll see novelty games, cards, tap-able games, and maybe a few text-input, but this is nary enough to oust the PSP or DS-L. Good try though!
Vanillacide @ Mar 10th 2008 2:53PM
@Azayzel
Try telling that to Sony, have you seen the patents for the PSP-Phone that were all over the net in the last couple of days?
Looks like they are going for a single touch screen, just like the iPhone, that displays buttons to look like a phone in one mode and has a PSP layout with pixel/touch based buttons in the other mode.
iPhone developers could do exactly the same as Sony's PSP-Phone, within the limits of not infringing their patent.
rv @ Mar 10th 2008 7:32PM
BUT CAN IT PLAY DOOM 2???
Rich @ Mar 10th 2008 7:14AM
Maybe they can copy all of the cool accelerometer games on the Nokia N95...
The General @ Mar 10th 2008 1:59PM
Which ones are those?
Sam Winter @ Mar 10th 2008 7:15AM
Can't wait for version 2.0 in the summer. It needs to be 3G with HSDPA AND HSUPA, and have a GPS chip. MMS would be nice, not sure why it isnt in there yet. A forward facing camera with video iChat would round out the perfect device.
Bring it on Jobs!
rip @ Mar 10th 2008 7:34AM
I agree the iPhone desperately needs 3g. And mms would be nice, but not critical. And GPS? I wanted it, until Apple updated so I can locate myself using google maps. Which seems to work within a block. In other words, it works well enough that I don't care about a dedicated gps.
What the iPhone needs is 3g.
Oh and ability to sort phone calls by:
1. All
2. Missed
3. DIALED. Seriously, is that so freaking hard to do? Every cell phone I've had has had that ability since, oh, 1994. And most regular phones for that matter.
Mucx @ Mar 10th 2008 7:15AM
One of two things are going to happen in this area of gaming for the iPhone in the next few months/year if Apple are indeed serious about this:
1. Several companies along with accessory/peripheral makers are going to request a tactile D-Pad and button accessory that clips into the iPhone/iPod Touch dock connector.
2. iPhone 2 is released which has even greater ability for playing games and an improved form factor for doing so. (dependant on the success of gaming on the system up until that point...which I imagine will be good (revenue, popularity).
People compare iPhone games to the Nintendo DS which is a fair comparison but there is a reason Nintendo included a D-Pad and button on the unit aside form the touchscreen factor. So, if Apple is serious about gaming on their touch devices then the form factor of the unit will change or an official add-on accessory will be produced. Otherwise a good bulk of the games will be quick little novelty experiences, while only a few games will be A+ titles (Monkey Ball or a Brain Training like clone).
Greg Mcp @ Mar 10th 2008 7:26AM
I do agree that developing games for this thing will need some careful thought about it's strengths and limitations.
"Virtual" buttons suck. The emulators available with Jailbreak show that.
Mike @ Mar 10th 2008 9:43AM
As long as developers are careful about the types of games they make (most likely no FPS games), and think the control system all the way through, the lack of a D-Pad won't be horrible. Some of the ideas I've had to consider (I'm a dev too):
1. gesture-based controls: quite a few games that typically rely on a D-pad could be handled using gestures instead of a virtual D-pad; i.e. to move in a direction, you place your left thumb anywhere on the left side of the screen and slide it to the direction you want to move, then hold your thumb in that position. You could then slide your thumb in another one of four directions to represent the respective push on the D-pad.
Virtual D-pads use your absolute location on the screen, while a gesture-based D-pad would rely solely on the direction you shift your thumb. It actually works really well in practice.
2. Accelerometer left/right: tilting the iPod or iPhone slightly to the left or right is fairly simple and is a reliable form of input. Any extra reliance on the acceleromaters isn't as reliable, unless you're making a game like Super Monkey Ball.
3. Placing buttons along the edge of the screen: if a game *requires* a button, placing it along the edge of the screen works best since it's the easiest place to locate without having to think about the positions of your thumbs. Alternatively, you could dedicate entire quadrants of the screen to button presses to give the user more of an area to hit.
4. Analog left/right: if your game needs analog input along one axis only and you don't want to use the accelerometer, using a virtual "strip" along the lower-left edge of the screen could work pretty well. You'd keep your finger on the center of the trip and slide it back and forth to represent the analog stick. Unfortunately, 2-axis analog input breaks down horribly and wouldn't work in practice.
labrats5 @ Mar 10th 2008 4:22PM
Ive said this about a dozen times on different sites. There is only one genre that cannot work on the iphone as it currently exists, and it's not FPS. The iphone doesn't need a d-pad.
Fahad @ Mar 10th 2008 7:24AM
Are we talking about the iPhone here or what? Don't tell me, someday it will replace game consoles. Come on it's THE IPHONE! The superphone that's missing features of mid-end phones.
Longhorn @ Mar 10th 2008 7:26AM
@ Sam Winter
As I understand it, HSUPA assumes HSDPA's download speeds.
Also, AT&T currently does not have plans to offer two-way video conferencing over its 3G networks. It does, however, offer "Video Share" which is a one-way video transmission accompanied by two-way voice communications. The iPhone's rear camera would be ample enough for Video Share with 3G and a usuable speakerphone feature.
derX @ Mar 10th 2008 1:24PM
It's interesting you would mention HSPUA and AT&T's choice of Video Share over honest-to-God Video calling.
HSPUA does not offer HSPDA speed speeds, actually, it's closer to that of UMTS downlink speeds--which is fast for uplink. On the book, the reason why AT&T has chosen Video Share over Video calling is because the American consumer would not have interest in it as it has really be warmly embraced by Asian and European consumers. Now, the real reason for this is the company's lack of 3G uplink speeds fast enough for video calling. With HSPDA, Video share is nice, because it is one way, with one person sending a real-time clip with the other person downloading it, so to speak. The uplink speeds aren't currently fast enough to allow video calling, which would mandate both phone download and upload at fast enough rates to maintain a smooth, real-time conference.
Long Story short: When the HSPUA rollout is complete, I'm sure AT&T will change it's tune. As AT&T would be the only US provider to have video conference--what's more, Sprint and VZW will not. With T-Mobile's being a Europe-based company, I could not imagine their not allowing video calling in their SU 3G network--this would but AT&T behind, technologically, and I don't see them doing this.
Most importantly: American consumers, such as myself, love novel features. Do *most* people need it: nope. But will they want it and more importantly are they willing to pay for it? Indeed.
Totalfixation @ Mar 10th 2008 7:36AM
I just don't see how any company can beat Nintendo in the hand held market, they just seem to have the edge over everyone. Who wants to play a hand held system without Mario?
Nate the Prophet @ Mar 10th 2008 1:41PM
The Nintendo DS currently has nearly 68M units in circulation. The Sony PSP has nearly 32M. That is 100M total units in this generation of handheld game consoles, compared to 50M total standard videogame consoles (PS3, 360 and Wii combined).
Then handheld gaming market is HUGE business, currently with only 2 players. Apple has the opportunity to get in on that multi Billion dollar industry without needing to create specific hardware--they would be the stupidest company on the planet if they didn't go for this market with both bug iGuns blazing.
Citrico @ Mar 10th 2008 9:26PM
And you know WHY the handheld gaming industry is so big? It's because handhelds are cheap, and they've got a big libraries (especially the DS, as it has the GBA library as well). The iPhone could theoretically compete with a big library, but when I can buy a DS AND a PSP for the cost of one, it's not going to come even close to competing.
Mr. S. @ Mar 10th 2008 7:39AM
Put Advanced Wars on it and thats one less thing i have to take with me next time i travel.... seriously, someone please do it!
Aaron @ Mar 10th 2008 11:37AM
Thats unlikely. Advanced wars has always been a nintendo exclusive.
Semi @ Mar 10th 2008 7:48AM
it could take on the DS market but no way its taking the PSP market...
Kurian @ Mar 10th 2008 8:00AM
Its games will be a joke compared to the PSP.
It might be able to outdo the underpowered childish DS, but not the PSP.
Specs look good on paper, but they will never be utilized to even a small fraction of its potential.
Oinquer @ Mar 10th 2008 8:10AM
sorry...psp is a joke...get a real console get a DS
Dahk @ Mar 10th 2008 9:25AM
@ Oinquer
You really need to play God of War.
Bamboo @ Mar 10th 2008 9:34AM
Or Mgs portable ops, and soon FF crisis core.
010111 @ Mar 10th 2008 7:49AM
holy bust-a-move rip off.
Brian @ Mar 10th 2008 7:32PM
Seriously! I wonder if Taito know about that.
Saad Rabia @ Mar 10th 2008 8:07AM
Let me put it this way, the idea of the iPhone competing with PSP, DS or even NOKIA in terms of gaming or even applications is almost very bad and disappointing! Apple has announced that no developer nor company is going to be able to create applications that can work in the background, meaning that AIM application or even push mail well not work fine unless you are inside the application it self, which also means that if you are playing a game, you can't listen to music or have a 30 minutes phone call with your girlfriend, also means that whenever you get a phone call, the game or whatever app will simply shut down and lose your progress unless you luckily save your game or your application status every 1 minute!
I don't want to sound like a know-it-all, but at least when I'm using a NOKIA phone, a game or application will still keep running in the background which is fair enough and acceptable for a phone/smart device holder.
You see, this is only one problem that I, as a normal reader, have found to be annoying, I wonder what other problems might pop up for game developers and gamers, or even application users (everybody).
What do you think?
Nomi @ Mar 10th 2008 8:19AM
I think thats balls...iPhone 2 ftw!
Camperton @ Mar 10th 2008 8:20AM
It's more likely the game will auto pause/auto save when you get a call and a button asking if you want to accept the call will appear, or something along those lines.
Camperton @ Mar 10th 2008 8:25AM
As far as the ability to play with yourself while talking to your girlfriend... it's hard to say.
engadget @ Mar 10th 2008 10:54AM
You have not been paying enough attention on the rumor sites. The apps don't shutdown, they are frozen in memory, ready for you to return later. I personally don't want a game to continue in the background eating processor and battery time, while the game continues unattended, that would be crazy. I'd rather have the game pause until I'm ready to play... like the iPhone and Nokias do ;)
John B. @ Mar 10th 2008 8:13AM
Sweet! I was worried that I would have to buy a DS for 120 dollars and then choose from a library of both 1st and 3rd party games, many of which have fantastic storylines and immersive gameplay, and some of which you can play online for free with your friends.
But no! My days of oppression are over. Finally, I will be able to pay over 500 dollars for a phone plus 60 a month for a plan, and then play a hundred different versions of Bejeweled, Tetris, and the occasional movie tie in, none of which keep you entertained for more than 10 minutes and none of which you can play online! Apple, you clever dog, you, you've done it again!
Camperton @ Mar 10th 2008 8:22AM
As long as they have a decent version of Tetris. But it would be very hard to equal Tetris DS.
Tetris Company... are you listening?
modified @ Mar 10th 2008 10:54PM
Tack on the fantastic controls that will take up part of the iphone display itself and offer tactile responsiveness....brilliant!
The title of this article shows how much engadget's love for this device blurs their common sense some times.
Fernando @ Mar 10th 2008 8:19AM
No physical keys? But how I'm going to do my combos in street fighter without looking? =(
Nate the Prophet @ Mar 10th 2008 1:42PM
Magnulus you are incorrect. The phrase "in their sites" refers to someone having a target in their gun sites, i.e. ready to fire. The phrase was both used and spelled correctly in the article. The word does not mean "sights," it's a completely different word.
Magnulus @ Mar 10th 2008 8:38AM
No, I don't aim any gun sights because I don't use guns. See, I'm not from the United States.
(The whole point was that "sites" is not an "accepted" spelling for "sights", something a paid writer should know. It's basic spelling, really, which is why I made the comment I did.)
james @ Mar 10th 2008 9:01AM
I love playing games with my fingers in the way. Seriously. Stevsie should have thought about this earlier and instead of a single button, maybe a directional pad that, you know, could act as a single button, but also as l r u d. I'm not talking about making it a full tilt game pad, but sometimes a clickwheel or directional pad would be handy.
Zach @ Mar 10th 2008 9:05AM
"Oh iPhone, is there anything you can't do with your 3D processor, multi-touch display, and 3-axis accelerometer?"
Supporting all media formats would be nice. Divx, and various internet radio formats. I really want to use the iphone to listen to espnradio.com on the train, but until they support various media formats I won't be buying one.
Bob @ Mar 10th 2008 10:57AM
And flash support... That's lame it can't support flash...
fred @ Mar 10th 2008 9:06AM
all the more reasons as to why i want to buy an iphone.