iCade unveils new iPad arcade stick, $80 iPhone gamepad, tiny arcade cabinet
Ion Audio is following up on its tiny iCade arcade cabinet with two new iOS controller options, announced just in time for CES, when people get totally excited about electronics accessories. The iCade Core is a less arcadey-looking iPad arcade stick, with eight buttons and a joystick, designed to allow the iPad to operate in either portrait or landscape. It interfaces via Bluetooth, using the iPad's physical connection to charge.
The iCade Mobile is a gamepad attachment for iPhone and iPod touch that adds a for-real d-pad, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons to the sides of the device. Once cradled, you'll be able to position the phone in either portrait or landscape. Both the Core and Mobile are due in 2012; the Core hasn't been priced, but the iPhone gamepad will retail for $80, which seems like rather a lot for some buttons.
Engadget also discovered a prototype at iCade's CES booth for the "iCade Jr.," a teensy, tiny arcade cabinet for iPhones. The release details for this are still undetermined, but how fun! It seems really impractical to play games with a minuscule arcade stick and tiny, tiny buttons, but it's still far more practical than no buttons.
