iPhone 5 - What about us gamers?

Now that the iPhone 5 is released, what does that mean for people who use their phones to play games? Are we looking at the next handheld console or just another smartphone?

[Kran]

"iPhone 5 - What about us gamers?"

It's called the iPod touch.

That's all I'm gonna say cause I'm sure there are lots of iPhone/Apple haters and lovers on here...

[kharma45]

The touch is a viable option but the A6 in the iPhone 5 should be capable of some amazing stuff if it is indeed confirmed to be based on Cortex A15 internals.

[Summons75]

Iphone....gaming? Sorry Cellphone will still never be gaming handhelds. Get a Vita or a 3DS and play good, well-developed games.

[BradleyRussell]

When you say 'good, well-developed games' do you mean games with a fully fledged story or other similar features? Gaming has moved on. Casual gaming has just as much merit as the latest AAA hit. Cellphones are now viable options for gamers and game developers.

[Dannycr]

Yeah, keep telling that to yourself. Gaming has not moved on. That's just the lie you keep telling to yourself to validate a phone as a gaming device. It is not.

[gamesmaster]

you're telling me that angry birds has just as much merit when it comes to full fledged story as say.. MGS or Mass effect. no just no. phone gaming is fit for short periods of boredem, ie. on the bus, on the toilet, on your lunchbreak. If you want a fuller more thorough experience buy a dedicated gaming machine "its what they do best"

[CommonSenseGamer]

@Danny.

To suggest a touch screen device is no good for gaming is an antiquated opinion. Touch screen gaming can be fantastic depending on the game. For instance, tower defence games play brilliantly, civilisation type games, puzzle games, etc. I play a game on my tablet called Monster Shooter and it controls brilliantly using the virtual joysticks. So does Mini-Motor.

Games need to be created to best take advantage of the controls of the device it will be played on. This was a problem that plagued gaming on the PSP however, when a developer gets it right then there are hours of fun to be had regardless of the device.

On a final note, it will take Sony over a year (or more) to sell as many Vitas as Apple will sell iPhone 5 units in one week. Vita may be capable of some great gaming but there is little money for developers to support it just yet.

@gamer
Yeah, touch screen devices are incapable of games with a deep story. I hope you don't honestly believe that. You do know games like Dead Space and even Final Fantasy are available for smartphones and tablets.

[MaxXAttaxX]

I emulate games on my smartphone. Touchscreen controls are HORRIBLE. Period. Even for simpler 2D games. Controls have to be dumbed down and simplified for phones and tablets.

Console-like games are few and far between. And when they do release, they're sub-par. Like that sorry excuse of a Mass Effect game. Because that's the type of thing you get with phones.

[Trenta27]

Infinity Blade 2? That's well developed, great storyline, and fun gameplay. iPhones and other smart phones are just fine for gaming.

[Sizzon]

Yea Infinity Blade 2 is great, I have it, and also Minecraft: Pocket Edition is good.

[Dannycr]

What about us gamers?

Sorry but if you plan to buy a cellphone to play games instead of a handheld, you are not a gamer, you are a hipster.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Really, a hipster? Do you represent all so called "gamers" or just those with tunnel vision?

[Dannycr]

I represent the gamers who play real games, not just your average Free to $1 app that you like to call games. No, that's not estimulating and while they might entertain, they are not games for real gamers. They are not made for gamers, they are made just to follow trends and make money out of the hipster needs to be "trendy".

The current trend is to be a gamer, to like comic books and watch The Big Bang Theory, so these games give you the false feeling that you belong to a specific niche of people that you were not part of, and you will not be part of... if you didn't have an iphone, ipad, android phone. So, yeah, keep following the trend, I'll stick to the real scenario and supporting the devs that give us proper experiences.

[BradleyRussell]

Why can't you get both? Handhelds are predominantly for handhelds whilst cellphones are multimedia devices that have carved out a real niche when it comes to certain games.

For example, Angry Birds has over half a billion downloads. More people most likely played that last year than bought a handheld console. Angry Birds wouldn't have been anywhere near successful with a higher price point on a handheld console as it only limits the audience.

I'm not trying to play Devil's Advocate here, I genuinely believe gaming has its merits on a cellphone.

[Dannycr]

Cellphones are multimedia devices, exactly, not gaming consoles. The media keeps trying to shove down our throats that cellphones are gaming devices, but they are not. They work for your average app like Angry Birds, Songpop, Drawsome, but not for gaming. Touchscreen controls are HORRIBLE for regular gaming. I have a SNES emulator on my Galaxy S2 and it sucks to play Super Castlevania 4 with touchscreen controls. I have the posibility to configure my cellphone to use the PS3 controller to play, but that defeats the entire purpose of portability if I have to carry my PS3 controller everywhere, but, I have a 3DS and that gives a WHOLE range of different games that surpass the quality of whatever game you have mobiles. No, I'm not talking about graphical power, I'm talking about real games.

As I said up there on another reply. These mobile games are just simple apps made to follow a trend and get cash out of the people who are a part of this trend. Today, everyone is a gamer, comic book reader, has a toy collection and loves cartoons, companies take notice and start to cash in this trends. I don't blame big companies if they join this trend. The sense of "belonging to a group" does pay back.

[HeavenlySnipes]

The games aren't that great. The ones that attempt to be real core games that you'd find on a Vita or 3DS all suffer from the controls and lack of buttons. Not matter what you are gonna have a very limited amount of good core games to play on the IPhone that aren't terrible to control