Rewind your mind a few years into the past and what you'll find is a gaming market dominated mainly by three companies, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. Mobile phone games were invisible in terms of market share, they hardly made a dent. But a revolution happened with the iPhone where people started purchasing all sorts of games for their device and because of it, Apple's share has increased fives times over in just one year. Even beating out the PSP.
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is going to enter the market of videogames with a console unless one of the big three get out of the competition. Which is not going to happen anytime soon.
And that's in just one year. Give apple more time, let them make some more cash and gain some more influence.
The possibilities become endless.
And each one runs like an early DS game - at best. For all the juice in an Iphone, I'd expect it to run/ look/ sound better. Until these games offer experiences similar to a PSP/ DS, they will never compete with Sony or Nintendo.
The games just aren't immersive or well-produced enough for a core audience. Sure Bejeweled and Crazy Taxi might sell in the millions, but that doesn't make them core or desirable games.
joke..
GTA: Chinatown Wars runs better on the iPod Touch/iPhone 3Gs than it does on the DS OR the PSP. Some of it has to do with which iPhone/iPod you have as well. Also, Call of Duty Nazi Zombies runs amazingly well along with a bunch of other games that I play constantly. Whether N4G users want to accept it, the iPhone/iPod is the future in handheld gaming.
Also, the games on the iPod/iPhone are ridiculously cheaper. GTA:Chinatown Wars was $34.99 on the DS, then $39.99 on the PSP (even the Go unfortunately), and you get a better experience (IMO of course) on the iPod/iPhone for $9.99! Being able to play the full version of Duke Nukem 3D on the iPod for $0.99 is also a complete steal. There are so many great values on the app store (FF1&2 $9.99 ea.), and the games are getting better and better.
...not without a directional controller. I think the king of the future will have to have both like the ds has now
apple fanboys will be born on N4g
apple wars
And Chris above I think your missing the point - games such as Crazy Taxi may not be the best but if they sell millions and gain marketshare. Marketshare is what matters even if they look like NES games. Thats the whole point.
A lot of developers have done a great job implementing the virtual d-pad on the iPod. Besides that, the other features and sleekness of the device really outweighs the button problem. Do I want a DS where I can just play games, or do I want the same great touch screen experience with better graphics, and thousands of other apps, camera (iPhone only of course), videos, music, and other features? If it wasn't for Nintendo's amazing games on the DS, the iPod would have a real shot at taking over the market. The PSP is already dead in the water until Sony makes their next move. This data really makes it look like E3 may be a good time for the PSP2 to show itself.
@Mint Royal - Seriously, the DS version? I literally own all 3, and I'd say the DS version is more fun than the PSP version but it runs the worst out of all 3.
You're right about what the story is about, so let me tell you what it isn't about.
Unlike when the PSP entered the portable market the iPhone is expanding the market to include people who might buy one game per phone. It's also not about mentioning the fact that the average PSP game doesn't retail between $0.99 and $5.99 like the iPhone.
Lastly it doesn't take into account that, EXCEPT for when Apple releases a new model to keep the price at a ridiculously high premium, the PSP outsells the iPhone worldwide everyday.
So yeah your right the PSP is taking a beating from the iPhone. Where 95% of it's users don't purchase games and of the 5% that do, do it for (mostly) less than $6.
You may think that the PSP outsells the iPhone.
It certainly doesn't outsell all iPhone OS devices.
Whether the game sells 1 billion copies is inconsequential to me or 90% of the people (enthusiasts) who frequent this site. I'm questioning how viable the Iphone is at creating core games. So far, aside from GTA, I haven't seen much. Oh, and the Final Fantasies that someone mentioned are buggy messes. They freeze every 1/2 hour or so and have a host of other glitches (check the customer reviews and forums if you want to corroborate this). You'd think it would be easy enough to port a couple of several year old NES/ PS1/ PSP games. Apparently not.
That said, I will be picking up Media Vision's JRPG when it comes out. If anyone can win my affections, it would be them.
Apple certainly have the pricing on these services down though. Portable software should be markedly cheaper than home console stuff. $15 and under for AAA (when it inevitably exists :P) stuff is the sweet spot for core or casuals.
i bought the ps3 launch, wii launch too, waited till fable 2 release to get a 360.. with 3 consoles, i pray it stays that way, anyone else entering the market will most likely fail, as last time there were only 3, nintendo, sega and sony, most chose sony or nintendo, now ms is in the market and they pretty much have a big chunk. I think it would be console suicide for someone, and i doubt it would be sony or nintendo.
I do think Sony should be dismayed about the competition the iPhone/iPod is giving to the PSP, but you're right on the console front. It seems like now would be a bad time for Apple to enter the home console market as well. I have a feeling they would be more Nintendo/casual-ish as well.
gonna hardly accept apple game console, I mean, the market is stuffed
it will be overwhelming
on the bright side, if apple is serious about it, then maybe they 'll give us the next first party stunner like mario bros or halo 1
Not because it's buggy, but because then you wouldn't go on iTunes to pay to watch shows that the same companies give away on their websites. It wouldn't surprise me if every connection on the thing was a iPod jack, just so they can keep it proprietary.
Could you imagine the third party cluster-phuc that would occur when a major publisher had it's game pulled because Apples exclusive first party AAA game was it's competitor? Apple treats all 3rd party support like they're 1st party, like they own them.
I'll believe in iPhone gaming when big brands that I have to play are only available on iPhone something big like Final Fantasy Dissidia. When they announced that game I was so f'n p'ssed that they made my dream game on a handheld and I couldn't play it on a console. Same goes to DS. But I can't see third party support on any sort of level like that with Apple products.
1. Sony is trying to compete with xbox live copying features from live from here and there.
2. Sony is copying wii......motion controller
3. Sony what features will u copy from Apple Console?
dont even waste your time responding, he cant read.
he has his big brother to read the title and his younger sister to type for him.
your so right.sony have turned into the windows of consoles.everything they have done to this point is a copy and paste job.the only original thing on the ps3 is the the the the..i cant think of anything
since you love GR8 1 so much perhaps we can make you two one bubble brothers? :)
Microsoft waits a while, discovers a feature and then 'copies' it calls it their own market the feature and calls it innovative. Then 6 months down the line release SP1 which doesn't help :P
I don't see why Sony are worried they design the PS3 to last longer than 7 months.
Can't you see all he wants is your attention
he's a baby who needs his milk -[heheeh like HALO]
so just ignore him and let him cry on his own.
@drummerx2709
List of the agree'ers
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99.him
Nobody is going to spend money on an iphone version of a game INSTEAD of the console version. They might buy it as well as, but no way as a substitute.
I mean i love doodlejump on my iphone but lets be real.
Only one joystiq and 4 direction buttons on the controller.
That's EXACTLY what an Apple gaming machine would look like.
...apple already tried it with the Pippin and fell flat on their faces. It would be nice to see a 4th competitor, but I'd rather it be Sega than Apple.
All Apple would do is release an under-powered, over-priced console with touch-screen controllers and market it to every Starbucks-dwelling douchebag in the country.
I'm sorry to break it to you, but Sony and Nintendo are offering you under-powered, over-priced handhelds at the moment with ridiculously over-priced software. Of course, you've probably never owned an Apple product in your life and just base all of your opinions on the opinions of others on the internet.
I own 3 apple products and i'll probably be getting an ipad. Despite that i completely agree with Magna Fartas statement.
I have a lot of ipod games..........95% are casual compared to the games the PSP and DS have. I don't mind if you disagree but haven't you noticed that no one here agrees with you?
IF we are going to prove it with numbers , so what ? Mobile phone gaming have been bigger than true hanheld videogaming for quite some time already .
doesnt mean they's be taken seriously by real gamers .
The 3ds news throws , imo , apple's dream even further .
The only edge the iphone currently got , when it comes to gaming , have been graphics .... basically the easiest hurdle to overcome for it's competition .
Who here doesnt believe that PSP2 , and the following nintendo handhelds wouldnt be more powerful ?
Meanwhile appel's current and new product still doesnt offer a controls schemes that is good and serious enough for real games . Let's not pretend call of duty pod plays as well as old stuff like Metroid on DS , or that the virtual pad makes Street fighter 4 iphone more thana pretty gimmick .
There is a reason those games are cheap , most of them are disguised shovelware and sold as such .
There are sometimes exceptions of course . But we all know what an actual gamer would choose between MGS4 the eyecandy 5 min experience ... and a MGS peacewalker .
So far the iphone hasnt produced one original and "hardcore" new ip . At most we've seen shovelware clones of existing stuff , some pretty , some not so much .
The only unique thing going on right now is that the iphone is well a phone . But graphics are easy to top ... and Touch gaming was already underway and done better .
Do you honestly think I care if anyone on this site agrees with me? If anything, I'd rather have disagrees from the N4G crowd. N4G "gamers" are mostly resistant to change and are rarely right with their predictions and assumptions. Typical N4G mentality: Wii sucks, Natal is eyetoy, move is wii, FFXIII sucks because it isn't exactly like my favorite FF, PS3 exclusives are the best, sales don't matter (unless the PS3 is first), we have to have real buttons, etc... N4G "gamers" don't even know what fun is anymore.
Im not saying Apple can't be a contender but in the meantime as long as they release casual games don't expect gamers to take them seriously. If they can offer people here something concrete then you shouldn't hear much opposition.
Sure if I have a long journey or something I'll take one of the "real" handhelds but I just don't carry them everywhere in case I might want to have a 5 minute blast on a game.
This is where the iPhone "wins" in my opinion, generally on the move I just want a simple fun (cheap) game to waste a few minutes not a full blown game, and when I'm not on the move and after that full game experience my PC/consoles take centre stage.
And to add injury to insult I just posted this on my iPhone.
What was it called?? Pippin?? or something like that. Yeah...not many remember because it was a total disaster.
I think SEGA will come back to the console market (making consoles) sooner than Apple will (or should).
But as soon as Apple comes out with a console you know that all those "metrosexual" "I'm cooler than the whole world" "always want the newest tech on the market" sheep people will buy it because it's "APPLE man".
Just look at the Ipad. Yeah, I thought so.
I love apple products, but a gaming console would not be consumer friendly. It would be expensively priced.
with all these resurrection of old gaming rigs...with the Commodore, and Apple.....I'd much rather see SEGA make a comeback.....fr sure.
cant do sht in the gaming market!
Console business is quite different from any other business out there. . I hardly see any Apple products in Africa. . Americans are just crazy for a crazy company . . why people buy the iphone is totally beyond me.
Extremely expensive with no interesting features . .
APPLE pls don't come and turn the gaming industry to an overpriced community. . .
SEGA'S returns and Microsoft exist would be much more better than Apple coming with their usesless proprietary policies
Apple is meeting the same success in Europe and Asia as well .
And if you actually read other sources (with actual facts) and travel more , you'll see that Ipods/iphone are quite big in both Europe and Asia .
Hell here people even grab the thing at 700-800 euros , wich i'd never understand
I dont know how it is in africa , wich is why i didnt bother .
Sales figures exists out there , go find them . The various iphones released sold out in many european country , such as France , at launch and in a few occurences afterward .
And like already mentioned , where i live , it's still a massive success , even at an outrageous and ridiculous 800 euros price tag .
Get some clue already , and find another subject to be anti-american . it was and still is close to a worldwide phenomenon .
I have decided to be more recusant rather than being recumbent. I have decided to be more quixotic rather than being laisser-faire- to challenge my destiny the more rather than relapsing into a cocoon of levity, or into a cocoon of narcissisms
The truth is that I do not set out deliberately to mystify my friends, to deposit my friends in a portmanteau of indecipherability or in portmanteau of conundrum.
is because of apps.customize your device to fit your needs.no other device let you do that.
you couldn't do that with DS or psp without hacking the thing.i love my psp because it's hacked and there were apps and emulators for the thing.just yesterday i was playing punchout again and saved at sandman.
but the controls on ipod and iphone blow.no buttons or controller is crappy for precision.can i play a fighting game on the thing?i wouldn't even try.some games are fun.the problem is precise movement and buttons.if cars or trucks had controls like the ipod/iphone,we'd all be dead on the roads.driving slow would be fine.but now do that at 150-200 miles an hour.just getting off the exit ramp would be bumper car material.
a home console would do a couple of things:
1.it would kill used gaming all together.sorry,you can't trade in your games.
2.you don't really own your own games as they are virtual.can't give them to a friend either.and i doubt apple is going to let you share your digital content like sony does on ps3.
3.what could apple do that's not already been done by the other three?i wouldn't want a touch pad to play.i want buttons.it's why i laugh at kevin butler's viral commercial.it makes sense picking on the fact that humans like to touch,grab,press,mash,twist,et c.
4.apple doesn't have the processing power to defeat sony without outside help.they may not need it.but after playing current gen games,i definitely wouldn't want to back step to graphics that sony would already have set the standard on.it's one of the reasons why i won't touch wii.or most third party games.
same with PC gamers.they have a hard time looking at anything less than their current graphics card.supporting apple would be like supporting wii.and looking at most ipod/iphone games,they lack in this area.
no buttons and no graphics?no thanks.
no sony first party?no thanks.same with ONLIVE.
just look at IPAD.no next gen tech.the thing has no mic,no multitasking,no camera...it's a big fricken ipod.again...apple console with DRM?
NO THANKS.
Couldn't agree my more. I'll stick with my PSP for handheld gaming, thanks.
As long as the games are marketed as such , most people are able to overlook their lack of quality and depth .
However the minute they indeed try to establish themselves as a proper gaming machine , actual gamers will be expeting better .
With apple bringing no features clearly designed with gaming in mind ... and with no actual developement push other than "here look my machine is powerful , your touch bejeweled and rail fps games will be pretty" ... it wont work just yet .
I could happens , but not with their current approach , and especially without the belief of game devs .
There a reason most SF4 iphone interviews will be tongues in cheek , or would mostly mention the roster , cheap price or the graphics .
They know it aint a serious fighting game ... that the controls are frustrating , oversimplified and silly .
It's a quick cash in and a quite expensive one .
When PS3 was under development, MS sent 2 spies(1 black guy and 1 white guy) to the Sony base which was located beneath the Great Wall of China, the black guy's name was Diddy and the white guy's name was Eminem, they were professionals and after hacking through Sony's securtiy system, they managed to get a blueprint of what PS3 will be. When they came back to America, they were treated like heroes and they were given a reward of 2 million dollars each and was made rappers.
But there was a twist in all of that. Sony's stolen blueprint made the RROD on 360 possible. So, at the end of the day, MS lost 4 million dollars, made themselves look like fools and it reportedly lost 1 billion dollars because of the RROD.
This story will hit CNN and BBC big time soon and when you watch it on tv, remember, it came from me first.
Google will soon arrive and crush the comp and laugh, but then
2012 it all ends........so much drama
and it is very powerful and they actually did charge a good or decent price? I think they could easily do good you know how Apple is they have the name if they come out with a console at a decent price i bet you it would sell like crazy!!
And bite-sized games at 6-8 dollars are actually quite expensive , with an honest look at them . And those are the cheapest apple product available so far .
we don't need more consoles on the market, but hey if it helps to get rid of MS I won't complain, maybe bots will buy it and think it's the nextbox
True i was just saying what if Apple did we may be surprised who knows lol
A videogame console from Apple unlikely but the MAC with Steam coming out could leave Microsoft in the dust. I am not sure about iphone but man that phone is amazing I want it!!! too damn expensive damn it!!!!!!
But who the fk are they going to sell there consoles to . I already know the apple fanboys who hates the ms fanboys will buy it . Unless apple can bring me the uncharted series , god of war series , twisted metal series , buzz series , singstar series , jak and daxter ,killzone , mlb the show , ratchet series well you know what i mean guys , SONY EXCLUSIVE ....It won't be worth my time . Its also the same reason I never bought a freakin xbot . They have no games i like .
second the games that are on the iphone arent in the same category of games on the psp. plus games are a after thought for the iphone
I'm so pro-iphone its pretty sad I'll admit...
But every game I try i just cannot get into, at first it was fun trying out everything that was available but now, the games are just so dull and can keep my attention for maybe 10 minutes tops, depends how fast i can take a dump LOL