First clear images of Logitech's MFI iPhone game controller emerge
New images have emerged giving the first clear shots of what is said to be Logitech's forthcoming iPhone-compatible game controller extension.
An apparently complete version of Logitech's iPhone gaming accessory showed up Tuesday in images revealed by @evleaks. The accessory shown off closely resembles a rumored Logitech prototype that was shown in images in June.
The device shown is a form-fitting controller that allows an iOS device to dock in its middle. Its physical controls largely resemble those popularized by portable and home video game consoles, with a directional pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons. Notably, the device has a hole on the back to leave open the iPhone's camera and flash units.
The device shown in the leaked image appears to snugly fit an iPhone 5, which means it would also fit an iPhone 5s. Whether it will also fit an iPhone 5c is unknown, as is the possibility of an adaptor for the iPhone 4S and similarly sized devices.
Apple is known to have been working with Logitech and Moga for game controller devices to support the MFi API Apple built into iOS 7. Those two firms have previously teased iOS-compatible devices, though Tuesday's leak is the most detailed look yet at Logitech's offering.
An apparently complete version of Logitech's iPhone gaming accessory showed up Tuesday in images revealed by @evleaks. The accessory shown off closely resembles a rumored Logitech prototype that was shown in images in June.
The device shown is a form-fitting controller that allows an iOS device to dock in its middle. Its physical controls largely resemble those popularized by portable and home video game consoles, with a directional pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons. Notably, the device has a hole on the back to leave open the iPhone's camera and flash units.
The device shown in the leaked image appears to snugly fit an iPhone 5, which means it would also fit an iPhone 5s. Whether it will also fit an iPhone 5c is unknown, as is the possibility of an adaptor for the iPhone 4S and similarly sized devices.
Apple is known to have been working with Logitech and Moga for game controller devices to support the MFi API Apple built into iOS 7. Those two firms have previously teased iOS-compatible devices, though Tuesday's leak is the most detailed look yet at Logitech's offering.
Comments
Nice. All we need is Connect module.
iPhone looks so cheap inside those plastic controllers though. I wonder if they are sold on apple website as accessories.
It would be great if it also include some extra battery power!
I dont think people are purchasing controller cases like this as "luxury" items. Obviously the targets are boys and men 14-35 who are gamers; not execs or their uptight rich housewives who have to have gold iPhone to make themselves feel more important than someone else.
This looks like a good controller. Form follows function and I'm not quite sure what game controller out there has ever be called "pretty". The important thing is how well will it work with a range of games? I think Apple involvement will make sure it's well implemented and the important thing is there will be other controllers out there to suit a range of needs; this is just the "first".
Cue "who wants to carry around a controller?" and "how is this useful?" arguments...
A computer with a mouse and keyboard? What is this, the late 80s?
That's awesome. I like it. Granted, more than likely, it will be obsolete this time next year if the iPhone changes sizes at all- but we have a year to worry about that.
Please announce this side-by-side with the new killer Apple TV 4 on iPad day....
Nice bezel...looks retarded...all that plastic (and metal) surrounding such puny screen. Get a bigger screen iPhone. Pathetic.
Not all of us need huge phones to wave around to the world to compensate for other areas we are lacking in size.
oh and I forgot the
"this thing sucks because the iPhone pathetic" arguments...
yeah but of course the cost, and people want it for gaming but a "adds the battery to make up for the more gaming time" would be good, even if they added one you may only get a 20% boost.
I think the main problem would be only having a d-pad and no analog sticks. Trying to play any kind of first person game like Mass Effect would be very difficult without a dedicated control for viewing/aiming. It won't be easy reaching the display to do this. Driving is better with analog sticks too otherwise it's just hard left/right. D-pad controls mainly work for side-scrollers like SNES games e.g:
[VIDEO]
I think Apple said all controls would be analog (i.e not binary presses but varying pressure) but still, this particular controller has no way to aim. The main point in bothering with a controller is for racing and FPS games.
Apple has multiple controller specs, this is the lowest one. The one above it has a second set of shoulder buttons and dual analog sticks but still clip-on. The 3rd one is a standalone controller.
What's weird is that Valve just recently announced a controller with dual touch trackpads and haptic feedback:
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamController/
Apparently it works well enough to replace a traditional controller and is more precise so can control games that traditional controllers can't like RTS games. The only difference between this and a touch display is the haptics and of course the thumbs not covering the display. I think it would have made more sense for Apple to allow the touch part of their display to extend into the bezels so that thumbs wouldn't cover the display so much, adding haptic feedback and then a bumper case with shoulder buttons would take care of simultaneous inputs. This would have been a one-size-fits-all solution. Even if it was sub-optimal for some who prefer all-physical controls, it would still work well.
Please announce this side-by-side with the new killer Apple TV 4 on iPad day....
More than that, I'd like to see Apps and a game center/game store for Apple TV announced. Time to take on the consoles.
Okay that is the way to do it, they did a nice design there. I am kind of surprise it took someone this long to do this.
Gamepad support has been introduced (at long last) in iOS7. That's why no-one's done anything like this before. The only gamepads or controllers released for iOS devices so far have been kludges using the Bluetooth keyboard spec, using keypresses to represent controller inputs - which has obvious limitations. I'm no fan of Android, but Google added gamepad support eons ago for android. This is long overdue.