Apple's Joswiak says iOS gaming catching up to modern consoles

Posted:
in iPhone
Gaming on iPhone and iPad is reaching a threshold where it's on par with consoles, which have typically outpaced mobile devices, Apple's VP of product marketing claimed in a recent interview.




"They're bringing the current generation of console games to iOS," Greg Joswiak said in a TechCrunch interview. The executive was specifically referring to "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,", which not only have console-like gameplay but in the former's case allows cross-platform play with console and PC gamers.

Most phone and tablet games are still "casual" titles, limited not just by processing power but by storage space and their interfaces. Even when a game is available for both mobile and the living room, developers will often scale back the mobile version, and/or prevent cross-platform play because of the inherent advantage in having a gamepad or mouse/keyboard combo.

The rapid iteration of iPhone and iPad hardware has helped, Joswiak said.

"Every year we are able to amp up the tech that we bring to developers," he noted. "Before the industry knew it, we were blowing people away. The full gameplay of these titles has woken a lot of people up."

Consoles typically iterate every four years or longer, which means that devices like PCs and the iPhone can catch up to and surpass console hardware, which boosts the baseline for gameplay experiences.

Joswiak noted that iOS is a prime target for game developers over Android because of its consistent platform.

"We bring a very homogenous customer base to developers where 90 percent of [devices] are on the current versions of iOS," he said. This means that developers can exploit Apple technology to its utmost and expect gamers to keep up, whereas Android is more fragmented in terms of software and hardware.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    I’m a big gamer and huge lover of all things Apple BUT mobile gaming doesn’t hold a candle to console gaming right now. Even the experiences available on a portable, dedicated gaming device like the Switch provides deeper & larger gaming experiences. If we’re just talking graphics, phones/tablets are getting closer but still a generation behind. More PS3/360 comparable than anything close to a PS4/Xbox One. I own 2 Apple TVs (4K & 4th gen) and play zero games on either. Initially sprung for MFi controllers because I was excited about the prospects of gaming on the ATV. Games are just shallow and more like “time killers” than they are meaty experiences like Breath of the Wild, Horizon: Zero Dawn or Sea of Thieves. 
    bloggerblogdoozydozenmdriftmeyergeorgie01ravnorodommuthuk_vanalingamfirelockGeorgeBMacpropodwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 43
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,664member
    Note to Apple... stop kidding yourselves.

    iOS gaming is NOWHERE NEAR modern console gaming.

    If you want to get real about gaming, then please do it. Make an official controller for the iPad and make it better than the Nintendo Switch. 

    Looking at the Fortnite pic in the headline... it looks stupid. The graphics are an ugly mess. 

    I have a PS4 and and Xbox One and both curb stomp iOS gaming to death. 

    I tried getting into gaming on my phone, but it's annoying. so then my iPad Pro. Again annoying.

    for involved games, you do need a real controller. Not just a touch screen.

    I am a huge Apple fan over pretty much any other company, but Joswiac sounds out of touch here and that concerns me.

    You know what would be awesome? An Apple TV tier that is as powerful at gaming as an Xbox One X.

    That would be amazing.

    but no... Apple will continue to halfway dance with gaming and then pat themselves on the back with make-believe statements. 

    iOS gaming is nothing more than casual fodder. The real games that have been ported can look decent, but they are annoying to actually play.

    I was impressed that Injustice for example looked about as good as a good Wii U game, but then I played it... No bueno. 

    dumbed down control schemes or putting a controller on the screen is just pure lame. 
    edited March 2018 supadav03doozydozengeorgie01ravnorodommuthuk_vanalingamGeorgeBMacpropodpatchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 43
    It's definitely nice to know that Apple has goals, but mobile devices will never catch up with PC gaming or consoles like the Xbox and Play Station. Even the Nintendo consoles don't hold a candle to the Xbox, Play Station and PC Gaming. The size constraints imposed by mobile devices pretty much make it impossible. 
    supadav03muthuk_vanalingamGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 4 of 43
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,695member
    Note to Apple... stop kidding yourselves.

    iOS gaming is NOWHERE NEAR modern console gaming.

    If you want to get real about gaming, then please do it. Make an official controller for the iPad and make it better than the Nintendo Switch. 

    Looking at the Fortnite pic in the headline... it looks stupid. The graphics are an ugly mess. 

    I have a PS4 and and Xbox One and both curb stomp iOS gaming to death. 

    I tried getting into gaming on my phone, but it's annoying. so then my iPad Pro. Again annoying.

    for involved games, you do need a real controller. Not just a touch screen.

    I am a huge Apple fan over pretty much any other company, but Joswiac sounds out of touch here and that concerns me.

    You know what would be awesome? An Apple TV tier that is as powerful at gaming as an Xbox One X.

    That would be amazing.

    but no... Apple will continue to halfway dance with gaming and then pat themselves on the back with make-believe statements. 

    iOS gaming is nothing more than casual fodder. The real games that have been ported can look decent, but they are annoying to actually play.

    I was impressed that Injustice for example looked about as good as a good Wii U game, but then I played it... No bueno. 

    dumbed down control schemes or putting a controller on the screen is just pure lame. 
    I agree, if Apple wants to get serious about gaming, making its own first-party controller that works across iPad / Apple TV is a must.  On top that, make a version of Apple TV with enough horsepower to take on modern games, and create their own first-party games.  Eddy Cue is hell-bent on doing original content for TV, why not do the same for gaming? Come to think of it, if Apple buys Sony, in one fell swoop it would have a huge foot in gaming and TV / Movie content.
    king editor the gratedoozydozenmuthuk_vanalingamGeorgeBMacpropodpatchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 43
    Wondering how much hardware will even matter in a few years. 5G speeds become the norm & you’ll be able to game on nearly any device via streaming. Xbox already setting future plans for this and recently admitted as much. Playstation has invested heavily in game streaming, buying both OnLive & Gaikai. Apple may just bide it’s time, skip sinking massive funds into creating new hardware and developing first-party exclusives and wait for the streaming revolution to come. With all the devices they have in the wild and the fact Apple users have a willingness to actually spend money on software/services/apps it may just make more sense. 
    doozydozend_2spliff monkey
  • Reply 6 of 43
    LOL...two of the biggest games on PC and console just came out on iOS and run great...and all people can do is rehash stuff about 1st party controllers.
    Muntzracerhomie3StrangeDaysspliff monkeylowededwookie
  • Reply 7 of 43
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    LOL...two of the biggest games on PC and console just came out on iOS and run great...and all people can do is rehash stuff about 1st party controllers.
    As PubG Mobile is also reportedly running great on three-year-old Android devices running fairly old OS versions beginning w/5.1 (4.5 stars with 250K installs) apparently it's not needing too much in resources. 
    edited March 2018 doozydozenmuthuk_vanalingamsingularity
  • Reply 8 of 43
    I think the current state of iOS/tvOS gaming is good, but it could be better for sure. I don’t ever see it being a replacement for full fledged console gaming at least not right now, but if they had more serious games even if they were old ones move to the Apple TV that would be helpful. 
    racerhomie3watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 43
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    designr said:
    I'm actually a little surprised Apple hasn't done a game console. I assume TV could be the foot in the door for this. The issue with TV and/or iPhone and iPad is simply that game consoles typically have purely dedicated hardware and software for games. They trade-off general-purpose functionality for superior graphics and gaming performance. It probably always will be so because even as general purpose devices "catch up" the technology enables the dedicated consoles to move forward too.

    That said, what TV and iPhone/iPad could do is syphon off the major of the casual gaming market. For example consider what happened with things like cameras. There are still professional, dedicated cameras...but most of the market just use their phones. The tech gets to the point where the delta between the general purpose device and the dedicated devices is only worth it to a small portion of the overall market.

    This is pretty much on target.  Frankly i see consoles as about the halfway point for gaming performance with gaming PCs at the top.   Given that iPad can certainly beat early dedicated gaming console and be more flexible.  

    Im waiting fir the iPad rev myself.  That should be another big step forward.  

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 43
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    Note to Apple... stop kidding yourselves.

    iOS gaming is NOWHERE NEAR modern console gaming.

    If you want to get real about gaming, then please do it. Make an official controller for the iPad and make it better than the Nintendo Switch. 

    Looking at the Fortnite pic in the headline... it looks stupid. The graphics are an ugly mess. 

    I have a PS4 and and Xbox One and both curb stomp iOS gaming to death. 

    I tried getting into gaming on my phone, but it's annoying. so then my iPad Pro. Again annoying.

    for involved games, you do need a real controller. Not just a touch screen.

    I am a huge Apple fan over pretty much any other company, but Joswiac sounds out of touch here and that concerns me.

    You know what would be awesome? An Apple TV tier that is as powerful at gaming as an Xbox One X.

    That would be amazing.

    but no... Apple will continue to halfway dance with gaming and then pat themselves on the back with make-believe statements. 

    iOS gaming is nothing more than casual fodder. The real games that have been ported can look decent, but they are annoying to actually play.

    I was impressed that Injustice for example looked about as good as a good Wii U game, but then I played it... No bueno. 

    dumbed down control schemes or putting a controller on the screen is just pure lame. 
    I agree, if Apple wants to get serious about gaming, making its own first-party controller that works across iPad / Apple TV is a must.  On top that, make a version of Apple TV with enough horsepower to take on modern games, and create their own first-party games.  Eddy Cue is hell-bent on doing original content for TV, why not do the same for gaming? Come to think of it, if Apple buys Sony, in one fell swoop it would have a huge foot in gaming and TV / Movie content.
    $62 billion seems a high price to pay to get Sony’s gaming and TV/movie content.  I wonder how much those would cost split off from the rest of Sony.
    edited March 2018
  • Reply 11 of 43
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator

    designr said:
    I'm actually a little surprised Apple hasn't done a game console. I assume TV could be the foot in the door for this. The issue with TV and/or iPhone and iPad is simply that game consoles typically have purely dedicated hardware and software for games. They trade-off general-purpose functionality for superior graphics and gaming performance. It probably always will be so because even as general purpose devices "catch up" the technology enables the dedicated consoles to move forward too.

    That said, what TV and iPhone/iPad could do is syphon off the major of the casual gaming market. For example consider what happened with things like cameras. There are still professional, dedicated cameras...but most of the market just use their phones. The tech gets to the point where the delta between the general purpose device and the dedicated devices is only worth it to a small portion of the overall market.

    Well said.  I’ll add that Apple’s general purpose hardware has the advantage of bringing in a lot more dollars (or yen in the case of some gaming competitors) and so can advance faster.  Already a significant force in the casual gamer market, its only a matter of time before mobile gaming provides a good enough experience to start to impact the market for dedicated consoles.  The fact these formerly console-only games are being migrated to mobile devices is evidence of the future direction; game developers who move to mobile will begin to apply more and more development resources to that platform - because it’s a huge potential market - and that both takes resources away from the effort to advance the console-specific editions and begins to advance what today are only initial ports of those console-specific editions.  Wait until they decide mobile is sufficiently important to bring new features there first, and perhaps branch source code to optimize for mobile.  Who knows how optimized these initial ports are?
    designr
  • Reply 12 of 43
    georgie01georgie01 Posts: 436member
    tylersdad said:
    It's definitely nice to know that Apple has goals, but mobile devices will never catch up with PC gaming or consoles like the Xbox and Play Station. Even the Nintendo consoles don't hold a candle to the Xbox, Play Station and PC Gaming. The size constraints imposed by mobile devices pretty much make it impossible. 
    Unfortunately, when you said Nintendo consoles ‘don’t hold a candle to the XBox, Playstation...’ your otherwise legitimate criticism that phones/tablets are not decent gaming devices was discredited. Breath of the Wild has received high praise among serious gamers, and other games like Splatoon are absolutely top tier (except in the small minds of people who think that ‘cute = not excellent’).

    Phone/tablet games are largely hindered by the lack of a dedicated controller, and this lack of dedicated controller means the games can only have so much depth, and games which try to have depth while using a small touchscreen as a controller are usually awkward to play.
    edited March 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 43
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    designr said:
    I'm actually a little surprised Apple hasn't done a game console. I assume TV could be the foot in the door for this. The issue with TV and/or iPhone and iPad is simply that game consoles typically have purely dedicated hardware and software for games. They trade-off general-purpose functionality for superior graphics and gaming performance. It probably always will be so because even as general purpose devices "catch up" the technology enables the dedicated consoles to move forward too.

    That said, what TV and iPhone/iPad could do is syphon off the major of the casual gaming market. For example consider what happened with things like cameras. There are still professional, dedicated cameras...but most of the market just use their phones. The tech gets to the point where the delta between the general purpose device and the dedicated devices is only worth it to a small portion of the overall market.

      Wait until they decide mobile is sufficiently important to bring new features there first, and perhaps branch source code to optimize for mobile.  Who knows how optimized these initial ports are?
    https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-pubg-mobile-analysed-top-end-smartphones-vs-pc
  • Reply 14 of 43
    Gaming on iPhone and iPad is reaching a threshold where it's on par with consoles, which have typically outpaced mobile devices, Apple's VP of product marketing claimed in a recent interview.




    "They're bringing the current generation of console games to iOS," Greg Joswiak said in a TechCrunch interview. The executive was specifically referring to "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,", which not only have console-like gameplay but in the former's case allows cross-platform play with console and PC gamers.

    Most phone and tablet games are still "casual" titles, limited not just by processing power but by storage space and their interfaces. Even when a game is available for both mobile and the living room, developers will often scale back the mobile version, and/or prevent cross-platform play because of the inherent advantage in having a gamepad or mouse/keyboard combo.

    The rapid iteration of iPhone and iPad hardware has helped, Joswiak said.

    "Every year we are able to amp up the tech that we bring to developers," he noted. "Before the industry knew it, we were blowing people away. The full gameplay of these titles has woken a lot of people up."

    Consoles typically iterate every four years or longer, which means that devices like PCs and the iPhone can catch up to and surpass console hardware, which boosts the baseline for gameplay experiences.

    Joswiak noted that iOS is a prime target for game developers over Android because of its consistent platform.

    "We bring a very homogenous customer base to developers where 90 percent of [devices] are on the current versions of iOS," he said. This means that developers can exploit Apple technology to its utmost and expect gamers to keep up, whereas Android is more fragmented in terms of software and hardware.
    Hmm. Well I suppose when an executive talks aloud - relaying whatever is said is technically reporting but it’s also horseshit. 

    Its curious though. Another commenter noticed what I’ve also noticed about apples stated intentions in regards to original content truly none of it assured success to do what? Sell us Apple TVs? Services? Both? Yet gaming which is at least DOUBLE in size to the entirety of all movies and tv is not worth meaningful exploration beyond out of date gpus in the most expensive versions of thier hardware 

    after years of gaming growth. 

    I believe they’ve got a substsntial bias regarding the new businesses thier pursuing and they’re gonna Fuck up in media far quicker than gaming

    also thier morality isn’t playing well in Hollywood people like dick and swearing Apple will go to the cleaners changing no ones minds 

    also neither of these console games is representive if this gen offerings 

    when gta online opens on my iPad then we can have this conversation 
  • Reply 15 of 43
    Ed_RandgadEd_Randgad Posts: 5unconfirmed, member
    iOS gaming is truly missing a proper controller, no matter how good the CPU/GPU is, without a controller with buttons just won't cut it.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 43
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    The botched push into gaming on the ATV with the controller debacle is embarrassing to say the least. Not surprising since Apple has never cared enough to really support gaming via hardware, and barely via software at times.

    That said, I have been playing the full version of Civilization VI on my iPad Air 2, and it does not need a controller. It's pretty great for a full "desktop" port, even if the graphics aren't quite on par with a high end PC.

    Meanwhile, I barely play any "flat" games on my PS4 since I got the PSVR. Just played DOOM VFR for the first time with full locomotion settings and the Aim rifle controller and am kind of amazed with it for being a first gen platform. What a time to be alive.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 43
    I have about two months without playing on my iPad Pro, moved to Switch, better indie games without IPA and AAA titles . iOS and the hardware have the potential but sadly only free titles with iap are coming these days .
  • Reply 18 of 43
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    denisvj said:
    I have about two months without playing on my iPad Pro, moved to Switch, better indie games without IPA and AAA titles . iOS and the hardware have the potential but sadly only free titles with iap are coming these days .
    Civ VI on iPad is a full $59.99 (unless you catch it on discount at half price like I did). I'm hoping for more fully-developed games like this if people will buy 'em.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 43
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Some of you are fucking hilarious, shitting on the (amazing) gaming capabilities of an ultrathin device that fits in your pocket, and whose primary function isn't even gaming. No, obviously the iPhone, with a mobile chip, isn't on par with the latest consoles. But it's pretty damned impressive in it's own right, considering it's a phone. We've come a long, long way in 10 years, and graphics progress on this front is unmatched. 

    As for you people bitching about the controllers, what the hell is wrong with buying nice bluetooth controller like the Nimbus? I use it to game on my Apple TV all the time, and it works great. Why does Apple need to make one themselves? So that all the "hardcore" gamerz can shit on them non-stop because the D-Pad or the analog sticks aren't to their liking? There's tons of MFI options out there that work just fine. Apple has done a great job with their APIs and with relentlessly pushing the capabilities of their GPUs, in order to create a strong foundation and platform for games. They've done more for mobile gaming than anyone else, and they're not obligated to develop their own console with sounds like it would be a massive headache for little payoff. 
    fastasleepradarthekatStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 43
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,695member
    Note to Apple... stop kidding yourselves.

    iOS gaming is NOWHERE NEAR modern console gaming.

    If you want to get real about gaming, then please do it. Make an official controller for the iPad and make it better than the Nintendo Switch. 

    Looking at the Fortnite pic in the headline... it looks stupid. The graphics are an ugly mess. 

    I have a PS4 and and Xbox One and both curb stomp iOS gaming to death. 

    I tried getting into gaming on my phone, but it's annoying. so then my iPad Pro. Again annoying.

    for involved games, you do need a real controller. Not just a touch screen.

    I am a huge Apple fan over pretty much any other company, but Joswiac sounds out of touch here and that concerns me.

    You know what would be awesome? An Apple TV tier that is as powerful at gaming as an Xbox One X.

    That would be amazing.

    but no... Apple will continue to halfway dance with gaming and then pat themselves on the back with make-believe statements. 

    iOS gaming is nothing more than casual fodder. The real games that have been ported can look decent, but they are annoying to actually play.

    I was impressed that Injustice for example looked about as good as a good Wii U game, but then I played it... No bueno. 

    dumbed down control schemes or putting a controller on the screen is just pure lame. 
    I agree, if Apple wants to get serious about gaming, making its own first-party controller that works across iPad / Apple TV is a must.  On top that, make a version of Apple TV with enough horsepower to take on modern games, and create their own first-party games.  Eddy Cue is hell-bent on doing original content for TV, why not do the same for gaming? Come to think of it, if Apple buys Sony, in one fell swoop it would have a huge foot in gaming and TV / Movie content.
    $62 billion seems a high price to pay to get Sony’s gaming and TV/movie content.  I wonder how much those would cost split off from the rest of Sony.
    Yeah, I should've been more specific. Meant Sony Studios & Sony Gaming division specifically.
    radarthekat
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