Adobe promises 'console quality' games on iPhone, iPad with cross-platform AIR 3
Adobe on Wednesday announced Flash Player 11 and AIR 3, which it said will offer cross-device development for 3D-intensive games on devices like Apple's iPhone and iPad.
Adobe said its latest AIR and Flash Player software will offer developers support on a range of platforms, though because Flash is not allowed on iOS, it will be restricted to the new AIR 3. In addition to iOS, the new software will support Apple's Mac OS X, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, Microsoft Windows, connected TVs and other platforms.
Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 have been declared by Adobe to be the "game console for the Web," as they will allow 2D and 3D games to be played over the Internet on "nearly all PCs and many other devices."
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the Web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager of Platform at Adobe.
"Flash offers the best way for content owners to deliver their most demanding experiences, including games, premium video and sophisticated data-driven apps, to all of their users, while HTML 5 tools such as Adobe Edge and Dreamweaver are ideal for building interactive Web pages, rich ads, branded microsites and general-purpose mobile applications."
Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be publicly available in early October, while Flash Builder and Flex -- Adobe's open source framework for building mobile, Web and desktop apps -- are scheduled to receive updates to support the new features before the end of the year.
Features of Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 highlighted by Adobe include:
Accelerated 2D/3D Graphics: Full hardware-accelerated rendering for 2D and 3D graphics enable 1,000 times faster rendering performance over Flash Player 10 and AIR 2. Developers are able to animate millions of objects with smooth 60 frames per second rendering and deliver console-quality games on Mac OS, Windows and connected televisions. A pre-release brings these same accelerated 2D and 3D capabilities to mobile platforms including Android, Apple iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS. A production release for mobile platforms is expected in the near future. For examples of 3D games for Flash Player, visit adobe.com/go/gaming.
AIR Native Extensions: With support for thousands of highly-optimized, open-source libraries, developers are able to tap into unique software and hardware capabilities including access to device data, vibration control, magnetometers, light sensors, dual screens, near field communications (NFC) and more. Native extensions also allow developers to more deeply integrate AIR applications with other business software.
Captive Runtime: Developers can automatically package AIR 3 with their applications to simplify the installation process on Android, Windows and Mac OS in addition to Apple iOS. Users no longer have to download and update AIR separately on any of these platforms, or BlackBerry Tablet OS, which includes AIR built in. In addition, with the captive runtime option developers can manage version updates to their application independent of general AIR updates by Adobe.
Content Protection: Premium video content can now be protected using Adobe Flash Access 3 across all supported platforms, including new support for mobile platforms.
HD Video Quality Across Platforms: Full frame rate HD video can now be displayed within AIR applications on Apple iOS devices using H.264 hardware decoding. Rich applications on televisions are also able to deliver HD video with 7.1 channel surround sound.
Rental and Subscriptions Support: With support for Adobe Flash Access and Adobe Pass, content publishers can take advantage of rental and subscription options for more flexible business models and offer TV Everywhere content to more than 80 percent of U.S. pay TV subscribers.
Compatibility: 64-bit support on Linux, Mac OS and Windows ensures a seamless experience with the latest 64-bit browsers.
Adobe and Apple have been at odds for years as Apple has not allowed Flash onto its iOS-powered devices, including the iPhone and iPad. Last April, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs published a letter slamming Flash as outdated technology unfit for the modern era of mobile computing.
But Apple also conceded some ground to Adobe and others last September when it began allowing applications in its iOS App Store that were created with third-party development tools. Previously, software written in those third-party tools and ported to iOS was banned from being available on the Apple-controlled App Store.
Adobe has since moved to capitalize on Apple's concession, adding support for building iOS applications with its Flash Builder and Flex software in June. The company is also working to add support for Apple's new Newsstand application, a major feature of the forthcoming iOS 5 update, into Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite, which is used to produce digital publications for the iPad, as well as Android-powered tablets and RIM's PlayBook.
And earlier this month, Adobe announced a new version of its Flash Media Server software that would deliver video to Apple's iPhone and iPad. The updated software will add the ability for its Flash Media Server product to serve iOS-compatible HTML5 video in addition to Flash video.
Adobe said its latest AIR and Flash Player software will offer developers support on a range of platforms, though because Flash is not allowed on iOS, it will be restricted to the new AIR 3. In addition to iOS, the new software will support Apple's Mac OS X, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, Microsoft Windows, connected TVs and other platforms.
Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 have been declared by Adobe to be the "game console for the Web," as they will allow 2D and 3D games to be played over the Internet on "nearly all PCs and many other devices."
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the Web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager of Platform at Adobe.
"Flash offers the best way for content owners to deliver their most demanding experiences, including games, premium video and sophisticated data-driven apps, to all of their users, while HTML 5 tools such as Adobe Edge and Dreamweaver are ideal for building interactive Web pages, rich ads, branded microsites and general-purpose mobile applications."
Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be publicly available in early October, while Flash Builder and Flex -- Adobe's open source framework for building mobile, Web and desktop apps -- are scheduled to receive updates to support the new features before the end of the year.
Features of Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 highlighted by Adobe include:
Accelerated 2D/3D Graphics: Full hardware-accelerated rendering for 2D and 3D graphics enable 1,000 times faster rendering performance over Flash Player 10 and AIR 2. Developers are able to animate millions of objects with smooth 60 frames per second rendering and deliver console-quality games on Mac OS, Windows and connected televisions. A pre-release brings these same accelerated 2D and 3D capabilities to mobile platforms including Android, Apple iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS. A production release for mobile platforms is expected in the near future. For examples of 3D games for Flash Player, visit adobe.com/go/gaming.
AIR Native Extensions: With support for thousands of highly-optimized, open-source libraries, developers are able to tap into unique software and hardware capabilities including access to device data, vibration control, magnetometers, light sensors, dual screens, near field communications (NFC) and more. Native extensions also allow developers to more deeply integrate AIR applications with other business software.
Captive Runtime: Developers can automatically package AIR 3 with their applications to simplify the installation process on Android, Windows and Mac OS in addition to Apple iOS. Users no longer have to download and update AIR separately on any of these platforms, or BlackBerry Tablet OS, which includes AIR built in. In addition, with the captive runtime option developers can manage version updates to their application independent of general AIR updates by Adobe.
Content Protection: Premium video content can now be protected using Adobe Flash Access 3 across all supported platforms, including new support for mobile platforms.
HD Video Quality Across Platforms: Full frame rate HD video can now be displayed within AIR applications on Apple iOS devices using H.264 hardware decoding. Rich applications on televisions are also able to deliver HD video with 7.1 channel surround sound.
Rental and Subscriptions Support: With support for Adobe Flash Access and Adobe Pass, content publishers can take advantage of rental and subscription options for more flexible business models and offer TV Everywhere content to more than 80 percent of U.S. pay TV subscribers.
Compatibility: 64-bit support on Linux, Mac OS and Windows ensures a seamless experience with the latest 64-bit browsers.
Adobe and Apple have been at odds for years as Apple has not allowed Flash onto its iOS-powered devices, including the iPhone and iPad. Last April, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs published a letter slamming Flash as outdated technology unfit for the modern era of mobile computing.
But Apple also conceded some ground to Adobe and others last September when it began allowing applications in its iOS App Store that were created with third-party development tools. Previously, software written in those third-party tools and ported to iOS was banned from being available on the Apple-controlled App Store.
Adobe has since moved to capitalize on Apple's concession, adding support for building iOS applications with its Flash Builder and Flex software in June. The company is also working to add support for Apple's new Newsstand application, a major feature of the forthcoming iOS 5 update, into Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite, which is used to produce digital publications for the iPad, as well as Android-powered tablets and RIM's PlayBook.
And earlier this month, Adobe announced a new version of its Flash Media Server software that would deliver video to Apple's iPhone and iPad. The updated software will add the ability for its Flash Media Server product to serve iOS-compatible HTML5 video in addition to Flash video.
Comments
god knows they've had enough time.
Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 have been declared by Adobe to be the "game console for the Web," as they will allow 2D and 3D games to be played over the Internet on "nearly all PCs and many other devices."
I don't get it, this 'game console for the web' thing comes off as a really stupid way to try to keep Flash relevant. I can't for the life of me imagine a single target audience that would want to have a 'game console for the web', except Flash devs, but they would like anything that brings them more Flash jobs.
When it comes to games, consoles have their pros and cons, and game PC's have their pros and cons. Serious gaming through Flash only has cons. It doesn't make efficient use of that uber-powerful PC gaming rig you build, and it doesn't provide the controlled/reliable and pleasant experience of playing games from the couch, on a big screen TV. Also, the way serious games work is almost opposite to the goal of 'cross platform, cross device' applications.
This all comes off as very desperate to me. It's pretty neat that you can now do serious 3D graphics through Flash, but that's about it. Serious gaming through Flash does not serve anyone except all the poor Flash devs scared to be out of a job soon, but considering that serious game devs probably prefer using other dev tools for games, I'm really dumbfounded who the target audience for marketing slogans as 'game console for the web' is
100%+ CPU time all the time on my mac thanks to Flash.
With 10.7 its even multithreaded and takes 200% cpu time on my mid 2010 macbook pro 2 cores/4 threads.
Can't wait for all those console quality games!
Didn't you watch the video? Those graphics were out of this world!!
Will it work?
100%+ CPU time all the time on my mac thanks to Flash.
With 10.7 its even multithreaded and takes 200% cpu time on my mid 2010 macbook pro 2 cores/4 threads.
Exactly what I thought too. I want native games, like real racing hd. We already have titles like nova and modern combat that are super console like. We don't need flash ports.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
Don't be an ass.
Can't wait for all those console quality games!
Hey if all console games were as quality as SMB3 and TMNT, I'd be happy, sadly most fall well short of the mark.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
I'll pass on having my battery life run dead on an iPhone or iPad b/c I made the mistake of using Flash.
I also really question that 1000% increase over Flash 10. That is 10x greater or an entire order of magnitude. That kind of bump is extraordinarily rare. If it happens great, so long as the increased performance means it uses an inverse amount of my CPU. Doubtful.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
You do have an option: Jailbreak your device and install Flash. I wouldn't, but it's an option.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
You are an idiot and rude, and because of that I won't tell you the name of the app that lets you play flash on the iPad.
Will it work?
100%+ CPU time all the time on my mac thanks to Flash.
With 10.7 its even multithreaded and takes 200% cpu time on my mid 2010 macbook pro 2 cores/4 threads.
People who say that are just liars or Apple makes special computers for me that don't ever have that problem.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
You do have a choice. Download the app that let's you do just that, or get an android phone you insensitive pr1ck.
Can we at least get an option of whether or not to use Flash now that old turtleneck is gone? Would be great for the Flash game websites.
Perhaps you should go try some flash games on a phone that supports flash and then come back and let us know how that worked out for you.
People who say that are just liars or Apple makes special computers for me that don't ever have that problem.
Actually it's entirely possible that there is some poorly coded flash out there that does that. Just b/c you never run into that specific software doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Usually the people who make these claims do fail to mention what they are running in Flash that is producing this CPU time, so that certainly makes it hard to reproduce. Sorry, I test software, so I think about things like this
Meanwhile, Machinarium, a lovely but decidedly 2D game based on AIR requires an iPad 2 to even run. Adobe, their software is always *going* to be awesome.
AIR 3 will bring Stage 3D hardware acceleration to a multitude of devices with the same markup with the best authoring tools for creative content development on the market. XCode and Objective C is only useful if you only target one device manufacturers equipment. Considering what they've been able to accomplish using only CPU rendering, it's a showcase of how capable the AS3 language and flash tech actually is.
I know you guys all bandwagon on everything emperor jobs says, but dissing a technology you don't know for advancing your experiences in gaming is outright dumb. What you should be doing is celebrating the fact that you'll have a greater selection of quality content which plays equally well on the web, desktop, or android devices. Slow down on the Apple Koolaid for a minute.
What you should be doing is celebrating the fact that you'll have a greater selection of quality content which plays equally well on the web, desktop, or android devices.
Howard Johnson is right! We're acting like fools! We all know that Flash runs equally poorly on all of its platforms, and darn it if we haven't given it the disrespect it deserves!