Apple really needs a good controller to its Idevices.
And I don't think Apple knows how to do one. The only thing Apple never managed to do right was a mouse, so how could they do a controller?
Imagine that you could hook up an Xbox360 like controller to your Idevice.
Just hook the Idevice with HDMI to you TV for 1080P gaming. TODAY. Not next gen, This gen.
Vita will be quod core A9 with quod core PowerVR. 40nm.
About the same time it is released the A6 iPad will be released. The iPad will have a more elegant 28nm A15 core with graphics. Hopefully powerVR6 graphics. This means that iPad (and later iPhone) Will have about twice the CPU speed and the graphic power is unknown. But it won't be slower the Vita.
Its time for Nintendo to close down its hardware division and make great games for iOS.
It's worth remembering that even the current iPad resolution is higher than the Vita, and if the iPad 3 has 4x the resolution it would need a GPU hugely MORE powerful than the Vita to compete.
Plus it's running a much more bloated OS which will be using cycles to check for emails and other paraphernalia.
I will not take gaming on an iOS device seriously until Apple makes a device with controls for gaming. A touch screen for a lot of games doesn't cut it.
I will not take gaming on an iOS device seriously until Apple makes a device with controls for gaming. A touch screen for a lot of games doesn't cut it.
The ironic thing about your post is, yes, a touch screen is a bit of a fail when it comes to gaming, its not going to stop Nintendo fan boys throwing roses to the feet of the Wii U - a giant touch screen.
Instead of a standard button-mashing accessory, I?d like to see a standard FOR button-mashing accessories (even if it evolves from 3rd parties and not directly from Apple). So, for instance, any iOS physical controller would support all or a subset of 4 control axes, a digital D-pad, and 6 buttons. Or whatever. But any game that supported the standard would work with any compatible control hardware.
I completely agree. In fact I made a tentative attempt to get something like that off the ground a few years ago. I hit a big wall with the licensing costs for the dock connector - which were in the region of $20,000. A bluetooth version would be great, but unfortunately there's no standard for analog gamepads in the bluetooth spec (only keyboards, headsets and mass storage)
Let's go Nintendo, get your heads out of your asses! I am never going to buy a Nintendo handheld device, but I would definitely buy up some Nintendo iOS games.
You're losing money and don't let foolish pride stand in the way of keeping your head above water. Bring Nintendo games to iOS and do it sooner rather than later. Millions of people are waiting.
Its time for it to happen before they go bankrupt.
Nintendo's model has failed in the modern market.
The hardware is crap, most of the games are crap, and its all way more expensive than the iOS ecosystem.
Obviously the perfect world would be Nintendo building some kind of analog controller that the iPhone snaps into, and selling their classic titles with beautiful graphics on the App Store. That would get me excited for the Nintendo brand again. Nothing else will.
I really wish Nintendo would partner with Apple and make a controller for iPhone where there are standard buttons. They Nintendo can release all kinds of games and get so much money out of it.
The reality is they bet the farm on Wii which was a pretty cool idea but not something that could go the distance. There are only a handful of games on the wii that make good use of the remote, the rest just use the remote features because they are there.
They could have really exploded things open with the wii but they haven't done hardly anything with it since the wii launched. If I remember wiis were selling like crazy when it came out, then nintendo sat on it, and sales declined. People realized that the system while cool, has practically no replay value. Developers also have to make games exclusive for the wii and it's system, which doesn't translate well to other platforms.
Sadly the wii's strength is also it's greatest weakness.
It's too bad they didn't update the Touch with the faster A5. Not so much for the CPU, but for the GPU performance.
My hypothesis is that with the iPhone 4S being released in the Autumn and the iPad still selling well as we move into the holiday quarter is Apple just couldn't get enough chips to update the device.
yup, the Touch was left behind this cycle, and that will hurt its Holiday sales. Apple should also offer a larger 5"+ Touch model next year. that would hit Sony's Vita hard, and both together would probably kill the 3DS outright. and it would satisfy the genuine demand for a mid-sized iOS tablet.
I think the Wii U doesn't go far enough. The controllers are touchscreen tablet-like devices, but not standalone portable consoles. Why? That, I believe, is where they should be going. The tablet becomes their replacement for the DS line, and then becomes the controller for the Wii U. Make the controller a PERSONAL device, so that each gamer takes ownership of their own.
Apple is in a perfect position to exploit iOS in this way. Already there are games that use the iPhone or iPod as controllers, and the iPad as the display. What Apple lacks, though, is real, physical game controls -- buttons, joysticks, and the like. That's the advantage that Nintendo could exploit. I just can't get into a lot of iOS action games because of that limitation.
I can't tell if Nintendo is just stubborn and delusional in thinking people are going to revert back to separate handheld gaming systems or if they are thinking of making their own SmartPhone. I think either one is a huge long-shot for Nintendo at this point.
Nintendo is not just stubborn and delusional, they are trapped by their overweening pride. they had a great run of successes for several years with the Wii and DS/DSi, and they thought it would last forever. they thought Mario etc. was all they would ever need.
but iOS ate away at the DS starting with the intro of the iPod Touch in 2008, with the iPad adding a crushing blow last year. and Sony and MS caught up to and passed by the Wii in 2010 with the Move and Kinect.
the HD Wii U is coming out 2 whole years too late. there is absolutely no excuse for that. and instead of integrating it tightly with the 3DS to build a real ecosystem, Nintendo is adding a very dumb tablet-like remote control for it that no one is going to want - it's really just a six axis remote with a lame touchscreen.
there is no hope for Nintendo under this blind leadership. it will collapse in two years. maybe Samsung will buy up what's left.
iOS gaming is now entering a new phase with AirPlay/Screen Mirroring bringing it wirelessly to your HDTV (via a $100 Apple TV). the key is that the UI display on the iPad/iPhone (and iPod touch one day) can be totally different than the game display on the TV. plus multiplayer games using multiple iOS devices are supported. this opens up many kinds of new game possibilities, and upgrades for current ones. we will have to see what game developers do with it over the next year. but there is a lot of imagination out there ...
i don't know if this will turn out to be a big deal, or not. but it already jumps far ahead of the Wii U before it even gets started.
and of course you can use Air Play/Screen Mirroring for a lot more than just games.
You'll never see Mario, The Legend of Zelda or any other first party game on another console or device. Nintendo is just like Apple in that they want to control the software and hardware. You have to remember, Nintendo wasn't number one for two generations (Nintendo 64 and GameCube) until the Wii came out. The real problem here is they never had ANY competition in the mobile market until iOS (iPod, iPhone and iPad). Like someone already stated, Nintendo never sold hardware at a loss until the 3DS. I'm not entirely sure but even in their worst days they never reported a quarterly loss which is a real cause for concern. I used to buy every Nintendo console except the Wii. They really need to stop the gimmicks and get back to what made the Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 so great. I love The Legend of Zelda and Mario but refuse to use the stupid Wiimote. I think you'll see Nintendo go bankrupt before they make games for the competition just like you'll never see Apple make OS X or iOS for HP or Dell.
In short, I think Nintendo will figure it out. No Nintendo games on other devices. Quarterly loss and hardware at a loss a real concern. Nintendo, stop with the gimmick controls and release something for real gamers and I'll buy.
Its not gamers turning to iOS, its people realising Nintendo hasn't been making anything worthwhile in nearly a decade.
If Nintendo wants to bounce back to the glory days of the Super Nintendo, they need up to date technology to compete in the market (which is not a gimmick *cough*3DS*cough*) and some damn AAA titles. Hey, the reason the Super Nintendo was so good was for just that - Superior hardware to the rest of the market and almost everything for the SNES was a AAA title.
Nintento is losing money because it wants to. It could port its games to IOS and make money. The other thing is the wii is 5 years old. Where is the innovation? Technology has come a long way since the wii first came out.
Conveniently omitted by the author of this article - the fact that Nintendo's 3DS has sold more units than the Nintendo DS sold in the same period after it launched.
Conveniently omitted by the author of this article - the fact that Nintendo's 3DS has sold more units than the Nintendo DS sold in the same period after it launched.
the 3DS had a fast start - all the Mario fanboys no doubt - but then it flopped hard after that. and it hasn't come back. Holiday sales are its last hope.
the DS started slow but built up over time. at the time it was something new and different, so it took a while to catch on. and then it took off, followed by the very successful DSi.
but the 3DS has no such excuse. if it doesn't bounce back with the Holidays, it's dead.
I guess Nintendo is about as doomed as Apple is...
Lets get real a minute here, 3DS sales are sucking because it was overpriced when launched and still lacks any quality games other than a Zelda Ocarina of time remake. Games like the upcoming Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, Sonic Generations will provide a much needed content boost until Spring when games like Kingdom Hearts 3D and MGS are supposed to make their appearance.
On the console front, was anyone expecting less? The only must have title this year for the Wii is Zelda: Skyward Sword (noticing a trend here with first party Nintendo games?). Thats it. Lets compare that to whats on deck for both PS3/360 - Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Batman Arkham Asylum, MGS HD Collection, Sonic Generations, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim are the standout games. Thats not including console exclusives like Uncharted 3, Forza 4, GoW3.
On both fronts, Nintendo is lacking many quality 3rd party hits this holiday season and sales are going to suffer simple as that. With the Vita on the way the threat is even bigger because for 80 bucks more, you can get a lot more bang.
To sell gaming devices, you need games, and Nintendo is truly lacking this year especially on the Wii front.
Comments
Apple really needs a good controller to its Idevices.
And I don't think Apple knows how to do one. The only thing Apple never managed to do right was a mouse, so how could they do a controller?
Imagine that you could hook up an Xbox360 like controller to your Idevice.
Just hook the Idevice with HDMI to you TV for 1080P gaming. TODAY. Not next gen, This gen.
Vita will be quod core A9 with quod core PowerVR. 40nm.
About the same time it is released the A6 iPad will be released. The iPad will have a more elegant 28nm A15 core with graphics. Hopefully powerVR6 graphics. This means that iPad (and later iPhone) Will have about twice the CPU speed and the graphic power is unknown. But it won't be slower the Vita.
Its time for Nintendo to close down its hardware division and make great games for iOS.
It's worth remembering that even the current iPad resolution is higher than the Vita, and if the iPad 3 has 4x the resolution it would need a GPU hugely MORE powerful than the Vita to compete.
Plus it's running a much more bloated OS which will be using cycles to check for emails and other paraphernalia.
I will not take gaming on an iOS device seriously until Apple makes a device with controls for gaming. A touch screen for a lot of games doesn't cut it.
The ironic thing about your post is, yes, a touch screen is a bit of a fail when it comes to gaming, its not going to stop Nintendo fan boys throwing roses to the feet of the Wii U - a giant touch screen.
Instead of a standard button-mashing accessory, I?d like to see a standard FOR button-mashing accessories (even if it evolves from 3rd parties and not directly from Apple). So, for instance, any iOS physical controller would support all or a subset of 4 control axes, a digital D-pad, and 6 buttons. Or whatever. But any game that supported the standard would work with any compatible control hardware.
I completely agree. In fact I made a tentative attempt to get something like that off the ground a few years ago. I hit a big wall with the licensing costs for the dock connector - which were in the region of $20,000. A bluetooth version would be great, but unfortunately there's no standard for analog gamepads in the bluetooth spec (only keyboards, headsets and mass storage)
Here's the site I set up anyway, so you can see the concept art: http://www.iphoneopengaming.com/iOGA_hardware.html
Let's go Nintendo, get your heads out of your asses! I am never going to buy a Nintendo handheld device, but I would definitely buy up some Nintendo iOS games.
You're losing money and don't let foolish pride stand in the way of keeping your head above water. Bring Nintendo games to iOS and do it sooner rather than later. Millions of people are waiting.
Its time for it to happen before they go bankrupt.
Nintendo's model has failed in the modern market.
The hardware is crap, most of the games are crap, and its all way more expensive than the iOS ecosystem.
Obviously the perfect world would be Nintendo building some kind of analog controller that the iPhone snaps into, and selling their classic titles with beautiful graphics on the App Store. That would get me excited for the Nintendo brand again. Nothing else will.
Man, North is South and East is West this year. How times change, indeed. Nintendo, Nokia, Moto, HP, Palm...
When you put them all together like that, it's kind of surprising. The tech industry is indeed going through a huge shift this year.
They could have really exploded things open with the wii but they haven't done hardly anything with it since the wii launched. If I remember wiis were selling like crazy when it came out, then nintendo sat on it, and sales declined. People realized that the system while cool, has practically no replay value. Developers also have to make games exclusive for the wii and it's system, which doesn't translate well to other platforms.
Sadly the wii's strength is also it's greatest weakness.
It's too bad they didn't update the Touch with the faster A5. Not so much for the CPU, but for the GPU performance.
My hypothesis is that with the iPhone 4S being released in the Autumn and the iPad still selling well as we move into the holiday quarter is Apple just couldn't get enough chips to update the device.
yup, the Touch was left behind this cycle, and that will hurt its Holiday sales. Apple should also offer a larger 5"+ Touch model next year. that would hit Sony's Vita hard, and both together would probably kill the 3DS outright. and it would satisfy the genuine demand for a mid-sized iOS tablet.
Apple is in a perfect position to exploit iOS in this way. Already there are games that use the iPhone or iPod as controllers, and the iPad as the display. What Apple lacks, though, is real, physical game controls -- buttons, joysticks, and the like. That's the advantage that Nintendo could exploit. I just can't get into a lot of iOS action games because of that limitation.
I can't tell if Nintendo is just stubborn and delusional in thinking people are going to revert back to separate handheld gaming systems or if they are thinking of making their own SmartPhone. I think either one is a huge long-shot for Nintendo at this point.
Nintendo is not just stubborn and delusional, they are trapped by their overweening pride. they had a great run of successes for several years with the Wii and DS/DSi, and they thought it would last forever. they thought Mario etc. was all they would ever need.
but iOS ate away at the DS starting with the intro of the iPod Touch in 2008, with the iPad adding a crushing blow last year. and Sony and MS caught up to and passed by the Wii in 2010 with the Move and Kinect.
the HD Wii U is coming out 2 whole years too late. there is absolutely no excuse for that. and instead of integrating it tightly with the 3DS to build a real ecosystem, Nintendo is adding a very dumb tablet-like remote control for it that no one is going to want - it's really just a six axis remote with a lame touchscreen.
there is no hope for Nintendo under this blind leadership. it will collapse in two years. maybe Samsung will buy up what's left.
i don't know if this will turn out to be a big deal, or not. but it already jumps far ahead of the Wii U before it even gets started.
and of course you can use Air Play/Screen Mirroring for a lot more than just games.
In short, I think Nintendo will figure it out. No Nintendo games on other devices. Quarterly loss and hardware at a loss a real concern. Nintendo, stop with the gimmick controls and release something for real gamers and I'll buy.
/end rant
Its not gamers turning to iOS, its people realising Nintendo hasn't been making anything worthwhile in nearly a decade.
If Nintendo wants to bounce back to the glory days of the Super Nintendo, they need up to date technology to compete in the market (which is not a gimmick *cough*3DS*cough*) and some damn AAA titles. Hey, the reason the Super Nintendo was so good was for just that - Superior hardware to the rest of the market and almost everything for the SNES was a AAA title.
Completely agree!
It could port its games to IOS and make money.
SHOULD. And the Mac, too. If anyone's like Nintendo, it's Apple.
The other thing is the wii is 5 years old. Where is the innovation?
The Xbox 360 is older. I don't see people whining. The WiiU's out next year. Where's the Xbox 360 successor? Nowhere.
Conveniently omitted by the author of this article - the fact that Nintendo's 3DS has sold more units than the Nintendo DS sold in the same period after it launched.
the 3DS had a fast start - all the Mario fanboys no doubt - but then it flopped hard after that. and it hasn't come back. Holiday sales are its last hope.
the DS started slow but built up over time. at the time it was something new and different, so it took a while to catch on. and then it took off, followed by the very successful DSi.
but the 3DS has no such excuse. if it doesn't bounce back with the Holidays, it's dead.
Nintendo for iOS? I'd say yeah! But make it serious, make games specifically designed for touch screen. No virtual buttons porting old classics..
Lets get real a minute here, 3DS sales are sucking because it was overpriced when launched and still lacks any quality games other than a Zelda Ocarina of time remake. Games like the upcoming Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, Sonic Generations will provide a much needed content boost until Spring when games like Kingdom Hearts 3D and MGS are supposed to make their appearance.
On the console front, was anyone expecting less? The only must have title this year for the Wii is Zelda: Skyward Sword (noticing a trend here with first party Nintendo games?). Thats it. Lets compare that to whats on deck for both PS3/360 - Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Batman Arkham Asylum, MGS HD Collection, Sonic Generations, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim are the standout games. Thats not including console exclusives like Uncharted 3, Forza 4, GoW3.
On both fronts, Nintendo is lacking many quality 3rd party hits this holiday season and sales are going to suffer simple as that. With the Vita on the way the threat is even bigger because for 80 bucks more, you can get a lot more bang.
To sell gaming devices, you need games, and Nintendo is truly lacking this year especially on the Wii front.