Logitech, ClamCase tease iOS-compatible game controllers
Following the release of iOS 7, Logitech and ClamCase have both released promotional materials touting forthcoming devices that pair with iOS devices in order to turn them into game controllers.
The materials emerged Thursday in the form of a teaser trailer fromClamCase and a post (via MacRumors) to Logitech's Facebook page. Clamcase's video shows glimpses of the form factor for a device called the GameCase. It promises to "transform your iOS device" with a "full-sized console layout" enabling "3D motion enhanced gaming," and the touted device resembles an Xbox 360 controller split in two to fit onto the sides of an iPad.
Logitech's promotional image shows an iPhone floating between a user's hands, which look like they are grasping an invisible controller in the traditional console style. Previous leaked prototypes of Logitech's gaming attachment have shown an elongated device that an iPhone would plug into, giving it a look somewhat akin to Sony's PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita handhelds.
Both devices will take advantage of new APIs that Apple built into iOS 7. In a sign that the iPhone maker was increasingly serious about increasing the gaming potential of its devices, Apple held a 45-minute long session at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference showing off app frameworks, hardware mock-ups, and best practices for third-party iOS gaming controllers.
Apple's revenue intake from iOS has already surpassed that of Sony and Nintendo's portable consoles. Assuming widespread adoption by consumers and support by developers, third-party controller extensions like Logitech's and ClamCase's could expand iOS gaming beyond its current limitations, further reshaping the gaming landscape.
The materials emerged Thursday in the form of a teaser trailer fromClamCase and a post (via MacRumors) to Logitech's Facebook page. Clamcase's video shows glimpses of the form factor for a device called the GameCase. It promises to "transform your iOS device" with a "full-sized console layout" enabling "3D motion enhanced gaming," and the touted device resembles an Xbox 360 controller split in two to fit onto the sides of an iPad.
Logitech's promotional image shows an iPhone floating between a user's hands, which look like they are grasping an invisible controller in the traditional console style. Previous leaked prototypes of Logitech's gaming attachment have shown an elongated device that an iPhone would plug into, giving it a look somewhat akin to Sony's PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita handhelds.
Both devices will take advantage of new APIs that Apple built into iOS 7. In a sign that the iPhone maker was increasingly serious about increasing the gaming potential of its devices, Apple held a 45-minute long session at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference showing off app frameworks, hardware mock-ups, and best practices for third-party iOS gaming controllers.
Apple's revenue intake from iOS has already surpassed that of Sony and Nintendo's portable consoles. Assuming widespread adoption by consumers and support by developers, third-party controller extensions like Logitech's and ClamCase's could expand iOS gaming beyond its current limitations, further reshaping the gaming landscape.
Comments
And so it begins...
I've said it so many times I'm starting to sound like a broken record.
Once you have proper game controllers and the new game controller API's in iOS 7 it'll be goodbye Nintendo and PS Vita.
I've said it so many times I'm starting to sound like a broken record.
Once you have proper game controllers and the new game controller API's in iOS 7 it'll be goodbye Nintendo and PS Vita.
Why not just use those proper game controllers with a (8inch or higher) Windows 8.1 tablet using Bay Trail or Haswell Y-series? Suddenly you have access to the ever growing PC games library and amazing services such as Steam. Even Bay Trail is powerful enough to run games like Team Fortress 2 or Portal 2. Let's not forget about AMD's offerings.
Why not just use those proper game controllers with a (8inch or higher) Windows 8.1 tablet using Bay Trail or Haswell Y-series? Suddenly you have access to the ever growing PC games library and amazing services such as Steam. Even Bay Trail is powerful enough to run games like Team Fortress 2 or Portal 2. Let's not forget about AMD's offerings.
Well at least you can get those tablets really really cheap because nobody is buying them for anything else. Maybe they would work better as a gaming screen. But then you still have to live with Windows 8. Nahh, I'll take an iPhone 5s with this controller over that every time. iOS gaming is about to explode......again.
Well at least you can get those tablets really really cheap because nobody is buying them for anything else. Maybe they would work better as a gaming screen. But then you still have to live with Windows 8. Nahh, I'll take an iPhone 5s with this controller over that every time. iOS gaming is about to explode......again.
They're only coming to market in October. Don't confuse them with Clover Trail and Ivy Bridge devices running Windows 8.
They're only coming to market in October. Don't confuse them with Clover Trail and Ivy Bridge devices running Windows 8.
You honestly think a new chipset will make people who didn't want a windows tablet suddenly want a windows tablet. They hated it before. With the new chipset, consumers will just be able to hate it faster.
You honestly think a new chipset will make people who didn't want a windows tablet suddenly want a windows tablet. They hated it before. With the new chipset, consumers will just be able to hate it faster.
Are you attempting to troll me? Seriously, you're not making any sense.
This thing they're showing in the video is huge! It doesn't seem portable at all.
It's an iPad mini or an iPad or something in that controller dock, right?
This is not something you just happen to keep in your pocket. It looks like it's designed for home use.
I'm more intrigued by the "something missing" picture... allthough the size he's making with his hands suggest it's gonna be huge as well.
I'd be interested if it was more portable.
Wish Nintendo would make one and use it to launch some Ninty first party games onto iOS. Very much doubt it, but wishing anyway.
Wish Nintendo would make one and use it to launch some Ninty first party games onto iOS. Very much doubt it, but wishing anyway.
Nintendo is being stubborn and I feel they will be stubborn until the end.
Apple has 3 standard controller types to conform to so there's a minimum for number of buttons. I think they should have had a 4th more basic model that would be little more than a bumper case like the following (the shoulder buttons would be placed best for comfort and have a well-defined width and spring tension):
The buttons could be embedded into the frame so that they don't stick out and can be locked when not in use. They can have springs at either side so that you can push down on one side to say accelerate a car and the other side to brake but also you can aim a gun with one side and then tap the button fully down to shoot. It would all be analog. Everything else would be controlled by the thumbs, which replicate the analog sticks mostly. That does leave out the 4-direction d-pad and the 4 action buttons but typically the d-pad just switches weapons, which can be done with touch anyway and the actions buttons like jump, crouch etc are generally contextual and can even have motion gestures.
That design lets you keep the gaming case on all the time and might even get round the fact that the iPhone 5C and 5S are a different thickness by over 1mm, which could require separate controllers for each.
There are times when a large controller would be ok like a car or plane journey so I think the larger controllers will still appeal to some people.
While x86 tablets like the ~$700 Acer Iconia do get a much bigger collection of AAA games, the battery life on them tends to be poor if it's running maxed out as the TDPs are around 17W where as the mobile devices are 2-5W:
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Iconia-W700-6831-11-6-Inch-Tablet/dp/B00B2GXGUM
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Plus these are tablets and there isn't a pocketable equivalent that can do that yet unlike iOS devices. Once the new iPads arrive and the hardware controllers, I imagine there will be more interest in porting some multi-platform AAA titles over to iOS and it's better that they are tablet optimized so that in-game menus work properly.
Haswell Y-Series (Core i3 / i5) have even higher performance and a max TDP of 11.5W. Y-series is also fanless.
Intel's Broadwell Y-Series (2014) should offer a max TDP around 8W, and once again improved performance over Haswell.
If you can get away with the performance of x86 Bay Trail, then you're looking at a max TDP of 3~4W (Bay Trail-T).
Although their general performance isn't anything too special, AMD's APUs such as the A4-5000 offers reasonable graphics performance and a max TDP 6~7W.
In 2014 we might also see the revival of a NVIDIA Ion -like SoC for mobile devices. Intel's 14nm Airmont cores paired with NVIDIA's Keplar mobile (NVIDIA is bringing Keplar cores to the mobile market in 2014).
Intel has those listed here:
http://ark.intel.com/products/75988/Intel-Core-i3-4010Y-Processor-3M-Cache-1_30-GHz
http://ark.intel.com/products/75802/Intel-Core-i5-4200Y-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-1_90-GHz
They note that they can be used in 6W configs for tablets and they have 4200 graphics, which would be faster than the 4000 but only if the TDP remained at similar levels. I'd expect at 6W, it would drop below the HD 4000.
The biggest problem with Intel is price. Those CPUs cost $304 before you even build the rest of the tablet. Even with Apple's high margins, they retail iPad minis at $329. With 30% gross margins, that's a $230 build cost for everything: storage, display, processor, battery. Having to accommodate a $304 processor would push Apple's iPad mini price to around $700.
Having access to all those great AAA games would be a plus but they only run under Windows so x86 isn't an advantage in that case. Plus, the next PowerVR GPU is faster than Intel's Y-series GPU while still drawing less power so given that developers have to redevelop their apps anyway, PowerVR is still a better option for Apple.
Intel has those listed here:
http://ark.intel.com/products/75988/Intel-Core-i3-4010Y-Processor-3M-Cache-1_30-GHz
http://ark.intel.com/products/75802/Intel-Core-i5-4200Y-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-1_90-GHz
They note that they can be used in 6W configs for tablets and they have 4200 graphics, which would be faster than the 4000 but only if the TDP remained at similar levels. I'd expect at 6W, it would drop below the HD 4000.
The biggest problem with Intel is price. Those CPUs cost $304 before you even build the rest of the tablet. Even with Apple's high margins, they retail iPad minis at $329. With 30% gross margins, that's a $230 build cost for everything: storage, display, processor, battery. Having to accommodate a $304 processor would push Apple's iPad mini price to around $700.
Having access to all those great AAA games would be a plus but they only run under Windows so x86 isn't an advantage in that case. Plus, the next PowerVR GPU is faster than Intel's Y-series GPU while still drawing less power so given that developers have to redevelop their apps anyway, PowerVR is still a better option for Apple.
The 6W is not a configuration, that's Intel's SDP measurement. The max TDP remains at 11.5W.
If a thin form factor can sustain that heat output without a fan it would but most likely it'll be throttled to operate within the lower power limit.
There's a comparison here between the 4000 and previous PowerVR:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6872/the-great-equalizer-apple-android-windows-tablets-compared-using-gldxbenchmark-27
The Surface Pro with the HD4000 is about 2.5x faster than the old iPad. The PowerVR in the A7 isn't the fastest PowerVR but the one that I expect to go in the next iPad (possibly A7X) should be 3x faster than the old iPad and the same or faster than the HD4000 and much cheaper.
Windows gaming is fine but Intel's pricing makes the cost of an x86 tablet too high and Windows 8 offers a poor touch experience when it has to drop back into the legacy UI. If you want to game on a Windows device, a proper laptop is better at that price and it won't throttle the performance.