Does the iPhone/iPod touch really need a gamepad?

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I started a thread about the iPod touch being considered the best gaming device on the market. I was totally amazed by the amount of excellent responses listing both pros/cons of iPhone/iPod touch gaming compared to Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP.

The discussion revolved mainly around controls, many pointed out because the iPod touch had no real gamepad it could never really compete with DS/PSP, while on the other side, some of you made great counter arguments that the iPod touch's controls had potential.

I was reading an article called iPhone Gaming: Play to your Strengths the other day and it really got me thinking about what kind of game genres would work best on the iPhone/iPod touch and which ones would just be horrible.

So lets talk about this, what games do you think would naturally be at home on the iPhone/iPod touch and what game genres would be a disaster?

I'll kick things off, Flight Sims would be awesome on the iPhone/iPod touch, StarSmasher although it's really basic, is proof of concept that flight sims do work well with accelerometer based controls.
 

cwa107


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If gaming really does take off on the iTouch/iPhone platform, I'd be willing to bet someone will come out with a snap-on controller that plugs into the data interface on the side. That much seems obvious to me, although I wouldn't expect Apple to produce such a device.
 
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I started a thread about the iPod touch being considered the best gaming device on the market. I was totally amazed by the amount of excellent responses listing both pros/cons of iPhone/iPod touch gaming compared to Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP.

The discussion revolved mainly around controls, many pointed out because the iPod touch had no real gamepad it could never really compete with DS/PSP, while on the other side, some of you made great counter arguments that the iPod touch's controls had potential.

I was reading an article called iPhone Gaming: Play to your Strengths the other day and it really got me thinking about what kind of game genres would work best on the iPhone/iPod touch and which ones would just be horrible.

So lets talk about this, what games do you think would naturally be at home on the iPhone/iPod touch and what game genres would be a disaster?

I'll kick things off, Flight Sims would be awesome on the iPhone/iPod touch, StarSmasher although it's really basic, is proof of concept that flight sims do work well with accelerometer based controls.

Madden Games. *shudders*
 
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It just crossed my mind, a lot of web games would have a pretty easy transition onto the iPhone, mainly b/c a lot of web games use the mouse, that would just be perfect for the iPhone's touchscreen.

I have mixed feelings about adding physical gamepad support to the iPhone, mainly b/c not everyone will have one, and not everyone will want one, lots of people buy the iPhone for anything but gaming.

It'll also make the lives of gaming developers tougher, designing a game for an unknown gamepad can be tricky, each gamepad may have a different button configuration or number of buttons might differ, major headache if you ask me, from a games design standpoint.

It's also extra bulk you have to carry around, if they ever do start selling gamepad addon controls. One of the biggest strengths of iPhone gaming is the fact that it's so convenient, the iPhone is so compact, it's thinner than both the PSP/DS and smaller overall than the PSP.
 
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i really really like monkey ball, i think its incredible. next im buying that football(soccer) game. it looks awesome in my opinion. i like them for times of waiting around places or being bored waiting for a meeting.

i think there are alot of great games that can be made, the possibilities are really endless with an accelerometer AND touch screen.

i think its just a matter of breaking away from a controller.

how about an RTS game?

one finger tap is a move to, two fingers is an attack, 3 defend?

eh eh? hows that sound. have a menu pop-up like in CNC3 for structures and such when you hold finger down in a spot.

even easier than that, civilization style.
 

cwa107


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i really really like monkey ball, i think its incredible. next im buying that football(soccer) game. it looks awesome in my opinion. i like them for times of waiting around places or being bored waiting for a meeting.

i think there are alot of great games that can be made, the possibilities are really endless with an accelerometer AND touch screen.

i think its just a matter of breaking away from a controller.

how about an RTS game?

one finger tap is a move to, two fingers is an attack, 3 defend?

eh eh? hows that sound. have a menu pop-up like in CNC3 for structures and such.

even easier than that, civilization style.

Ugh... still waiting on my iPod Touch to arrive off the slow boat from China ;) You're making me jealous. Can't wait...
 
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haha kk i will wait to tell you more great stuff about it.

message me when you get it, the new touchs look sweet, think im gonna go to best buy just to look at it.

i wanna compare apps though
 
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iPhone games for different phones

Sorry for the off-topic post, but I didnt want to start a new thread for this question. I have a Palm Treo 755p, and it suits me just fine. I am greatly entertained by Brain Tuner & Matches on the iPhone. Is there anyway to get those games on my treo? Thanks
 

cwa107


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Sorry for the off-topic post, but I didnt want to start a new thread for this question. I have a Palm Treo 755p, and it suits me just fine. I am greatly entertained by Brain Tuner & Matches on the iPhone. Is there anyway to get those games on my treo? Thanks

iPhone games are designed to specifically run on that platform, so unless someone "ports" them (essentially rewrites them for another platform), then no.
 

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