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My youngest stepson (10) just got one for Christmas (secondhand iPad mini 2). He's mostly gaming on it, and he loves it. Bear in mind he has access to an xbox o

My youngest stepson (10) just got one for Christmas (secondhand iPad mini 2). He's mostly gaming on it, and he loves it. Bear in mind he has access to an xbox one, too. He doesn't see the iPad as inferior; he certainly did the hudl that he sold in order to part fund the iPad purchase.

michaelmrose 10y ago
Sample size of one and do you really see the xbox one and the ipad mini as equally good game machines?
- WillPostForFood 10y ago
  Games are the number 1 app category in the iOS app store. [1] and smartphone + tablet game market is bigger than either console or PC game market.[2] So people clearly see them as gaming devices. [1]https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-reaches-99-6-billion-2016-mobile-generating-37/ https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-rea... [2]https://www.statista.com/statistics/270291/popular-categories-in-the-app-store/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/270291/popular-categorie...
  - michaelmrose 10y ago
    I don't think mobile games and Xbox games are the same market save for both competing for disposable income. Neither is a fit stand in for the other.
    - WillPostForFood 10y ago
      They also compete for a limited amount of time. There are very few console gamers who also don't have a smartphone or tablet with some games on it. They may not explicitly choose to game on their phone over Xbox, and they may acknowledge that they enjoy console games more. But on a given night, maybe they choose to watch tv, and second screen some games on their phone. And if that phone didn't exist, they would have chosen to play on their console. So they aren't equivalent, but they can still substitute for each other, and compete for time/money/attention.
- simonh 10y ago
  Yes. It's not all about specs. Gaming in the living room? Xbox wins. Gaming in the bedroom? iPad wins. Gaming on a trip to visit Grandma? iPad wins. Gaming on holiday? iPad wins. Want to play low budget or free casual games? iPad wins.
- djaychela 10y ago
  Obviously a sample size of one - you can disqualify just about every comment anyone makes in such a way, so I'm not sure I see the relevance of it in the context of a discussion explicitly mentioning personal experience? It is of course completely possible that he's the only kid in the world who sees it the way he does. I don't see them as equal in terms of specs, but I'm not interested in the same things as a 10 year old. I asked my stepson about it this morning, and he gave what I think was a pretty well-reasoned argument off the cuff about it, mostly that the games on the iPad are completely different to those on the xbox, and he prefers the games that are on whichever platform they are on, and he likes the portable nature of the iPad, but the xbox because multiple players can play together. Sounded like a more coherent review of the differences than I've read on some websites. It's not all about specs, it's about gameplay. I'd actually say I've -enjoyed- playing games on the ZX Spectrum more than some PC games (with infinitely better graphics, sound etc), because I enjoy the game more, and because they could never rely on looking flash to engage you, so they -had- to be excellent games. Technically, there's no way that Manic Miner is a better game than all the FPS that my eldest stepson plays, but I'd take Manic Miner any day of the week.

michaelmrose 10y ago

Sample size of one and do you really see the xbox one and the ipad mini as equally good game machines?

WillPostForFood 10y ago
Games are the number 1 app category in the iOS app store. [1] and smartphone + tablet game market is bigger than either console or PC game market.[2] So people clearly see them as gaming devices. [1]https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-reaches-99-6-billion-2016-mobile-generating-37/ https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-rea... [2]https://www.statista.com/statistics/270291/popular-categories-in-the-app-store/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/270291/popular-categorie...
- michaelmrose 10y ago
  I don't think mobile games and Xbox games are the same market save for both competing for disposable income. Neither is a fit stand in for the other.
  - WillPostForFood 10y ago
    They also compete for a limited amount of time. There are very few console gamers who also don't have a smartphone or tablet with some games on it. They may not explicitly choose to game on their phone over Xbox, and they may acknowledge that they enjoy console games more. But on a given night, maybe they choose to watch tv, and second screen some games on their phone. And if that phone didn't exist, they would have chosen to play on their console. So they aren't equivalent, but they can still substitute for each other, and compete for time/money/attention.
simonh 10y ago
Yes. It's not all about specs. Gaming in the living room? Xbox wins. Gaming in the bedroom? iPad wins. Gaming on a trip to visit Grandma? iPad wins. Gaming on holiday? iPad wins. Want to play low budget or free casual games? iPad wins.
djaychela 10y ago
Obviously a sample size of one - you can disqualify just about every comment anyone makes in such a way, so I'm not sure I see the relevance of it in the context of a discussion explicitly mentioning personal experience? It is of course completely possible that he's the only kid in the world who sees it the way he does. I don't see them as equal in terms of specs, but I'm not interested in the same things as a 10 year old. I asked my stepson about it this morning, and he gave what I think was a pretty well-reasoned argument off the cuff about it, mostly that the games on the iPad are completely different to those on the xbox, and he prefers the games that are on whichever platform they are on, and he likes the portable nature of the iPad, but the xbox because multiple players can play together. Sounded like a more coherent review of the differences than I've read on some websites. It's not all about specs, it's about gameplay. I'd actually say I've -enjoyed- playing games on the ZX Spectrum more than some PC games (with infinitely better graphics, sound etc), because I enjoy the game more, and because they could never rely on looking flash to engage you, so they -had- to be excellent games. Technically, there's no way that Manic Miner is a better game than all the FPS that my eldest stepson plays, but I'd take Manic Miner any day of the week.