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It's called an iPad and it already has an M1. My son and all his friends almost exclusively game on iPads. So the next generation will be more used to touch scr

It's called an iPad and it already has an M1. My son and all his friends almost exclusively game on iPads. So the next generation will be more used to touch screens then game controllers

gjsman-1000 3y ago
You're kidding, right? Nintendo Switch has sold about 130 million units, over 6 years. Apple ships about 60 million iPads per year, for all use cases, but from 2017-2019 it was hovering around 45 million. 2018 was a really bad year at about 33 million. So, we're currently at about 283 million iPads sold since the Switch launch, missing 2023 - so maybe more like 310-320 million, for all uses cases which go far beyond gaming. 130 million Nintendo Switches. Pretty reasonable to say they are pretty even. Except, of course, they aren't even in the high-quality, paid games market where the revenue on iOS is a joke. How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes? How many support local multiplayer on the same device? Switch has got hundreds, if not thousands; iOS has... name five.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  Everything on Apple Arcade fits your criteria.
  - gjsman-1000 3y ago
    Well sure, that's about the only place, if you don't mind the subscription. The flip side though is that so many Apple Arcade titles are also available on Switch. Even ones that Apple showed in their presentations. You can also actually buy them without a subscription.
    - skyyler 3y ago
      Even Nintendo's own offerings show that purchasing is on the way out. The a la carte virtual console has given way for paid subscription access to curated collections of games. You can't buy retro games on the switch the way you could on the Wii and Wii U.
      - emodendroket 3y ago
        Game Pass also seems like the first step down this road for a more “core audience” and Sony has one foot in and one foot out with their PS+ strategy, while we’re at it.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      They’re adding a ton of stuff all the time. I’m not saying that traditional game consoles won’t continue to be around but isn’t mobile already larger both in terms of players and revenue? We’re artificially handicapping the numbers by considering only tablets and not smart phones in this comparison.
      - surge 3y ago
        The switch and the Steam Deck are effectively a tablet hybrid form factor (both are portable and have touch screens), just with the controller integrated or come packaged standard. Docking stations are something tablets handle fine too, Switch and Steam Deck just have that mode of operation as a forethought. All that to say, you can argue consoles in some cases are moving more in the direction of tablets and phones to capture that wider market.
        emodendroket 3y ago
        That they feel the need to do that and that you can no longer really have a handheld game system with its own dedicated library of games (something else those both have in common) doesn’t really suggest the idea that mobile gaming is nipping at the heels of traditional gaming is wrong.
  - SirHound 3y ago
    It doesn’t though. There is no game of the calibre of TOTK, Mario Odyessy etc on iOS and there never will be.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      The criteria given was “How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes?” and not your subjective evaluation of how good the games are.
    - mcphage 3y ago
      > and there never will be There could be, but it's not an Apple priority. Maybe one day it will be—who knows.
      - emodendroket 3y ago
        Not that I’m a huge mobile gamer but they do have some good stuff. The developer of Hot Shots Golf has a game that’s basically HSG in all but name which is nice.
    - nocsi 3y ago
      Hello kitty island adventure
  - jamesgeck0 3y ago
    Apple Arcade raises the bar significantly on mobile, but it pales in comparison to the first party offerings for any dedicated game console. It's got a lot of good indie games, but is missing anything comparable to flagship console-selling titles like Zelda, or Starfield, or Spider-Man. Even portable devices from previous console generations had more compelling libraries in many regards.
    - nocsi 3y ago
      It’s called Hello Kitty Island Adventure. Btw, if you didn’t know, Apple Arcade’s subscriber count dwarfs everyone else’s. Go walk around outside and evaluate what device your average kid is using. I promise, most of the kids are using some hand me down iPhone and playing mobile games, if not from Apple Arcade. It doesn’t matter if apple doesn’t have Zelda, only adults know what that is - what apple is doing is controlling the mind share of kids
- lacker 3y ago
  Purely anecdotal, but Minecraft alone takes more of my kids' friends' gaming time than all Switch games combined. "Local multiplayer on the same device" - well, that isn't how the kids play. They all bring their ipads. I think it's confusing to look at yearly sales because so many of the children already have ipads. You don't need a very new ipad to run Minecraft.
WhereIsTheTruth 3y ago
That's very out of touch That's exactly why I bought a Nintendo Switch and not an iPad, and the reason why I'm excited about the Switch 2 (and I'm not alone in my circle, including the youngest generation)
selfhoster11 3y ago
Touch screens may be more popular (by number of users), but they certainly have a more narrow range of gaming experiences that they enable without causing excessive frustration. Gamepads have much better affordances, and IMO are more suitable for things past casual tap and scroll titles.

It's called an iPad and it already has an M1. My son and all his friends almost exclusively game on iPads. So the next generation will be more used to touch screens then game controllers

gjsman-1000 3y ago

You're kidding, right? Nintendo Switch has sold about 130 million units, over 6 years. Apple ships about 60 million iPads per year, for all use cases, but from 2017-2019 it was hovering around 45 million. 2018 was a really bad year at about 33 million. So, we're currently at about 283 million iPads sold since the Switch launch, missing 2023 - so maybe more like 310-320 million, for all uses cases which go far beyond gaming. 130 million Nintendo Switches. Pretty reasonable to say they are pretty even. Except, of course, they aren't even in the high-quality, paid games market where the revenue on iOS is a joke. How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes? How many support local multiplayer on the same device? Switch has got hundreds, if not thousands; iOS has... name five.

emodendroket 3y ago
Everything on Apple Arcade fits your criteria.
- gjsman-1000 3y ago
  Well sure, that's about the only place, if you don't mind the subscription. The flip side though is that so many Apple Arcade titles are also available on Switch. Even ones that Apple showed in their presentations. You can also actually buy them without a subscription.
  - skyyler 3y ago
    Even Nintendo's own offerings show that purchasing is on the way out. The a la carte virtual console has given way for paid subscription access to curated collections of games. You can't buy retro games on the switch the way you could on the Wii and Wii U.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      Game Pass also seems like the first step down this road for a more “core audience” and Sony has one foot in and one foot out with their PS+ strategy, while we’re at it.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    They’re adding a ton of stuff all the time. I’m not saying that traditional game consoles won’t continue to be around but isn’t mobile already larger both in terms of players and revenue? We’re artificially handicapping the numbers by considering only tablets and not smart phones in this comparison.
    - surge 3y ago
      The switch and the Steam Deck are effectively a tablet hybrid form factor (both are portable and have touch screens), just with the controller integrated or come packaged standard. Docking stations are something tablets handle fine too, Switch and Steam Deck just have that mode of operation as a forethought. All that to say, you can argue consoles in some cases are moving more in the direction of tablets and phones to capture that wider market.
      - emodendroket 3y ago
        That they feel the need to do that and that you can no longer really have a handheld game system with its own dedicated library of games (something else those both have in common) doesn’t really suggest the idea that mobile gaming is nipping at the heels of traditional gaming is wrong.
- SirHound 3y ago
  It doesn’t though. There is no game of the calibre of TOTK, Mario Odyessy etc on iOS and there never will be.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    The criteria given was “How many games does iOS have that are paid, don't have IAPs, timers, or Loot Boxes?” and not your subjective evaluation of how good the games are.
  - mcphage 3y ago
    > and there never will be There could be, but it's not an Apple priority. Maybe one day it will be—who knows.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      Not that I’m a huge mobile gamer but they do have some good stuff. The developer of Hot Shots Golf has a game that’s basically HSG in all but name which is nice.
  - nocsi 3y ago
    Hello kitty island adventure
- jamesgeck0 3y ago
  Apple Arcade raises the bar significantly on mobile, but it pales in comparison to the first party offerings for any dedicated game console. It's got a lot of good indie games, but is missing anything comparable to flagship console-selling titles like Zelda, or Starfield, or Spider-Man. Even portable devices from previous console generations had more compelling libraries in many regards.
  - nocsi 3y ago
    It’s called Hello Kitty Island Adventure. Btw, if you didn’t know, Apple Arcade’s subscriber count dwarfs everyone else’s. Go walk around outside and evaluate what device your average kid is using. I promise, most of the kids are using some hand me down iPhone and playing mobile games, if not from Apple Arcade. It doesn’t matter if apple doesn’t have Zelda, only adults know what that is - what apple is doing is controlling the mind share of kids
lacker 3y ago
Purely anecdotal, but Minecraft alone takes more of my kids' friends' gaming time than all Switch games combined. "Local multiplayer on the same device" - well, that isn't how the kids play. They all bring their ipads. I think it's confusing to look at yearly sales because so many of the children already have ipads. You don't need a very new ipad to run Minecraft.

WhereIsTheTruth 3y ago

That's very out of touch That's exactly why I bought a Nintendo Switch and not an iPad, and the reason why I'm excited about the Switch 2 (and I'm not alone in my circle, including the youngest generation)

selfhoster11 3y ago

Touch screens may be more popular (by number of users), but they certainly have a more narrow range of gaming experiences that they enable without causing excessive frustration. Gamepads have much better affordances, and IMO are more suitable for things past casual tap and scroll titles.