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Do we really expect the iPhone to become a real gaming platform? I'm not being rude, it's an honest question. I don't see it ever becoming more, as a gaming pl

Do we really expect the iPhone to become a real gaming platform? I'm not being rude, it's an honest question. I don't see it ever becoming more, as a gaming platform, than it is now -- something to do to kill time while waiting in line or whatever else. I feel like the people who want a real gaming platform are, for the most part, more likely to go out and buy a full computer, an XBox, a Playstation, etc.

Goladus 13y ago
Or a portable game system (Whatever the most recent DS/PSP thing is). On the one hand it sucks to carry two devices on the other hand, many of the really good games are designed to be played with D-pads and buttons, not a touch screen and softkeyboard.
- mcdougle 13y ago
  Actually, that's a good point. Maybe, for a smartphone to become a "real" gaming platform as stated above, it's not game titles we need first, but hardware. I know there have been Android phones introduced designed for gaming, and I think they flopped pretty hard (I didn't hear much about them for long). But maybe instead of a whole phone, a company could produce and sell a gamepad that plugs into the phone? Then they ("they" being the producer of the gamepad, and any companies that it enables to sell bigger titles) could target the DS/PSP/portable console market. Interesting thought.....
- ANTSANTS 13y ago
  To be fair, most people use their 3DS/DS/Vita/PSP/whatever more like a tablet than like a phone. They're meant for curling up on the couch on a lazy afternoon (or, uh, as something to keep you occupied on the toilet...), not for whipping out in public while you're waiting in a queue. The low battery life of the newer handhelds seems relevant: iirc the 3DS's is around 3 hours, and the Vita's is comparable.
  - Goladus 13y ago
    I see people using portable game systems on the subway. But then whipping it out in public for 5 minutes at a time is not particularly conducive to the kind of deep games that we're talking about.
    - ANTSANTS 13y ago
      You're right, I should have mentioned long commutes in public transportation as the other main usage scenario of portables (especially in their country of origin), but that's not as relevant a consideration to (what I'm assuming is the average HN user) Americans living in areas with poor or nonexistent public transportation.
Cthulhu_ 13y ago
It /is/ a real gaming platform, and companies like King.com make a killing off of the platform(s); not in the traditional sense of the word like the AAA games of PC and consoles, but in a novel fashion with addictive games, microtransactions and buying ratings and downloads for promotional purposes. And it's a very real gaming platform for the millions of people that play and enjoy casual games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush. No it probably won't apply to people that were into gaming before it was mainstream, or to gamers that look for something with a bit more content, but for a lot of people it's awesome. Or addictive. Or both.
- mcdougle 13y ago
  Haha, I think we're arguing semantics here. Yes, I agree it's a real gaming platform, but not in the sense the guy above me was talking about.
timje1 13y ago
You might be onto a winner here. I've got chrono trigger and the monkey island on my phone and don't touch them - it's vastly more comfortable to play them for hours on my PC or emulators. Phones need a different input device and a different display before they can be comfortable to game on for extended periods of time.
- RandallBrown 13y ago
  It really depends on the game. Somehow, I was able to get better at Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on my iPhone than I was on the N64 version I played as a kid.
sambeau 13y ago
What makes a 'real' gaming platform? What does a 'real' gamer look like? How often does a 'real' gamer game? All surveys of gamers over the last 5 years show that the average gamer is female, late twenties to thirty, and puts in gaming hours way above anything your average FPS gamer would. (and the figures from before that were badly skewed by having the 'hearts' players removed for not being 'real gamers' (and some even removed commercial casual games), despite being the overwhelmingly largest group of gamers (arguably, if they'd included them, we might have seen the rise in casual gaming sooner)) The iPhone is the biggest gaming platform in the world. It is also where the main gamers are playing the most hours of games. Isn't that 'real' enough for you?

Goladus 13y ago

Or a portable game system (Whatever the most recent DS/PSP thing is). On the one hand it sucks to carry two devices on the other hand, many of the really good games are designed to be played with D-pads and buttons, not a touch screen and softkeyboard.

mcdougle 13y ago
Actually, that's a good point. Maybe, for a smartphone to become a "real" gaming platform as stated above, it's not game titles we need first, but hardware. I know there have been Android phones introduced designed for gaming, and I think they flopped pretty hard (I didn't hear much about them for long). But maybe instead of a whole phone, a company could produce and sell a gamepad that plugs into the phone? Then they ("they" being the producer of the gamepad, and any companies that it enables to sell bigger titles) could target the DS/PSP/portable console market. Interesting thought.....
ANTSANTS 13y ago
To be fair, most people use their 3DS/DS/Vita/PSP/whatever more like a tablet than like a phone. They're meant for curling up on the couch on a lazy afternoon (or, uh, as something to keep you occupied on the toilet...), not for whipping out in public while you're waiting in a queue. The low battery life of the newer handhelds seems relevant: iirc the 3DS's is around 3 hours, and the Vita's is comparable.
- Goladus 13y ago
  I see people using portable game systems on the subway. But then whipping it out in public for 5 minutes at a time is not particularly conducive to the kind of deep games that we're talking about.
  - ANTSANTS 13y ago
    You're right, I should have mentioned long commutes in public transportation as the other main usage scenario of portables (especially in their country of origin), but that's not as relevant a consideration to (what I'm assuming is the average HN user) Americans living in areas with poor or nonexistent public transportation.

Cthulhu_ 13y ago

It /is/ a real gaming platform, and companies like King.com make a killing off of the platform(s); not in the traditional sense of the word like the AAA games of PC and consoles, but in a novel fashion with addictive games, microtransactions and buying ratings and downloads for promotional purposes. And it's a very real gaming platform for the millions of people that play and enjoy casual games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush. No it probably won't apply to people that were into gaming before it was mainstream, or to gamers that look for something with a bit more content, but for a lot of people it's awesome. Or addictive. Or both.

mcdougle 13y ago
Haha, I think we're arguing semantics here. Yes, I agree it's a real gaming platform, but not in the sense the guy above me was talking about.

timje1 13y ago

You might be onto a winner here. I've got chrono trigger and the monkey island on my phone and don't touch them - it's vastly more comfortable to play them for hours on my PC or emulators. Phones need a different input device and a different display before they can be comfortable to game on for extended periods of time.

RandallBrown 13y ago
It really depends on the game. Somehow, I was able to get better at Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on my iPhone than I was on the N64 version I played as a kid.

sambeau 13y ago

What makes a 'real' gaming platform? What does a 'real' gamer look like? How often does a 'real' gamer game? All surveys of gamers over the last 5 years show that the average gamer is female, late twenties to thirty, and puts in gaming hours way above anything your average FPS gamer would. (and the figures from before that were badly skewed by having the 'hearts' players removed for not being 'real gamers' (and some even removed commercial casual games), despite being the overwhelmingly largest group of gamers (arguably, if they'd included them, we might have seen the rise in casual gaming sooner)) The iPhone is the biggest gaming platform in the world. It is also where the main gamers are playing the most hours of games. Isn't that 'real' enough for you?