All Articles Tagged nintendo

You see, there is this little event on December 12th in San Jose called the ADC (Apple Developer Conference): iPhone Tech Talks. Engadget says that John Geleynse, Director of Technology Evangelism at Apple, made some interesting statements Including:

It’s a gaming console

It’s not a phone, it’s a console experience

Wow. I have to admit, with some of quality games of late showing up in the App Store, I cannot disagree with this statement. After all, John Carmack, speaking at QuakeCon 2008 back in August said that the iPhone was akin to Sega’s Dreamcast console and almost on par with the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. If you think back to the early days of the PlayStation 2, the graphics look very similar. Now, you look at the PlayStation 2 with games like God of War and you can really see where gaming on the iPhone might be heading.

I have personally been enjoying the gaming on the iPhone. But I have to wonder; is Steve Jobs plan to penetrate the market with games in order to conquer all? The same method he has used by getting consumers to use Macs, then demanding them in the enterprise? Only time will tell. In the meantime, I plan on enjoying all the gaming the iPhone has to offer.

Back in September, TiPb posted a few articles in regards to Apple becoming a major player in the hand held gaming wars. We faced off the iPhone against Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.

The main question to be answered is should Sony and Nintendo be worried? I’d say yes, indeed they should be worried. Business Week seems to feel the same way as well. Some of their points are right on key with what we had to say back in September (see the articles linked above). While that is no doubt a coincidence, here is what they had to say:

Now look at Apple’s advantages over competitors. Apple already has more titles for its games than both of the other two combined. And aside from the free ones, games on the App Store sell at prices ranging up to $9.99 and sometimes a little more. Compare that with the $20 to $40 for Nintendo DS games and the $10 to $40 for games on the PSP.

Fully agrees with what we said, doesn’t it? How about this one?

And with Apple selling via iTunes, there are no costs associated with the distribution of physical media. All games are downloaded directly to the device. And in the event the game is buggy, the developer can easily issue an easy-to-download fix. The developer gets 70% of the sale and Apple keeps 30%, with no one else to get in the middle. Nintendo and Sony partners have to worry about shelf space at stores, shipping, returns, defective merchandise, and even the occasional shoplifter.

Also a good point that we stressed a few months back. With the holiday season fast approaching, it should be mighty interesting to see just how the hand held gaming wars works out.

For more gaming coverage from TiPb be sure to check out these articles.

(Via Business Week)

For the last two weeks we here at TiPb have been taking a deeper look into Apple’s “Game On” push. Can anyone really doubt Steve Jobs is trying to make the iPhone/iPod Touch into the next big portable gaming device? Stop and think about it, he took the idea of a portable MP3 player and made it into a device that has dominated the music business ever since. Now, according to Jobsy, “you could make a pretty good argument [the iPhone is] the best portable device for playing games on.”

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of Mobile Strategy at Jupitermedia’s MobileDevicesToday.com, chimed in:

The not-so-subtle message was, ‘If you’re thinking about buying something like a PSP or a DS, maybe you want to think again because we’ve got this cool device that does all your mobile stuff and, by the way, is a pretty excellent game platform as well’

Steve Palley, Editorial Guru for Vivendi Games Mobile said:

The iPhone is going to make the mobile games industry into everything we always wanted it to be but failed to achieve.

Even Nintendo’s Denise Kaigler, VP of Corporate Affairs spoke out regarding the iPhone:

Any time you have a new company enter an industry, it’s always good for the consumer. It gives them choices and we welcome that. But we have found over the last 20 years, despite all the choices consumers have had, that the Nintendo devices have enjoyed a great deal of success.

I really can not argue with Nintendo’s comment. Nintendo is the king of the hill in the handheld gaming industry. Many have tried to overtake them, all failing. Here’s what I’m thinking, though, Apple may not be the top dog at the moment but by the time the next iPhone is released, Jobsy might just be saying “I told you so!”. Give the App Store a year to grow, software developers time to get the most out of the hardware, etc… And then lets see how things start to shake out. What are you guys and gals thinking?

[Via MSBC.com]

[Ed: We're bringing back the Wait-a-Thon and making it regular again. Sorry we dropped it off there for awhile, folks. With all those 3G and iPhone 2.0 rumors flying about these past couple of weeks, it almost felt like the release was already here. In the meantime, comment on any post tagged "Wait-a-Thon" for your chance to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card!]

This is not a response to Crackberry.com’s excellent article, Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone Is NO BlackBerry. Quite frankly, the iPhone doesn’t need a response; it’s the rest of industry that’s so desperately trying to find one to the iPhone.

I don’t know about you, but it’s getting more than a little tiring hearing everyone compare themselves to — and constantly try to rip-off — the iPhone. I can’t surf a website or cruise the main without some claw-handed Crackberry addict, neck-bearded Palm artifact, or frazzle-haired WinMob frustrati glaring and frothing with barely-contained envy at the perfectly balanced, seamlessly integrated, lustfully convergent iPhone held ever-so casually in my grip.

They know the iPhone is beyond cool. Sure, they cling to their once innovative, formerly revolutionary (at least in the case of Palm and RIM) devices, the ones overwhelming nostalgia or massive business infrastructure investment won’t let them slam to the ground and stomp into the call-dropping, web-mangling, constantly crashing oblivion they so richly deserve.

So the comparisons to the iPhone just won’t stop, despite the fact that the iPhone is pretty much incomparable. Don’t believe me? I’ve got ten reasons to back me up. And these aren’t minor feature gripes or personal peccadilloes. In proper Apple fashion, these are just 10 simple little words…

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Not only did the iPhone serve RIM at the SDK event. But after Apple showcased the demos of Touch Fighter, Spore, and Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone, Nintendo and Sony better watch out as well. Game controls utilized the accelerometer and multi-touch while the graphics were displayed on that crystal clear screen–make no mistake–Apple is ready to revolutionize gaming.

With the early glimpses into the gaming capabilities of the iPhone, we’ve learned that:

1. The possibilities are endless
2. It looks really fun
3. Apple has a potential gaming jackpot in their hands

If we have learned anything from the current console “war” between the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii—consumers are more interested in buying the “fun” games as opposed to those that are graphically superior. At its bare minimum, gaming on the iPhone can be likened to a ridiculously advanced wii-mote. At its maximum potential? Quite possibly the best mobile gaming experience ever.

Earlier today Chad asked about what your favorite gaming experiences on the iPhone might be. But how will Apple deal with the business side of it? How can the iPhone conquer gaming? Find out after the jump.

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With the recent announcement of the iPhone SDK, we became witness to the iPhone’s possible future in gaming. If you are a portable gamer, you probably already own a Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP. Perhaps in the future, you will just use your iPhone? The iPhone is flying off of the shelf these days and with the App Store around the corner, there is no excuse for users not to get a little gaming action. Electronic Arts is a huge developer and publisher for video games. What if they port games to the iPhone? A little Need for Speed Underground anyone? Imagine holding your iPhone like a steering while and using the accelerometer as you rotate the phone left and right to steer, then lean the iPhone forward to accelerate and tilt it back to brake and change your views by touching the screen… oh, the possibilities.

What do you foresee as possible future uses for the iPhone as a gaming platform? We could start with Nintendo’s Wii for inspiration…