The Escapist Show: Episode 46: iPhone Games

[Team Hollywood]

Episode 46: iPhone Games

This week we see who on the staff has an iPhone and what they think of gaming on it.

This week's musical guests:
Younnat [http://www.younnat.com] - "Old Movies Not Terrible"
Alec Harrison [http://www.redshiftstudios.ca/] - "The Rig?

Watch Video

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

I still only see iPhone games as a slightly better version of cell phone games. In other words, since I have no interest in the iPhone as a cell phone, or "mobile device" if you will, I'd certainly never pick one up simply for the games.

 

[George Palmer]

I've been enjoying my iPhone games. Simple enough to jump in and out of, but still give me some of the gaming fun that I like. I've been playing most of the games by Storm 8. MMOs on an iPhone that continue to play even when your not "logged in". Good fun!

 

[skintrade]

i'm still refusing to buy an iPhone on the grounds that I hate Apple products with a vengeance, overpriced and quickly superceded by their own stuff, I mean ffs STOP with the updated model every 6 months that you have to have if you are a slave to fashion.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant

edit - on another note if i had an iPhone it'd break in a week... or i'd end up killing the OS

 

[Cind]

i'm sorry but all i'm seeing is a disguised plug. I think it would be quite an interesting discussion as to the future of iPhone games and how that sort of 'casual gaming' fits into society, but when watching this, all i see is a plug for apple. It's quite annoying, cos i love The Escapist Show, i think it's great.... but yeah.


Or maybe i'm having Russ withdrawals...

 

[magicdemon71]

iphone is not a pro console
but i think in some ways it is the best handheld console now in the marked

 

[Shane Hamstra]

i'm sorry but all i'm seeing is a disguised plug. I think it would be quite an interesting discussion as to the future of iPhone games and how that sort of 'casual gaming' fits into society, but when watching this, all i see is a plug for apple. It's quite annoying, cos i love The Escapist Show, i think it's great.... but yeah.


Or maybe i'm having Russ withdrawals...

I can agree with you on having Russ withdrawal, but don't fear we'll get him back into doing some crazy stuff soon enough. However, on your other point, this being a plug for apple, I disagree. In producing this show I feel our participants mostly said that they don't consider the iPhone a preferred gaming platform. The majority of our interviewees said that the iPhone comes out usually in spare moment of boredom, not actively pursuing this kind of gaming over console or PC. The overall sentiment of; I'm bored, it's here, I might as well, doesn't give it a resounding "plug."

 

[sneak_copter]

... I'll stick to the PSP.

In my opinion, the PSP is the closest you can get to "full" games on a handheld, whereby "full" refers to a game on a console or PC.

 

[oshin]

Seemed to be alot of focus this epidsode on the fact people wouldnt play it at home, ALOT in fact. The lack of any buttons really indicates its more of a quick play device though, I think my psp pretty much hits the nail on the head for what I want from a portable.

 

[kronoset]

First off, I'll say that I've owned a DS for an extended period of time. With that said, after playing DS games of all genres (RPG,TBS,FPS,Action, Adventure) I've come to realize that iphone games aren't that bad. Not only that, but it's easy to weed out the gems from the crap, thanks to the rating system. The games are also inexpensive--short--but inexpensive. Your statement about a DS being more cost effective, however, is just wrong--I know. The DS Lite is a little over $100--games are between $30-40; $20 in rare cases or if a game isn't very good. Iphone games are overall cheaper. You can get a good-quality soccer game for 99c as well as a dogfighting sim. You can get an RTS for 99c. You can get a full-blown shooter for between $4 and $7. Also, the itouch is $200 for the newer model. Buying console games will quickly dwarf the cost of the actual system. I got my XBOX360 for $170 and have easily spent over that in games

 

[Fearzone]

It was Fat Princess that pushed me over the edge to open a PSN account and give them my credit card number. People keep telling me about iPhone apps, but it needs the equivalent of Fat Princess to make me take the plunge.

Also, the lukewarm reception we see here suggests that the iPhone is going to have to develop its own style of gaming that cannot be had elsewhere in order to prosper in gaming. I agree the small screen either means not that much content in an image, or a very limited scope, which sensibly makes its competition more appealing.

 

[BucksterMcgee]

Hmm, I could be completely off on this, but I didn't think the accelerometer in an iPhone or most any consumer product was an actual gyroscope. When I think of gyroscope I think of moving parts, such as how planes would know if they were level and not, as well as the old style space shuttle pitch display. Again, and I could be mistaken, but I figured accelerometers were solid state at this point nearing 2010 and all, but hey who knows, maybe that iPhone does have a gyroscope, and that's what helps it stay balanced when you set it on a table and try and type with it.... oh wait.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

Hmm, I could be completely off on this, but I didn't think the accelerometer in an iPhone or most any consumer product was an actual gyroscope. When I think of gyroscope I think of moving parts, such as how planes would know if they were level and not, as well as the old style space shuttle pitch display. Again, and I could be mistaken, but I figured accelerometers were solid state at this point nearing 2010 and all, but hey who knows, maybe that iPhone does have a gyroscope, and that's what helps it stay balanced when you set it on a table and try and type with it.... oh wait.

The difference between an accelerometer and a gyroscope is the measurement of linear acceleration vs angular acceleration. Both are available as solid state sensing devices, that run around $40 for a linear 3-axis model, and $80 for the two chips required for 3-axis angular sensor.

If I had to wager a guess (meaning, I don't care enough to dig up the truth), I'd say iPhone has a linear accelerometer (largely due to space considerations). However, I'm sure there's a hardware hacker out there hooking up a 9 degree IMU to the serial port as we speak. (3-axis linear accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope, 3 axis magnetometer - super precise, super smooth tracking)

To the average consumer, it makes little difference which is used, beyond whether it actually works for the application. (I'm pointing an accusing finger at Wii, BTW.) I'm sure a linear accelerometer is just fine for 90% or more of iPhone apps though.

 

[Woem]

Thanks for a great and honest episode. And for the Batman outro

 

[AndresCL]

Still think HTC, Palm or BlackBerry smarthphones are better than the iPhone (at least, overall experience)